For the third time in recent weeks a livery driver has been brutally attacked while on the job. Last night around 10:30 p.m. Dame Ndiaje was shot in the arm and chin after picking up three men and a woman outside 1373 Pacific Street in Crown Heights. Ndiaje survived but is fighting for his life, according to the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers.
Cab Chaos: Third Livery Driver Attacked With Gun This Month
Bloomberg's Taxi Plan Stalls As Livery Drivers Face Ticket Blitz
Mayor Bloomberg's plan to circumvent the City Council and get his plan to let livery cabs legally pick up street hails running via Albany is, like so many things, stalling in the State Senate. At the same time, livery drivers are bemoaning a two-month ticket blitz that they claim Bloomberg ordered to strong-arm support for the bill.
Bloomberg Gets Help For His Outer Borough Livery/Taxi Plan
A group of livery cab drivers protested Bloomberg's proposed outer-borough taxi fleet yesterday but rather than scrap the plan (for the second time) the mayor's office is reportedly enlisting former Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., to be an "honest broker" in the ongoing battle.
City Cracking Down on Cabbies Who Won't Leave Manhattan
Despite Mayor Bloomberg's recent efforts, it is still hard to catch a cab to the outer boroughs. But things are starting to look up! Not only are regular hacks soon going to be facing stiffer fines for refusing fares, but Bloomberg is now stepping up his efforts to turn his failed street hail livery service plan into a whole new breed of taxi medallion that will focus on serving areas that aren't Manhattan.
Armed Robbers Target Brooklyn Livery Cab Drivers
Cops are trying to track down two men suspected of mugging at least nine livery cab drivers in Brooklyn since December. In all of the reported robberies, the perps would hail a black cab and tell the driver to bring them to a destination in East Flatbush, often on or around East 35th Street. Once the taxi reached the destination, one of the men would pull out a gun while the other would restrain the driver and take any valuables he could, according to MyFoxNY.
French Tourists Get High-Speed "Hell Ride" In Van From JFK
Five French tourists got dragged on a crazy, high-speed chase after getting into an unlicensed livery van at JFK yesterday. The unwanted excitement started around 11 a.m. after Port Authority police spotted Ian McFarland, 57, hustling the newly-arrived French visitors from the Air France terminal to an unauthorized van. According to the Post, Officer Michael Bestany recognized McFarland as a "longtime steerer" of travelers to the illegal vans, and when Bestany reached into the vehicle to grab the keys, driver Khaalis Preacher floored it, knocking Bestany to the pavement, injuring his shoulder and knee. Captive tourist Gwen Dulugat, who injured her arm while trying to jump from the moving van, describes the high-speed chase that ensued: "It went very, very fast. We're going zoom, zoom, zoom. The police were fantastic. They were behind us all the time." Preacher led cops to East New York, where he finally crashed through the mechanical gate arm of a US Postal Service facility. The Post got great photos of the police, guns drawn, chasing down the two suspects and arresting them; the other tourists escaped with no injuries and an ultimate New York story.
Livery Cars Face New Regulations
The 40,000 livery cabs, black cars, and limos prowling NYC streets may soon get a bit less sketchy, as the TLC votes today on a new set of regulations to better identify drivers and their companies. The new rules [PDF] would require livery cars to display the name and phone number of the base company, as well as a city-approved window sticker, which limos and black cars would have to attach to their vehicles. And all drivers would be required to display their TLC-approved picture and license in the backseat, just like in taxis.

