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A band of outlaw livery-car firms has racked up a slew of illegal street hails, even amid a city crackdown.
The 10 firms, among the 461 registered with the city, account for 10 percent of all illegal-hail tickets written by Taxi and Limousine Commission agents from April to May, records show.
So far, city officials have written 5,420 summonses in their sting operation, in which they pose as passengers to see whether livery cars respond to street hails.
Leading the worst-offenders list is Bangla Car & Limo Service, which has been hit with 105 summonses. More than half were issued in the last 10 weeks, records show.
“The TLC should stop bothering the regular drivers . . . They’re just trying to feed their families!” said Bangla co-owner Nusul Haque.
Taxi brass say that illegal hails encourage price gouging. The practice also drops the value of yellow-cab medallions.
“[TLC agents] are unbelievable, coming up with different ways to come up to the car and deceiving the driver into thinking they’re regular passengers,” Haque said. “It’s gotten really bad in the last few months.”
TLC boss David Yassky says the crackdown will continue.
“We will keep going until people get the message,” he said.
The summonses affect drivers and firm owners. A first offense carries a $350 fine, followed by $500 for a second. A third could mean the loss of a license to operate.
Haque and co-owner Kadir Kahn said they have hired a lawyer to get their fines reduced.
The firm with the second-highest total of summonses is Skyline Credit Ride, with 59 tickets.
“We got a blizzard of street-hail tickets,” said Robert Mackle, a lawyer for Skyline’s president, Jalal Ehrari, who claims his firm shouldn’t be responsible for what drivers do on the streets.
But he insists his company has “very strict rules” against street hails. He says he makes the ticketed driver pay all fines, including those to the owner, plus any fees for fighting the ticket.
Damian Rodriguez, president of First Class Car and Limo Service, the third-worst offender, with 46 violations, said his drivers are “scared.”
“The TLC is coming into our community to enforce the law and prove to the City Council that we’re doing something wrong,” he said.
“But we’ve been providing a service to our community for 40 years. We need to legalize street hails. All of a sudden, we’re getting tickets for $350. In this economic situation, it’s not easy.”
The next worst offenders, according to records, are KeyKab Services (40 tickets) and Barrios Car Service (39). Rounding out the worst 10 are Diplo Radio Dispatch, Premium Radio Dispatch, Harlem Transport Corp., Royal Car and Limo, and New Harlem Car Service, each with 33 to 36 tickets.