The city’s outer boroughs are set to receive their very own fleet of taxis as soon as next month, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Thursday.

Uptown Manhattan and outer borough residents will be able to hail taxis on the street, after an appeals court unanimously upheld a state law that authorizes the city’s establishment of street hail livery service in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island.

“With this decision, we can finally bring safe, reliable taxi service to the four and a half boroughs that don’t currently have it,” Bloomberg said.

While the yellow cab industry and additional plaintiffs claim the State law is unconstitutional because it was allegedly enacted without following requirements of the State Constitution, supporters think otherwise.

“In our view the Court correctly held that the State law advances a substantial State concern with improved access to for-hire transportation throughout the City,” said Corporation Counsel Michael A. Cardozo.

18,000 apple green taxis will be permitted to pick up hails only north of 96th Street on Manhattan’s East Side, north of 110th Street on Manhattan’s West Side and anywhere in the other four boroughs.

Previously, it was illegal for taxi riders in the outer boroughs to hail a livery cab. They were only allowed to prearrange car service by calling the livery cab service.

The five-borough taxi plan was halted last year when yellow cab fleet owners filed a lawsuit claiming that only yellow cabs had the right to street hail.

The city also announced on Thursday that it will sell 2,000 yellow-cab medallions that must be used for handicap-accessible cars. The sale is expected to generate more than $1 billion in revenue for the city.

Taxi apps get a thumbs up, too

In addition to the expansion of livery services in more boroughs, the Court also decided that New York City’s e-hail program can continue, after a restraining order halted the service.

“In New York City in 2013, common sense and the free market say that you should be able to use your smartphone to get a cab, and that’s why we created a pilot program to allow users to do just that,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Some in the industry want to protect their business interests by blocking the use of new technology – but innovation is good for customers, and we will continue to encourage it.”

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Two women punched and stabbed a livery cab driver in the Bronx this week in a dispute over the fare, police said.

The suspects got into the cab at approximately 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday on 193rd Street in the Fordham section of the Bronx and asked to be taken to East 118th Street in Harlem, cops said.

During the ride, the women became angry about the cost of the fare, and one of the women punched the driver. The driver, 44, ordered the women out of the vehicle near the Major Deegan Expressway ramp on Fordham Road. Once outside, one of the women stabbed the victim with an unknown object causing a small puncture wound to his arm.

The driver refused medical attention, cops said.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident or the identity and whereabouts of the two individuals who are wanted for questioning is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577.

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A livery cab driver is in the hospital after he was shot Monday night in an attempted robbery.

Two suspects exited the victim’s cab about 10:30 p.m. near Fifth Avenue and 132nd Street in Harlem. One of the suspects, described as a black male, demanded cash from the victim and shot him. Both suspects fled without money.

The second suspect is described as a black female.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.

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A yellow school bus and a livery cab collided this morning on Grand Central Parkway in Queens.

The bus was spun around from the force of the collision, which occurred around 6:30 a.m. on the westbound side of the highway near the 31st Street exit in Astoria.

Three people were on the bus at the time of the accident, Eyewitness News reported. The driver was being treated for injuries that were not considered serious.

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Police are looking for a woman who threatened, assaulted and robbed a livery cab driver in the Bronx on Sunday night.

The suspect got into the cab at 145th Street and Third Avenue at around 11 p.m. The cab driver, 28, took the suspect to 10 Richman Plaza in the Morris Heights neighborhood of the Bronx. The woman then threatened the driver, assaulted him and fled with an unknown amount of money.

Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.

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UPDATE: A suspect in a hit-and-run that left two people and their unborn baby dead has surrendered to police, according to a report.

Julio Acevedo was arrested by cops in Pennsylvania this afternoon, according to the Daily News.

He surrendered to police officers in the parking lot of a store, the newspaper reported.

He was reportedly taken into an SUV with New York plates.

Metro’s original story is below.

A little after midnight on Sunday, a car accident near the Brooklyn Navy Yard resulted in the death of two passengers, a married couple, according to police reports.

The woman was 24 weeks pregnant, police said. The baby was delivered premature at the hospital and survived.

Police believe that the couple was on their way to Long Island College Hospital for an OB/GYN check-up.

The accident occurred when a grey 2010 BMW sedan hit the driver’s side of a black livery cab. According to a law enforcement source, witnesses said the BMW was speeding.

The pregnant woman in the backseat of the cab was thrown from the vehicle on impact, police said.

Police sources noted that there is a stop sign on Wilson Street at Kent Avenue, but none on Kent Avenue. The cab was traveling westbound on Wilson Street, and the BMW was traveling northbound on Kent Avenue.

The occupants of the BMW reportedly jumped out of their car and ran away. Police said witnesses reported that the driver was male and the passenger was female.

The driver of the livery cab was taken to Bellevue Hospital and is in stable condition.

The couple in the backseat were pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. The man was taken to Beth Israel and the pregnant woman was taken to Bellevue.

Doctors at Bellevue were able to safely deliver the baby by Caesarean section post-mortem.

The baby’s parents, Nathan Gluber and Raizi Gluber, were 21 years old.

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

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