The clash over outer-borough cabs continues.
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer said today that opponents should stop obstructing Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan for five-borough taxi service.
The plan would legalize street hail service
“We can no longer treat New Yorkers outside of Manhattan’s central business district as second-class citizens,” Stringer said. “This lawsuit is bad for New Yorkers.”
The new cabs were supposed to hit streets after medallion sales started in July.
But earlier this month, a judge issued a temporary restraining order, blocking the city from moving forward after taxi cab owners sued.
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who supports the lawsuit, criticized Bloomberg in an editorial in the Daily News for pushing the legislation to pass in Albany, allowing “legislators from the suburbs and upstate the power to pass New York City-specific laws without our consent.”
More than 97 percent of yellow cab trips are in Manhattan or between that borough and the airports, Stringer said.
Councilman Robert Jackson, who co-chairs the Council’s Black, Latino and Asian Caucus, said communities in Northern Manhattan and the outer boroughs desperately need the services.
