NYC Launches Taxi Medallion Relief Fund

NEW YORK CITY — A new fund will provide much-needed relief for New York City's taxi drivers who owe big on medallions.

But the $65 million Taxi Medallion Driver-Owner Relief Fund announced Tuesday by Mayor Bill de Blasio falls short of full forgiveness that many taxi drivers sought.

As documented in a series of New York Times stories, many taxi drivers owe hundreds of thousands of dollars in predatory medallion arrangements.

Still, de Blasio called the city's relief fund a "viable solution" to getting taxi drivers out of debt. He said it will be made possible with funds available through a $1.9 trillion federal stimulus expected to pass this week.

"We're now going to have resources we didn't have before," he said. "We want to apply some of those resources to help taxi drivers who continue to suffer."

Owners can receive up to $20,000 in up front loans to restructure their medallion debt, with an additional $9,000 in payment support, said Aloysee Heredia Jarmoszuk, commissioner for the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission.

They can pay back the money at 0 percent interest, she said.

"This plan will offer real relief to medallion owners and has the power to transform the lives of many of our hardest essential workers,” she said.

But as de Blasio touted the plan, it received a scorching review from Bhairavi Desai, who heads the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.

"It's a cash bailout for lenders while drivers are left to drown in debt, foreclosure, and bankruptcy," Desai said. "This is not debt forgiveness. This is not a collective solution to our crisis. This is not justice. The mayor's plan is a disgraceful betrayal from a city that already has blood on its hands."

NYTWA statement on the mayor's disgraceful medallion plan [thread]: "Mayor de Blasio's response to our debt crisis does absolutely nothing for drivers. It's a cash bailout for lenders while drivers are left to drown in debt, foreclosure, and bankruptcy. pic.twitter.com/09VcqkTTOY
— NY Taxi Workers (@NYTWA) March 9, 2021

De Blasio said he respects the Alliance and their statement spoke "volumes."

"That statement really does not respect the hard work that was done to find a viable solution," he said. "It's really easy for folks to call for things that aren't going to work and feel like, you know, that sounds good. But what we've actually been trying to do is the hard work of figuring out a sustainable solution."

Taxi drivers who are interested in the program can email mrp@tlc.nyc.gov.