NYC Cops Stopped Cab Drivers from Entering a Pro-Uber Protest
Image: Kari Paul

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NYC Cops Stopped Cab Drivers from Entering a Pro-Uber Protest

The company held a demonstration at City Hall to protest a new bill.

As I arrived at a protest in front of City Hall on Tuesday to "Save Uber as you know it in NYC," as a promotional email I received from the company warned, I was greeted by a line of yellow cab drivers staging a counterprotest of their own.

"Don't download Uber! Don't use Uber!" they shouted at me from behind barricades that had been set up by the NYPD. The yellow cab demonstrators were attempting to stop people from entering a pro-Uber protest taking place on the lawn of City Hall, organized by the company to rally opposition of a new measure they say would cripple its growth in New York City, where it had 14,088 vehicles licensed as of March 2015.

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"This bill would destroy 10,000 job opportunities for New Yorkers in just one year, and result in longer wait times, higher prices and less reliable service for riders," said the email imploring Uber users to attend the protest, which also offered a free UberPool ride to the event.

The bill, supported by the Taxi and Limousine Commission, would cap the amount of for-hire vehicles companies like Uber can add to its fleets at an increase of 1 percent per year. The limit would be enacted while the city studies the potential impact of ride-hailing companies on traffic congestion, which the company's opponents say Uber is exacerbating.

Many of the city's cab drivers have objected to Uber's presence since its entry in New York, saying the startup has an unfair advantage because its drivers do not have to lease expensive city-issued medallions from the companies that own them.

"The city is not doing anything for us right now, they are doing favors for Uber," said driver Jaswinder Singh, who recently had his medallion seized because he could not make his mortgage on it. He said the lender was demanding $177,000 in ten days or they would take his home. Ultimately, Singh said he scraped together the money he owed with the help of friends and family, but he is frustrated Uber drivers do not face the same issues.

Cab drivers protesting Uber. Image: Kari Paul

"They don't have to pay for the medallion, they don't have to pay taxes, and they're making more money than us," he said.

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The yellow cab protesters told me they were not permitted to enter the pro-Uber protest, which was taking place in front of City Hall as legislators debated the proposed bill. When I approached the demonstration, I found that I too was being blocked out.

"Are you with Uber?" a police officer asked me when I tried to enter. I told him I was a member of the press, but he said since I did not have the New York City-sanctioned press credentials I would not be allowed to enter. The struggle begged the question, who of the many Uber users who received email invites to the protest were able to get in? After debating with three other officers I eventually found my way inside, where a group of a few dozen Uber supporters held signs and chanted "We need jobs."

"We just wanted to make our message heard and hope people understand the consequences of this bill, which includes 10,000 job opportunities that would be lost, predominantly in the outer boroughs," Matt Wing, the head of Uber's Northeast Communications department, told me of the demonstration.

After the protest cleared out, I surveyed about a dozen members of the crowd who were collecting free lunch provided by Uber to see who had come out to show support. I found nearly all attendees I spoke with were Uber employees, except one woman who had left work during her lunch break to attend the event with her friend, who was an Uber employee.

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At least three Uber drivers had come out to show support for their employer, including Hector Peralta, who told me he had been driving for the company for the past two months. He said drivers received emails inviting them to come out and show support. Another driver, Elie Felix, said the proposed legislation is unfairly targeting Uber.

"It will affect our interest to work hard and bring good service in the city," he said. "We want to find the best way to continue to work hard in our city. We don't understand why they are making laws against our company and our opportunities in our city."

The NYPD was discerning about who to let in. Image: Kari Paul

It's still unclear what was behind the issues with getting into the event. Police officer Chris Link told me extra NYPD staff was deployed for the protest due to "past experiences" with Uber and yellow cab drivers.

"We don't want to have confrontation," he said, adding that police were told to only let a set number of people into the protest. Uber said it did not cap anyone coming in or ask officials to keep anyone out.

Inside the hearing, Council Member Robert Cornegy spoke out against the cap, saying it would interfere with the livelihoods of drivers and impede constituents from using the companies for transportation.

"When New Yorkers started lining up at Shake Shacks, we didn't place a moratorium on burgers while we studied the health impacts, even though the popularity of Shake Shack might have hurt some Five Guys & other restaurants," he said. "I will absolutely support a plan to study the impacts that growth in this industry are having on the city but I cannot support imposing draconian limits on growth while a study takes place."

Cornegy said he has asked the Federal Trade Commission to weigh in on the current proposal before the bill advances.