Uber Drivers Charged With Licensing Violations Plead Guilty to Lesser Charges

East Hampton Town has dropped the misdeameanor charges against 19 Uber drivers for violating the Town’s taxi licensing law after agreeing to plead guilty to lesser charges and pay a $400 fine on Monday.

The Town announced on June 5 that Uber, a mobile app that connects riders with a taxi, private car or rideshare from their mobile phone, has suspended operations in East Hampton immediately.

A total of 23 drivers were charged and faced either a year of jail time or a fine of up to $1,000 if they were found guilty.

However, the attorney representing the Uber drivers, Daniel G. Rodgers, and Assistant Town Attorney, Michael Sendlenski, worked on a deal before the drivers’ arraignment on Monday at the East Hampton Justice Court before Judge Lisa Rana, according to Newsday.

As part of the deal, the drivers pleaded to a lesser charge of not having a taxi driver license, which is not a criminal offense and ”the equivalent of a traffic ticket,” Rodgers told Newsday.

One driver, Davron, who was arraigned on two charges, was fined $800 and two drivers pleaded guilty for illegal camping for sleeping in their cars, according to The East Hampton Star.

The drivers were originally scheduled to be arraigned on June 15, but only six of the drivers were arraigned including Sadikov Parviz, Erkin Alver, Gain Guresci, James Kelleher, Cengiz Yildrim, and Cemal Pehliva. They all pleaded not guilty.

On Monday, 14 drivers were arraigned, including Davron Khuseynov, Dorji Dhondup, Adil Doghmi, James Adekplovi, Jimmy A. Collado, Sonam Lama, Azamat Emazarov, Dovran Esenov, Khalim Firdays, Kebe Chieka Saadboa, Emostafa Sabour, Khan Shahzad, Parduman Singh, and Edgar Daniels, according to The East Hampton Star.

After the charges were filed, Rodgers told 27east that Town officials should reconsider the “bad law.”

“These charges should never have been brought in the first place,” Rodgers, told 27east. “In East Hampton, there is no logical nexus between protecting the health and safety of the public and having a physical office in the town.”

When Uber suspended their operations, the Town said that they ”applauded” the decision until they could comply with the Town’s law.

“The Town will not tolerate any vehicles not complying with our regulations, nor will we allow drivers to be sleeping in vehicles for hire, obstructing traffic and taking up limited parking spaces in hamlet centers that should be available for residents and visitors,” Cantwell said in a previous press release.