By Alexander Dworkowitz
Bringing to life a taxi stand that has sat unused for decades, the city launched a pilot program this week to have yellow cabs stop in downtown Flushing.
On Tuesday morning, a fleet of taxis came to the stand on Roosevelt Avenue just west of Main Street as officials announced the initiative.
“Taxis are based on economics in this city,” said Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing), chairman of the Council's Transportation Committee. “We want to re-educate drivers and show them in concrete terms that there is a demand out here in areas like Flushing.”
The stand has existed for decades. Marilyn Bitterman, district manager of Community Board 7, recalled that taxis frequently appeared at the stop when she moved to Flushing in 1965.
The stop is at the center of the transit hub, next to the entrance of the No. 7 subway train, two blocks from a Long Island Rail Road stop and a short walk from the end of more than a dozen bus lines.
Despite the bustle of the area, the stand has been abandoned in recent years and finding a cab in downtown Flushing has become nearly impossible. Instead, residents have come to rely on dollar vans and livery cabs.
The new initiative is designed to bring back taxis not only to Flushing, but to all of the outer boroughs.
Two dispatchers will be on site from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., taking note of the number of passengers and their destinations for the next six months.
If the data shows a big demand for drivers, the city will introduce similar programs in other under-served areas including Upper Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx, Liu said.
“We are very happy to reintroduce yellow cabs to the outer boroughs,” said Ronald Sherman, president of the Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade, which counts about 20 percent of the city's 12,181 cab drivers as its members.
Sherman said he was encouraging his members to go to Flushing. He pointed out that most cab drivers live in Queens, often heading home to run errands on their breaks.
“Now they don't have to come back (to Manhattan) empty,” he said.
Assemblyman Barry Grodenchik (D-Flushing) predicted the stand would have an impact on drivers.
“A lot of people come into Flushing and bring their cars,” Grodenchik said. “But I think a lot of people are going to rethink that.”
During the news conference, a fleet of cabs waited to pick up passengers. Customers were hard to find, but Liu and others predicted business would pick up as word about the taxi stand spread.
Daniel Fokey, a cab driver with a garage around the block from the stand, said he would often stop by.
“I'll definitely be coming here,” he said. “It will be real convenient for me, too.”
Some, however, were more skeptical.
Raymond Rodriguez, a Flushing resident who watched Tuesday morning's press conference, said he would continue to take livery cabs, because “you can always negotiate the price.”
The yellow cabs “are not going to make any money,” Rodriguez said. “This is an immigrant neighborhood.”
Reach reporter Alexander Dworkowitz by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 141.
