Even after I left New York, I have had a love-hate relationship with city hacks.  Oh, they are entertaining, they provide a valuable service- but their vehicles…. They are not arranged for customer comfort.

I still recall one of the larger arguments I had with my (now ex-) wife.  We had traveled to the city for a dialysis meeting.  When we landed at LaGuardia, we moseyed on over to the taxi line.

I might not have lived in New York for two decades, but I knew (and still know) the signs.  I refused the first three taxi cabs. It was 90 degrees, and these three cabs had their hoods popped just a smidge.  That meant their cabs overheat and they would not be providing any air conditioning.  And, there was ZERO chance I’d be taking a 30 to 45 minute ride in a suit and tie under those conditions.

My ex was furious.  We were going to be late to the meeting.    Except, she was also wearing a glamorous outfit- and I would get the heat if she were melting when she (and I) had to present our speeches.

Back then, most hacks were employees of big (for taxis) companies.  They had zero control over the capabilities and conditions of their rides.

All that changed with the advent of the 21^st Century.  The City of New York controls the medallion (which number also matches the license plate of the cab) market, selling new ones when they feel the number of cabs are insufficient for the traffic.  Otherwise, the medallions are sold from driver to driver, from company to company, or company to driver.

When the market for medallions (again, these are the licenses that authorize cabs to traverse the streets of the city) went wide.   By 2014, the price of a medallion had trebled to a cool $ 1.3 million.  (Yes, I do believe we had just a little bit of manipulation going on.)

But, to (the mostly immigrant) drivers hoping for a piece of the American Dream, these medallions were highly sought.  They hoped to earn their money from hauling passengers- and then selling the medallions, when they were ready to retire, for a profit.  Obviously, these folks lacked the funds to purchase a more than $ 1 million asset, so they arranged to borrow money from Marblegate Asset Management to obtain those licenses.   (Of course, you can bet that most of the immigrant drivers lacked the financial- and language- skills to comprehend the loan documents they signed with Marblegate.)

But, the city sold way too many medallions in their rush to [your choice here] to increase the number of taxis on the streets or increase the city funds.  And, then came Uber and Lyft- which meant the need for a medallion to operate a taxi was no longer the coin of the realm.     Medallion value dropped- and then, the piece de la resistance- came the pandemic.  Which meant this $ 1.3 million trinket was barely worth $ 95,000.

OK, you say.  That’s life.

Not if you are one of the more than 4000 hacks who owed hundreds of thousands of dollars on an asset worth peanuts.  (Think of the parallel 2000 real estate meltdown, when house prices dropped to a faction of the mortgages, where interest rates skyrocketed, and foreclosures were the norm.)

During the pandemic, the drivers either couldn’t work- or had no potential riders.   Their average debt was about half a million bucks.  With no real revenue ($8500 monthly lately- which must cover fuel, car payments, and the medallion loan fees, now that the pandemic crisis is dissipating) to pay the interest, let alone the principal (required payments were between $2K and $ 3K a month) on the debt.  (Yes, several hacks committed suicide due to their financial situation.)

After years of fighting and a hunger strike by many hacks,  Senator Chuck (Charles) Schumer, the New York Taxi Workers Association, and Marblegate (the lender) finally reached an agreement.  Some would say satisfactory, others (like me) still consider this still to be somewhat predatory.

While the goal was to reduce the debt to $ 145K, this new agreement arrived at a $ 170K principal to be repaid over 20 years.   The maximum monthly payment is also set at $ 1100.   If the hack can’t repay the loan, the medallion will be repossessed and the city will pay Marblegate the remaining debt.

So, for those of you who thought all those nurses, physicians, and EMT’s needed public thanks during the pandemic (you do recall the nightly cheers and noisemaking across the city of New York and a few other places), maybe you should consider using the Yellow Cabs (all medallion cabs must be yellow!) of New York.  Instead of Uber or Lyft.  These folks also provide a most valuable service- and you can make it possible for them to pay down their debt.