NYC Mayor Bloomberg Still Hitting On Wheelers
Ziggi | Dec 16, 2011 | Comments 3
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It seems that Mayor Bloomberg still has some odd ideas about NYC taxis, wheelchair users, rights, and the needs of his wheeled constituents.
This latest from Capital, an online news publication about how things work in New York:
Responding to a question about ongoing negotiations in Albany over his plan to create a new class of outer-borough taxi in New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg reiterated a previous claim that people in wheelchairs can’t hail cabs.
“I think one thing that is clear is people in wheelchairs can’t go out into traffic and try to flag down a cab,” said Bloomberg. “It just starts to get dangerous.”
And this published comment from James Weisman, United Spinal’s attorney and disability activist:
“It is currently against the law for a yellow cab to refuse to pick up a person who hails them in a wheelchair (wheelchairs that are self- pushed can be folded),” said Jim Weisman, general counsel of the United Spinal Association, via email. “Obviously, the mayor doesn’t know and doesn’t care.”
“People with disabilities cross streets, live in tough neighborhoods, raise families, work and need to travel,” added Weisman.
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Traffic is a way of life in NYC. All Bloomberg has to do is step out of his limo to find out. If you can’t deal with traffic in NYC then you can’t live in NYC.
Wheeled New Yorkers, like their walking neighbors, do and can deal with all that NYC can dish out. Bloomberg on the other hand needs to start dealing with NYC issues instead of dishing out self serving hits. Accessible taxis are an issue in NYC so deal with it. If pedestrian safety is an issue then deal with that also. They are two separate issues living on the same streets.
Isn’t that why there are curbcuts?
Good point Paul! Is crossing a NYC street any less dangerous than waving down a yellow on the streets of NYC. I guess a workable bloombergish solution would be to ban wheelers from even being out on the ole streets of New York at all.