Cab owners fighting for livelihoods

Hundreds of cab owners descended on City Hall Park in Manhattan recently to voice their outrage on a plan that would allow livery cabs to pick up street hail – and slash owner’s earnings by 50 percent.
More than 1,000 letters were sent to Governor Andrew Cuomo urging him to veto the street hail bill that has already passed both the State Assembly and Senate.
A major worry for the cab owners is the value of their medallion, which can cost upwards of $600,000 on the open market.
“I played by the rules. I could have skirted the law, but instead, I invested my life savings in a medallion. Now Mayor Bloomberg is about to put me and thousands of other small business taxi owners out of business and into bankruptcy,” said Queens taxi driver Jawaid Toppa.
The CEO of LOMTO Federal Credit Union, Richard Kay, has warned issuing new medallions could be a housing-like bubble.
“Lenders have to toughen loan restrictions to cover the increased risks associated with using the medallion as collateral. We’re all concerned that the owners will owe more than their medallions are worth,” Kay said.
“My medallion put my children through college- it’s my most valuable asset,” said taxi driver Erhan Tuncel. “Under Mayor Bloomberg’s plan, it’ll be worthless.”
The mayor has said that medallion owners’ investment would be protected since yellow cabs will still have the exclusive rights in central Manhattan and the airports which accounts for 97.5 percent of hails.
The city plans on issuing 30,000 new street hail permits that will allow liveries to pick up passengers in upper Manhattan and the outer boroughs.