Transcript: Mayor Eric Adams, TLC Commissioner David Do Announce More Than $225 Million in Debt Relief Already Achieved Under Historic Taxi Medallion Debt Relief Program

September 30, 2022

Commissioner David Do, NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission: Good afternoon, everyone. Good afternoon, everyone. Woo. Woo. We are at the finish line. My name is David Do and I'm the commissioner of the Taxi and Limousine Commission and we are so excited to be here to celebrate that we have closed on 1,000 medallion modifications. This is an exciting time for all of these guys behind me. They have been advocating. They have been working so hard to ensure that they can have a better future. Congratulations. This administration is the administration that gets stuff done, and under the leadership of Mayor Adams and Deputy Mayor Joshi, we got stuff done. I would be remiss if I did not also thank the people behind me, but also the TLC commissioners who voted for the rules package, Budget Director Jacques Jiha, and the Corporation Council Judge Hinds-Radix. And with that, I am truly honored to introduce Senator Schumer, who has been a fighter in this, who brought everyone together to the table so that we can all be here today. Senator Schumer.

(U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer speaks.)

Commissioner Do: Thank you so much, senator, and it's now my great privilege to introduce the mayor who has stood by our drivers through thick and thin, Mayor Adams.

Mayor Eric Adams: I can recall over 25 years ago when we met and we were fighting to stop our drivers from being assaulted and robbed. Many voices were silent. I remember years ago one of the Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Cared as we stood and really mobilized with this amazing union. This is not a new relationship and so I think that there's something special about the battles we are dealing with. The physical challenges that they experienced those 25 years ago. I'm now the mayor of the city that's dealing with the fiscal challenges that they had to overcome. This long, rich history of understanding of people who have gone through a lot because they have a mayor that has gone through a lot, and together, we can make this a fair city.

This is how we do it. The three components of success: agitate, negotiate, legislate. We have the legislators that are here. We cannot thank you enough, senator, for getting it done in a real way. We cannot thank you enough, congresswoman, for your role in making this happen. And then we had the agitators loud, strong, firm making it clear that they were not going to allow their industry to be left behind. Those combined efforts, as we negotiated, we saw the best of who we are, not only as New Yorkers but how we continue to protect the working class people of this city and of this country. This is not an industry that just appeared out of nowhere. There's something iconic about our yellow cabs. 1907, the first symbol of a yellow cab came here. It is as iconic as the Empire State Building. It's actually older than the Empire State Building. It is the foundation of our city.

And so many people pursued the American dream through the medallion and the yellow cab. So, what our partnership accomplished with the Taxi and Limousine Commission, Marblegate Asset Management, and New York City Taxi Workers Association is just the winning combination to bring this home. And there was a fearful moment for so long. A thousand medallions owners have closed on loans resulting in $225 million of taxi medallion debt release so far. That is really commendable that we were able to bring this home for everyday New Yorkers. Yellow cabs are the lifeline of our city. We've all hailed it during emergencies. We've hailed it to go from one location to the other. They have reported a countless number of crimes that have taken place. There have been the protectors of our city, not only in transportation but moving us throughout this entire city.

In recent years, the medallion owners and drivers have been burdened by crippling debt, and we did not want to sit on the sideline and watch this continue to happen. It's crushed dreams and it crushed families. People like Richard and Kenny Chow who came to New York City from Taiwan in the pursuit of the American dream. The brothers worked hard, put their life savings on the line. Kenny paid $750,000 for his medallion, and although he drove long shifts day after day, he couldn't earn enough to keep up with the loan payments. Richard is here with us today. Tragically, Kenny is not. Kenny took his life, and out of his pain, we found purpose to pursue what was rightfully something we should have brought to these taxi medallion owners for a long time. While we cannot bring back Kenny Chow or his fellow cab drivers, because he was one of many who experienced this devastation, we can make sure that what happened to them will never happen again.

So, thanks to this medallion relief program, regardless of the original medallion loan amount, over 3,000 owners now have their loans written down to a maximum of $170,000 and monthly payments that are capped at 12 34. This puts money back in their pockets, food back on the table, college tuition back for their children. It allows them to wake up to the nightmare that they were no longer part of the American dream. It allows them to experience that American dream. The debt relief program means that they're no longer maxed out on their credit cards, no longer being prevented from providing for their families. So, taxi owners and drivers are there for us. Every time we raise our hands to hail a cab at a curb, they responded. Now, it's time for us to stand for them, and that's what we've done.

