The city's top taxi official yesterday conceded the Bloomberg administration could lose a court fight and be ordered to greatly increase the number of yellow cabs that are wheelchair accessible.
Taxi and Limousine Commission Chairman David Yassky said in a column he pens for taxi trade publications that he "flatly disagrees" with claims that the city is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
But he said city officials "cannot ignore the possibility that a court order will at some point require a significant portion of the taxi fleet to convert to accessible vehicles."
In his monthly on-line article, Yassky said the TLC is developing new options to increase the number of yellow cabs that are wheelchair accessible.
"Over the coming weeks, the TLC will be reaching out to industry leadership to discuss the feasibility of making the fleet accessible even without a court order, and we'll be deciding on options for doing so," he wrote.
Just 231 of the 13,237 yellow taxis in the city are wheelchair accessible.
Yassky's comments came a day after Mayor Bloomberg staunchly defended TLC plans to have a limited number of accessible cabs with a dispatch-based system so wheelchair users can call and arrange rides rather than attempt to hail a taxi on the street. Advocates for the disabled want every cab to be accessible.
In January, advocates for the disabled filed a class action lawsuit claiming the city is violating federal law by not requiring all new cabs be wheelchair friendly.
The lawsuit got a big boost last week when U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's office informed the judge handling the case that federal prosecutors agree the city is not complying with the law.
"The writing is on the wall," Assemblyman Micah Kellner (D-Manhattan said).
"The Justice Department has spoken loud and clear. The Americans with Disabilities Act is not optional."
The state Legislature earlier this year approved city-sponsored legislation authorizing the TLC increase the taxi fleet by 1,500 cabs with 569 being wheelchair accessible. Gov. Cuomo hasn't signed the bill and has indicated he wants to make changes.
The TLC yesterday approved for voluntary purchase by cabbies a wheelchair accessible cab called the MV-1 that is being built by the Vehicle Production Group. The only other city-approved accessible model is a retrofitted Toyota Seinna.
#Source: NY Daily News BY Pete Donohue Oct 21, 2011
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/10/21/2011-10-21_bloomberg_administration_likely_to_be_forced_into_adding_more_handicappedaccessi.html#ixzz1bpaPA5Um
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