NYC Mayor Bloomberg Still Hitting On Wheelers

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.

Some background reading on this topic.

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