THE ASSEMBLY STATE OF NEW YORK ALBANY

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MICAH Z. KELLNER 65th Assembly District

December 20, 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kellner Says, "This is an Agreement we all can Hail"

Governor Cuomo Incorporates Kellner Concepts and Helps NYC 60,000 Wheelchair Albany, NY-- Following Governor Cuomo's announcement of an agreement on the "Livery Street Hail" bill, Assembly Member Micah Z. Kellner (D-Upper East Side, Yorkville and Roosevelt Island), the State Assembly's leading disability rights advocate, released the following statement: "This is a taxi agreement we all can hail. I applaud Governor Cuomo for once again championing the civil rights of a disenfranchised community. This is a great step towards New York City having fully accessible taxi and livery fleets." "Not only does this plan add thousands of accessible vehicles to our Citys streets, but it forces the City to develop a long-term plan that is fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act." "Whether you live in Manhattan or the outer-boroughs, are on two feet or four wheels, everyone should be able to hail a taxi." In August 2011, Assembly Member Kellner released the "Access for All Taxi and Livery Plan" which outlined most of the components adopted by Governor Cuomo today. See the attached fact sheet comparing the plans. ###

654 Legislative Office Building, Albany, NY 12248 (518) 455-5676, FAX (518) 455-5282 1365 First Avenue, New York, NY 10021 (212) 860-4906, FAX (917) 432-2983
E-mail: KellnerM@assembly.state.ny.us

Access-for-All Taxi and Livery Plan Fact Sheet

Q. Whats the difference between the current system, the livery street hail bill and the Access-for-All Taxi and Livery plan? A. See chart below: Current System 13, 237 taxis 231 accessible (1.7%) 30,000 vehicles approx. 75 accessible (.2%) Livery Street Hail Bill (A8496) 1,500 new medallions 569 are accessible 38% are accessible, 5.4% of all taxis 30,000 new street hail permits 0 are accessible 0% are accessible Access-for-All Taxi and Livery Plan 1,500 new medallions 1,500 are accessible 100% are accessible, 12% of all taxis 6,000 new street hail medallions 1,200 are accessible 20% are accessible

Yellow Taxis

Outer-borough Livery

Sources: Taxi and Limousine Commission and www.assembly.state.ny.us

Q. Why is this plan so important to implement now? A. The A4ATL plan is important because it requires more taxis and livery street hail cars to be accessible in a short period of time. Also, yellow medallion sales are incredibly rare. There have been only four of these sales in the last 75 years. Q. What is the difference between the 1,500 yellow taxi medallions in the Livery Street Hail bill (A8496) and in the A4ATL plan? A. In the A4ATL plan, 100% the new 1,500 yellow medallions will be accessible, while in A8496, only 569 (38%) are accessible. Q. How will the establishment of an outer-borough livery street hail medallion system work? A. The new 6,000 medallions would be only for hailing cabs on the streets of the outer-boroughs and Northern Manhattan. Similar to yellow taxicab medallions, they will be fully transferable and sold at a low offering price. 1,200 of these medallions would be wheelchair accessible. The current bill, A8496, offers no accessible livery service in the outer-boroughs or in Northern Manhattan, in large part because the permit-based structure of that bill is not conducive to incentivizing accessible service. Q. Who would be able to buy these new livery street hail medallions? A. The new plan gives the existing livery drivers and base owners and the general public the opportunity to purchase the new medallions. 2,000 would be sold to livery drivers with 3 years in good standing with the TLC, of which 400 would be accessible. 2,000 would be offered to livery bases with 3 years in good standing with the TLC, of which 400 would be accessible.

2,000 of the outer borough medallions would be offered to the general public, of which 400 would be accessible.

Q. How long would it take for the A4ATL plan to be the implemented? A. The time-frame is the same as the Livery Street Hail bill (A8496). The street hail medallions will begin being sold immediately upon the enactment of the legislation, and the yellow medallion sale will begin July 2012. Q. How much revenue does the Access-for-All Taxi and Livery Plan raise? A. This new plan would raise at least $1 billion for the City and exceed the revenue of the Livery Street Hail bill (A8496) because the taxi industry and financiers support the A4ATL plan. It also has the benefit of saving the MTA money.