A group of taxi fleet owners sued
New York City and Mayor Michael Bloomberg over a new law
allowing car services to pick up passengers who hail them
outside Manhattan.
The Metropolitan Taxicab Board filed the lawsuit in New
York State Supreme Court in Manhattan today, seeking to have the
new law deemed unconstitutional. The law abolished rights and
privileges that have existed for the taxi industry for more than
a century “with the stroke of a pen” and without public
hearings, a city council vote or environmental and economic
reviews, according to the suit.
“The primary beneficiaries of the new scheme will be a
select group of licensees — livery drivers and owners — many
of whom have openly violated laws that have been in effect for
more than 50 years,” lawyers for the board said in the suit.
The Long Island City-based group calls itself the largest U.S.
taxi fleet association, with 33 members and about 3,500 taxis.
“A great deal of careful thought and consideration went
into the adoption of this important new transportation
initiative,” Ave Maria Brennan, senior counsel in the
administrative law division of the city’s law department, said
in a statement. “We are confident that it complies will all
legal requirements – and that this challenge will be rejected by
the courts.”
Other Boroughs
Governor Andrew Cuomo struck a deal with lawmakers in
December for the city to permit car services to pick up
passengers who hail them on the street outside Manhattan. The
state legislature passed the law in February and rules to
implement the legislation are scheduled for a vote at a Taxi and
Limousine Commission hearing tomorrow, the board said.
Car services, also known as livery cabs, will also be
permitted to pick up passengers who hail them on the street in
other boroughs and in northern Manhattan where taxi availability
is limited, according to a state Assembly memorandum.
Previously, only yellow cabs were permitted to pick up fares on
the street, while car services were legally limited to calls
dispatched by radio.
The mayor is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News
parent Bloomberg LP.
The case is Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade v. Michael
R. Bloomberg, 102472/2012, New York State Supreme Court
(Manhattan).
To contact the reporter on this story:
Chris Dolmetsch in New York at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Michael Hytha at [email protected]
