Hundreds of Taxi Medallions Repossessed Despite Rescue Deal That Ended Hunger Strike
https://www.thecity.nyc/economy/2022...-hunger-strike
Mohammed Motaleb had just pulled his 2012 Toyota Prius out of the JFK Airport taxi lot last month when he noticed a Ford Crown Victoria tailing him.
“They followed me honking, honking, honking, like it was a police car,” is how he described the January 16 encounter with a man who he said tried to seize the taxi medallion he has owned since 2009. “They stalked me like 200 meters.”
The airport run-in ended, Motaleb said, with him calling police after the other driver blocked his yellow taxi and attempted to repossess the once-coveted metal plate that authorizes drivers to pick up street hails.
A Port Authority spokesperson confirmed that police officers responded to the dispute between “a medallion driver and a repo company employee,” but said they did not become involved because it was not a criminal matter.
“I said, ‘You cannot take my medallion,’” Motaleb told THE CITY. “I said, ‘If you have the legal authority, you can show me,’ and he did not show me.”
Less than three weeks later, the Bangladeshi immigrant received a letter from a law firm informing him that his medallion will be sold at a private sale on or after February 18 “to enforce the rights of OSK,” a Minnesota-based lender that has approximately 400 medallions, according to the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission.
The encounters highlight the continued pressures facing taxi medallion owners — even after many celebrated the city’s November commitment to guarantee medallion loans. The pledge ended a hunger strike and is designed to ease the devastating financial burden on many in the industry through lower monthly payments.