As an associate for a major Wall Street law firm, I had deposed Donald Trump. I had also litigated in landlord-tenant court. So I thought I knew something about blowhards and a little about due process. But I knew nothing, nothing until I encountered the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. THE WHOLE STORY

 

The Worst Court in America

CJS Masters Project
Ebenezer Asamoah idled in his yellow cab at a red light on the corner of Delancey and Allen.  When the light changed, he drove across the street and stopped for a burly man in a camouflage jacket who stood 20 feet past the intersection.  The man got in.  Then he ordered Asamoah to hand over his keys. This was neither a robbery nor a kidnapping--though it had elements of both.  THE WHOLE STORY
For more on the related litigation, CLICK HERE
WHAT SHAPIRO SAID...  
 

photos by Richard Mitchell

 

The TLC is Driving Cabbies Nuts

From The Daily News

A few months ago, I was spending a lot of time in taxi garages reporting on a story about the lives of immigrant cabbies. Nearly every cabbie I spoke to told me that what I really should be writing about was the Taxi & Limousine Commission and its courts. "Kangaroo courts," the drivers said. THE WHOLE STORY

 

City Denies Due Process to Cabbies
From Newsday
BACK IN November, Danny Glover complained that he had trouble hailing a cab because he was black. Glover's complaint is long-standing and legitimate, and few cabbies deny it is often true. But Glover is a movie star, so the mayor and the Taxi and Limousine Commission jumped to react as never before. THE WHOLE STORY

 

Yellow Cab Drivers Get No Relief
From Newsday
IN NOVEMBER, 1999, movie star Danny Glover complained that he and other African Americans were discriminated against in hailing a cab. Glover's complaint was old news, but the city's Taxi & Limousine Commission took the opportunity to intensify its routine assault on the rights of the city's 41,000, largely immigrant, yellow cab drivers. THE WHOLE STORY

The Endurance of Joe Mermelstein
Web Exclusive
"I am not your ordinary taxi driver," Josef Mermelstein said, and in ways he is the anti-cabbie.New Yorkers complain that cabbies drive too fast. Mr. Mermelstein drives slowly. New Yorkers say too many cabbies don't speak good English. Mr. Mermelstein is fluent, his speech enriched by a heavy middle European accent. New Yorkers grouse that cabbies don't know their way around. Mr. Mermelstein knows every landmark, including some, like the old Taft Hotel, that are no longer there. THE WHOLE STORY

A Hero Cabbie Testifies
Web Exclusive
There is a scene in "The Verdict" where Paul Newman, playing attorney Frank Galvin, tells his lady friend that the idea of a court is not to dispense justice.  The court, Newman says, exists to give people a "chance at justice."  In this the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission has a problem, because, right or wrong, taxi drivers believe that in the TLC courts, they have no chance. THE WHOLE STORY

Of Kangaroos and Kafka—a TLC Story
Web Exclusive
A few months ago, while reporting on a story about taxi drivers, I heard time and again that the Taxi and Limousine Commission courts were unfair, arbitrary, even corrupt.  "Kangaroo courts," the drivers said.  When I tried to find out for myself whether this was true, I was told that the TLC courts were closed to the public, and I was forced to sue the TLC to gain access.  Armed with a court order I was finally able to observe the tribunal.  Sure enough, the kangaroos were hopping. THE WHOLE STORY

New York Puts The Internet In Taxis
From Forbes.com
Yahoo! and Medallion Financial, a New York finance company, have teamed up to put wireless Internet access on PalmPilots in the back of New York City taxicabs. But the program will be limited to just ten out of New York's 12,000 cabs, making it essentially meaningless to commuters, except to the extent pedestrians will be assaulted by traveling billboards. THE WHOLE STORY

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