Taxi drivers look on as an array of audio system mark the debt aid win.
On Tuesday, The mannequin Ny Taxi Staff Alliance — The Most very important taxi driver union repredespatcheding round 20,000 of The metropolis’s cabbies — and their allies rallied on a blocked-off part of Broadmethod between Murray and Warren roads, in entrance of City Hall, to rejoice A strong-fought win.
On Nov. 2, placing an finish to a 15-day hunger strike, a taxi driver-proprietor debt aid plan was introduced that cuts medallion debt in half And that consists of a metropolis-agained guarantee of pretty worthd month-to-month mortgages. Loans to medallion-holders will now be relaxationructured to max out $170,000 pretty than the Bloomberg-period $1.1 million. Debt Can additionally Not extfinish past a driver’s lifetime and their houses will Not be repossessed to pay a medallion debt.
After 46 unsuccessful days of tenting out on The identical block in entrance of City Hall with their calls for that Mightor Invoice de Blasio add mortgage guarantees to The metropolis’s revised price range, due Oct. 31, To Scale again the crushing debt they automotivery, eight proprietor-drivers went on hunger strike on Oct. 20. Over The subsequent fifteen days, they — principally older males over the age of 55 — Can be joined by completely different drivers and allies till the announcemalest of a viin a place debt aid program.
A buffet of free South Asian meals was provided to the celebration’s attfinishees.
Senator Chuck Schumer, whose father-in-regulation as quickly as drove a cab in NY metropolis, suppliered the deal between Mightor de Blasio, the NYTWA and Marblegate Asset Administration, The Most very important medallion mortgage holder. Marblegate will reduce The quantity That every driver owes to $170,000 from A imply of about $500,000 per driver. And a driver’s month-to-month costs will now be relaxationricted to $1,122 Per thirty days. In return, The metropolis will give the lfinisher a money cost of $30,000.
Repredespatchedatives from the Democratic Socialists of America; assisting metropolis councilmembers; Chuck Schumer, who assisted neacquirediate the deal; Comptroller Scott Stringer, and even Mightor de Blasio himself congratulated the drivers who would later rejoice over meals and dance.
“No extra suicide, no extra chapter!” cheered the drivers who turned the block Proper into a flurry of festive celebration speeches, dances and cheers. (Between late 2017 and early 2019, 9 debt-fearing drivers dedicated suicide.)
Bhairavi Desai, The prime of NYTWA, spoke to cheering drivers Regarding the import of the union.
Pay attention right here to NYTWA chief Bhairavi Desai’s victory speech.
“We’re The identical union that went out on strike at JFK airport as quickly as extrast the racist Muslim ban. We’re The identical union that went out on strike for office privateness,” Desai said …….
Source: https://indypendent.org/2021/11/vox-pop-taxi-drivers-celebrate-major-debt-relief-end-hunger-strike/