September 26, 2011 The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of New York State New York State Capitol Building Albany, NY 12224 Dear Governor Cuomo: On behalf of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade (MTBOT), the Committee for Taxi Safety, The Greater New York Taxi Association, the League of Mutual Taxi Owners and the Taxicab Service Association representing the vast majority of the $11 billion yellow taxicab industry including taxi drivers, fleets, lenders and leasing agents that provide tens of thousands of jobs and small business opportunities for New York City, I am strongly urging you to veto A.8496/S.5825, the “livery street hail bill.”

I am enclosing approximately 8,000 letters, postcards and petition signatures from hard-working, mostly Black, Latino and Asian taxi drivers and other members of the working class yellow taxi industry who live in the Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Washington Heights, Harlem, East Harlem and other parts of Manhattan and New York who are urging a veto. Also included in this first batch are letters from livery drivers and members of the public. Growing Opposition As elected officials have had time to think about the ramifications of the bill since it was rushed through the Legislature, they have come to recognize the serious flaws in the bill and have taken the drastic step of publicly reversing their earlier support or re-asserting their opposition. The growing list of individuals now urging a veto or “no action” until modifications are made include:

• U.S. Senator Tom Harkin who opposes the bill’s lack of any wheelchair accessible liveries and too few wheelchair accessible yellow taxicabs.

• Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio who is concerned about the negative impact on existing taxi and livery businesses and service to the riding public.

• Assemblyman Vito Lopez, Co-Chair of the New York State Assembly’s Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force who is concerned about the impact on minority-owned livery bases and livery drivers, particularly in Brooklyn.

• State Senator Martin Golden, the Senate sponsor of the bill, who is now opposed to many aspects of the current bill and is urging significant modifications after hearing arguments from all segments of the taxi and livery industries.

• City Council Member Rueben Wils from Queens; Staten Island Assemblyman Michael Cusick, who is urging the State to “take a breath” citing the many complicated issues on the bill; many more are expected.

• Assemblyman Micah Kellner who favors more accessibility and has produced a thoughtful alternative plan that the taxi and livery industries support as well as the following elected officials:

o State Senator Hassell-Thompson, Assemblywoman Jacobs, State Senator Duane, State Senator Avella, Assemblyman Cymbrowitz, Assemblywoman Simotas, Assemblyman Titone, City Council Member Lappin, State Senator Kennedy, Assemblyman Brook-Krasny, Assemblyman Miller, City Council Member Fidler.

• The following State Senators and State Assembly Members that voted against the bill:

o State Senators Addabbo, Avella, Ball, Bonacic, Duane, Farley, Flanagan, Fuschillo, Gianaris, Griffo, Huntley, Kennedy, LaValle, Little, Marcellino, Martins, O’Mara, Saland, Stavisky, Stewart-Cousins, and Zeldin.

o State Assemblymembers Abbate, Amedore, Braunstein, Brook-Krasny, Burling, Butler, Castelli, Cook, Crouch, Cymbrowitz, Friend, Graf, Gunther, Losquadro, Malliotakis, Miller, Murray, Nolan, Raia, Simotas, Sweeney, Tedisco, Tenney, Thiele, Titone, Titus, Tabacco, and Zebrowski.

There is No Urgency To Sign This Flawed Bill

Finally, there is no reason or urgency to sign this bill – and every reason to start

fresh in the light of a new session.

• The revenue the City stands to gain from a yellow taxi medallion sale will not be jeopardized as a result of a veto.

o In fact, as the current bill stands, such a medallion auction cannot even take place until July 1, 2012. There is ample time to authorize a medallion sale as part of a new, more carefully constructed bill in a new legislative session. The taxi industry supports 1,500 more medallions.

o Additionally, the largest medallion lending institutions have warned that they would not finance these medallions, if meaningful changes are not made to the livery portion of the bill that will retain confidence in the medallion asset. Consequently, the City will not get the $1billion it is estimating.

o Every credit union and bank that finances medallions and that have collectively loaned more than $5 billion to individual owner-drivers and small businesses based in New York City have warned against the potentially devastating economic impact this bill will have on medallion values, thereby placing mortgages, retirement savings, small businesses and livelihoods at great risk. The City has produced no economic impact analysis yet dismisses such warnings outright, much in the way many dismissed the housing and sub-prime mortgage crisis.

• No taxi driver, livery driver, taxi owner or livery base owner will be

disenfranchised as a result of a veto. However, the livelihoods of tens of

thousands of mostly minority taxi and livery drivers will be jeopardized as a result of an enacted bill.

• Signing  this  bill  will  not  provide  livery  drivers,  whom  the  Federation  also  

represents  in  large  numbers,  with  equity  opportunities  that  their  brothers  and  sisters  in  the  yellow  cab  industry  currently  have.    The  current  bill’s  permit  system  is  just  another  way  to  keep  minorities  down  –  and  spinning  their  wheels  in  a  vicious  cycle.    Currently  livery  drivers  work  hard  every  day  and  have  nothing  to  show  for  their  blood,  sweat  and  tears  except  a  beat  up  old  Town  Car.    Give  them  a  low-­‐cost  opportunity  to  buy  a  stake  in  their  business  and  you  will  truly  be  helping  minorities.    

• Requiring dual use liveries, as this bill does, has not been thought through. It is a major mistake, will have enormous service and manpower ramifications and presents extremely challenging enforcement issues, which is why the taxi industry and 75% of the livery industry oppose the dual use aspect of this bill. A single use system avoids many of these issues.

• Accessibility is inadequately addressed. In hastily crafting the most dramatic

restructuring of the taxi and livery industries in 75 years, the bill misses several critical and rare opportunities to improve taxi and livery service for all New Yorkers that will not be easily recaptured.

o For example, the bill fails to place even a single wheelchair accessible livery vehicle into service. The vast majority of the livery industry has already agreed to a plan, supported by wheelchair accessibility advocates, which would place at least 1,200 wheelchair accessible livery vehicles on the road. The bill’s proponents and the Mayor’s Office oppose this plan to increase accessibility for wheelchair users in the outer boroughs and Upper Manhattan.

o Similarly, yellow medallion taxicab auctions are extremely rare. There

have only been 3 such auctions after the medallion system was established 75 years ago. New taxi auctions present a rare opportunity to add significant numbers of new accessible taxicabs to the yellow fleet. The yellow taxicab industry agrees with the disability advocates that ALL 1,500 new authorized medallions should be wheelchair accessible.

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration.

Fernando Mateo,

Founder and Spokesperson, New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers