With "tomorrow" almost here, a City Council member yesterday made a bold move to try and put the brakes on the city's controversial "Taxi of Tomorrow" before it is too late (for the handicapped). Bronx Councilman Oliver Koppell yesterday invoked a little-used rule to try and force a vote on a bill he introduced requiring yellow cabs to be accessible to those in wheelchairs. For a number of reasons, including little support from the Speaker, the bill stalled out after being introduced in 2010 despite 35 co-sponsors.
"All I want is a vote by the committee. If the committee votes it down, then I'll determine what to do," Koppell told NY1 of his move to use the "sponsor's privilege" rule, which was apparently last invoked in 2009 by then-City Councilman Tony Avella. The rule compels a committee, in this case the Transportation Committee, to vote on the bill. If he gets the support of six more council members he could force a vote in the full council, which would otherwise require the approval of Speaker Christine Quinn.
"This is a matter of civil rights for the disabled community," Assemblyman Micah Kellner said to the News of the move. Currently there are only 232 handicap-accessible cabs in the city's fleet. After an initial backlash against the Nissan-made NV200 "Taxi of Tomorrow," which is only accessible with after a refitting, the city promised to up that number to 2,000, though it insists it has "no obligation" to.
Since the "Taxi of Tomorrow" became "official" a number of people have tried to stop it—including multiple attempts from City Comptroller John Liu—so it will be interesting to see if this latest move has any mileage. Asked for comment on the play, Quinn's office "said in a statement that she believes taxi service should be accessible to all, but her remarks make it clear she is not willing to go as far as Koppell."
