The head of the city taxi and limousine committee apologized to a Yellow-Cab taxi driver for her “insensitivity” by telling him to stop bringing up his brother's suicide. Aloysee Heredia Jarmoszuk's mea culpa landed very poorly with many New York taxi medal owners. According to the mayor's office, Jarmoszuk called Chow on Wednesday evening to apologize, saying she was "sincerely sorry" for any insult or inconvenience he allegedly received.

stop suicide lawsuit

Crain's reported that TLC chairman Aloysee Heredia Jarmoszuk had told medallion owner Richard Chow to "stop the suicide lawsuit." His late brother Kenny, a former owner-driver who was deeply in debt and took his own life, had recorded a telephone conversation dated March 17. The head of the TLC bureau had tried to convince Chow to accept de Blasio's $65 million bailout. The Yellow-Cab drivers were not reassured by Jarmoszuk's apology. They said her blunder emphasized the need for another solution to the medallion crisis.

"What Aloysee said is so wrong on so many levels," said Augie Tang, a 36-year-old driver who inherited his father's taxi medallion six years ago, along with $ 530.000 in debt. "I really think she should resign."

problems enough

There is still a whole pile waiting problems on TLC Commissioner Aloysee Heredia Jarmoszuk. Since former TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi resigned in March 2020, the regulator for taxis, rental cars, commuting and paratransit vehicles has had an eventful year, with new rules passed to regulate Uber and Lyft, and an explosive report detailing the depths and underlying causes of the taxi medallion crisis. Many of those issues, like the regulation of rental cars with apps, were long before Joshi left, while others, like the taxi medallion crisis, have become increasingly important in recent months.

taxi medallion crisis

The yellow taxi industry has been in decline for years, as evidenced by the plummeting value of taxi medallions and the rise of app-based services such as Uber and Lyft. But an investigation in The New York Times brought the misery of taxi drivers into sharper focus last May, with reports of predatory loans to medallion owners driving their own taxis.

New York City Taxi - photo Pitane Blue

Sergio Cabrera, a taxi-driver-owner-driver with $ 250.000 in medallion debt, called TLC chairman Aloysee Heredia Jarmoszuk's comments disturbing, describing her as "some sort of bully." "The taxi drivers are not the best person to judge political moves," said Cabrera, vice president of the Yellow Taxi United group. "And at TLC, they are used to dealing with Uber and lawyers."

Aloysee Heredia Jarmoszuk

Aloysee Heredia Jarmoszuk is currently Commissioner and Chairman of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC). Previously, Heredia Jarmoszuk served as the Deputy Mayor's Chief of Staff, where she managed and coordinated 25 city agencies and programs. Jarmoszuk received her undergraduate degree from William Smith College in Geneva, NY and served on the Board of Trustees of Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Born in New York, Heredia Jarmoszuk lives in Manhattan with her family.

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Aloysee Heredia Jarmoszuk
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