NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — New York taxi drivers celebrated Wednesday after scoring a new debt relief agreement with the city and a private asset management firm — ending a 15-day hunger strike and 46 days of protests at City Hall.
The new deal will supplement the city’s existing relief program, restructuring loans to $200,000, capping debt payments at $1,122. Advocates at the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which organized the demonstrations, celebrated the agreement as a stabilization for the devastating yellow cab industry.
“This is a historic moment. These terms mean that over 4,000 to 6,000 families can get their life back. These terms mean that our brothers and sisters will no longer have a lifetime of debt,” said Bhairavi Desai, Executive Director of New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a worker organization representing 25,000 taxi and app-based driver members.
“These terms mean that we have the full faith and backing and support of the city of New York as we aim to stabilize this industry; to rebuild these jobs; and to bring all drivers across this industry to a livable income with rights, respect and dignity,” Desai added.
The yellow cab industry was decimated by predatory loans that became crippling after the unregulated entry of e-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft to the city.
The city will provide funding for a guarantee on the principal and interest for these loans and will work with all other medallion lenders to achieve the same terms.
The deal was brokered between the workers and Mayor Bill de Blasio, Senate Majority leader Charles Schumer and Marblegate Asset Management.
“Taxi workers have worked tirelessly to make New York City the most vibrant city in the world, and we refuse to leave them behind,” de Blasio said in a statement. “I’m proud to have worked with Senator Schumer, NYTWA, and Marblegate to reach an equitable, sustainable solution that builds on the success we’ve achieved in reducing debt burdens for the hard-working drivers who keep our city moving.”
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