For Cabbies, Due Process with Dread – Jake Mooney – The New York Times
Just off Queens Boulevard in Sunnyside, on the third floor of a converted factory building where guards check drivers’ licenses at the door, a roomful of rumpled men sat slouched on plastic chairs. They napped, stared into space, or flipped through the yellow violation notices that had brought them to this room this weekday morning, at the threshold of the City Taxi and Limousine Commission’s administrative tribunals.
The men, all drivers of yellow cabs, livery cabs and commuter vans licensed by the commission, were to appear before the tribunals on charges of repeated failed inspections, keeping inaccurate records of trips, dropping passengers in the wrong place or picking them up improperly. They faced fines in the hundreds of dollars and the accumulation of “points” that could lead to revocation of their T.L.C. licenses. They were also losing as much or more money by not being out on the street.
Sunny dispositions are rare among people awaiting trial, and sympathy for cabbies may be hard to muster for anyone who has had a white-knuckled ride in a grungy car. But there are other reasons morale among this group seemed low. Drivers of yellow cabs have gone on strike twice in recent months to protest the city’s plans to put global positioning devices and credit-card readers in their cars.
Beyond that, drivers in the waiting room were skeptical of their chances in the tribunals. City Councilman Miguel Martinez, who represents Upper Manhattan, introduced a bill last month to make changes to the system in response to what he described as longtime complaints by drivers. For example, he said, T.L.C. inspectors, unlike drivers, are allowed to file affidavits about possible infractions, rather than come before the tribunals to testify and be cross-examined in person. Mr. Martinez also questioned the independence of the 53 administrative law judges who rule on the cases.
“These judges are hired by the commissioner, and they serve under the pleasure of the commission, so someone may not want to rule against their bosses,” Mr. Martinez said.
In testimony on Oct. 25 before the Council’s Transportation Committee, Matthew Daus, chairman of the commission, described Mr. Martinez’s bill as vague and legally unnecessary.
Mr. Daus said that the commission was “very proud” of the tribunals, and he invited Council members to visit, noting that the proceedings were open to the public.
In the hearing rooms last week, amid scuffed bare walls under fluorescent lights, the mood was often tense.
In one room, the lawyer for one Rafael Eusebio, charged with soliciting passengers on West 125th Street while his livery license was revoked, was questioning a T.L.C. inspector named Rafael Alvarez who had ticketed Mr. Eusebio.
“What was the reason you stopped him?” the lawyer demanded.
“I don’t need no reason to stop him,” retorted Mr. Alvarez, who, like many inspectors involved in Wednesday’s cases, was on hand to be confronted by the accused.
Drivers, the inspector added, know that they can be pulled over at any time. Mr. Eusebio denied that he had been looking for passengers, but he was fined $200 for driving a for-hire vehicle with a revoked license.
Outside in the waiting area, a livery driver named Mario was waiting to hear whether his proceeding could be postponed; his lawyer was sick, he said, and had not shown up. It was already midafternoon, and he had been in the building since 8 that morning to respond to charges of improperly picking up passengers.
When Mario finally spoke to a clerk a little after 10, he was told that his license had been suspended for driving without insurance. Heading to a different room, he waited for two hours to produce proof that his insurance was in order. That matter was resolved by 1:10, but there still remained the wait for the judge.
The driver, who spoke little English, was accompanied by his son, Mario Jr. The men did not want their last name used, to avoid antagonizing the commission. But it had been a frustrating day.
“He’s looking for a new job,” the son said. “He says the T.L.C. won’t let him work. Every time it’s not something, it’s something else.”
