A Manhattan federal judge scolded the city Tuesday for trying to pump the brakes — again — on a long-ago legal settlement that was supposed to have made half of all yellow taxis wheelchair-accessible by 2020.
Hailed a decade ago by United States District Court Judge George Daniels as “one of the most significant acts of inclusion since Jackie Robinson joined the Dodgers,” the landmark 2013 deal between advocates for New Yorkers with disabilities and the Taxi & Limousine Commission missed its initial deadline in 2020, along with a 2023 extension.
Daniels on Tuesday pressed lawyers for the city to come up with a formula within two weeks that will detail how the 50% goal will be met.
“This is what you promised to do,” Daniels said, recalling how both sides agreed more than a decade ago that a settlement was “the practical way to go.”
Michelle Goldberg-Cahn, of the city’s Law Department, conceded in court that the city is struggling to meet the 50% mark out of the city’s 13,587 medallion cabs.
“It’s very impractical to meet the obligation, almost to the point of impossible,” Goldberg-Cahn said, citing industry upheaval since the time of the original settlement, including the collapse of medallion values, rise of app-based ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft, and a pandemic that sank ridership.
According to the TLC, 4,406 yellow taxis were fully accessible as of the start of 2024, about 32% of the fleet, with 3,753 in service. Including for-hire vehicles, there are now more than 9,000 wheelchair-accessible vehicles.
In a Lower Manhattan courtroom with several wheelchair users in attendance, the judge at times expressed bewilderment at the city’s attempt to be relieved from the settlement’s requirements.
“They agreed to this twice — in 2014 and in 2021,” Daniels said.
Kathy Collins, a quadruple amputee and wheelchair user who travels by taxi and for-hire vehicles, said the initial pledge under former Mayor Mike Bloomberg to make half the yellow taxi fleet accessible was monumental.
“I was like, ‘Wow, this is great,’” she told THE CITY. “But here we are still fighting and that’s absurd.”
The hearing followed a February court filing in which advocates accused the TLC of breaching the December 2013 agreement, which was celebrated as “the first of its kind in the country.”
At the time of the settlement, just 231 wheelchair-accessible yellow taxis were registered with TLC — not even 2% of the fleet.
Taxi & Limousine Commission officials noted how the entire fleet of for-hire vehicles — including medallion taxis and those from app-based ride-hailing services — has grown substantially in recent years.
“Factoring in our entire fleet, we now have almost three times the number of accessible vehicles we did five years ago,” David Do, the TLC commissioner, said in a statement. “We will be working to provide Judge Daniels with the information he requested to make an informed decision.”
The TLC on Wednesday will hold a public hearing to discuss a proposal that would eliminate vehicle retirement dates for wheelchair-accessible taxis that pass regularly scheduled inspections, allowing more to stay in service longer.
Collins, who is among the plaintiffs in the case, said the continued legal squabbling is troubling for wheelchair users who take taxis.
“You made a deal, you’ve got to live up to it,” she said. “I’m sorry.”