Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 10th State of the City speech will be delivered Wednesday, an address that is expected to focus on the city's fiscal reality, but will also lay out a plan to allow livery cabs to take street pick ups in the outer boroughs.
NBC New York has learned that Bloomberg will propose establishing a new class of livery cabs that can take street pick-ups outside Manhattan, just like yellow cabs.
In an excerpt from Bloomberg's speech, the mayor says "whether you’re standing on 42nd Street in Manhattan, or 42nd Street in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, or 42nd Street in Sunnyside, Queens, you ought to be able to hail a cab.”
"It will give New Yorkers in all five boroughs another safe, reliable and convenient option for getting around."
The Taxi Workers Alliance responded that they were "stunned."
"Legalizing an illegal activity because it's been done for so long will immediately cut into fares, especially during the rush hours when yellow cab drivers who live in the outer boroughs pick up fares at the beginning or end of their shifts. And as liveries bring more riders into Manhattan, what guarantee do we have that the city will stop the illegal activities in Manhattan or the airports?"
The speech is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Saint George Theater on Staten Island.