So, I cannot thank our state and our federal and congressional lawmakers for doing what was right for these medallion owners and everyday New Yorkers, hard-working New Yorkers. It's commendable what you did, senator, commendable what you did, congresswoman. Thank you on behalf of the people of the City of New York, thank you so much.

(Richard Chow, Bhairavi Desai, U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Andrew Milgram, Senator Schumer speak.)

Question: Mayor, what's your sense of how many thousands of other drivers… Mayor, what's your sense of how many thousands of other drivers who haven't gotten (inaudible)? And what is your message to the lenders that are not participating in it?

Mayor Adams: Well, I think as the union leadership stated, we reached over 1,000. There are more out there. They've done an amazing job of phone-banking, reaching out, and all lenders should come onboard. This is an opportune time for a good plan, with a good deal, where there's a win-win for all. And we want everyone that's eligible to be signed up, get signed up.

Question: How about the outstanding Marblegate cab drivers who have loans? You said there's roughly 3,000 left. What's going to happen to them, and how soon you do you expect them to enroll in this? Or are they just frozen?

Andrew Milgram, CEO of Marblegate Asset Management: We believe there are about 2,000 Marblegate specific loans that will qualify. For lots of technical reasons, it's hard to pin that number down exactly. The Taxi Workers Alliance, as well as the city, the Taxi Limousine Commissioner, as well as Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez's office are all pushing hard to make sure everybody is getting there. The reality is that the program does have a definitive life for it, and so we encourage everybody to get in as soon as possible in order to get their paperwork processed, so that we can move forward with the restructurings.

Question: Why before the timeline ends in a week, then they're not going to be eligible for this rule?

Milgram: We encourage everybody to get in as soon as possible.

Question: And just to follow up on that. The window's been open for a couple of weeks. There's one week left. You've gotten 1,000 done so far. At that rate, you might get another 300 done. So, even at your own timeline, not even half the loans would get qualified. How's that success?

Milgram: We've actually seen, at peak moments, we're doing hundreds a day. Our peak was 192 in one day. And so it's very achievable in the timeline. And if people are signed up, we will make sure that we accommodate anyone and everyone who is signed up to get their loan processed.

(...)

Bhairavi Desai, President of New York Taxi Workers Alliance: I just wanted to add really quickly for the refund loans that we're talking about the number of loans. Right? Number of medallions, I mean. So there are some individuals who have more than one medallion, so it's like we're talking about getting in an additional 1,000 people. It's a far lesser number of people, because the number of medallions is larger than the number of individuals. And so to us it's a manageable number within this time period.

Question: Hi. Jen Hope from the AP. Does anyone have an estimate of how many non-Marblegate loans are in need of this relief?

Commissioner Do: So there are about 1,100 more. We're working with all of our lenders to get them to the table. PenFed is one of the bigger lenders. They have about 300, and they'll be closing loans in the next couple of weeks. And so it's going to be a success. We're going to continue working with all of our lenders. We have a partnership, Bhairavi and I, to get the remaining 850 that she has outlined to work with various banks, community banks, to make sure that every medallion owner who's interested in this program can be a part of this program. Bhairavi, do you want anything to add?

Desai: So there we identified 24 lenders in total through these years. Now some of those lenders are making what's called a cash settlement. So they're not looking to stay in the industry. They'll offer you a settlement of a large amount, and then they're looking to exit. So we think that there are around 850 medallion loans that are spread out across about 19 of those lenders, so it's very few per lender. We've been working to bring all of them to the table. We're in active communication with all except for four of them. And we're hoping that now that the program is operational, they see how successful it is. I think really beginning next week is when we're going to actually know if there will even be any remaining holdouts, but we feel incredibly confident that we're going to be able to get everybody in

(Crosstalk.)

Question: I wanted to ask you, I know Deputy Mayor Phil Banks he's very involved in his public schedule that was released to through FOIL. He's very involved in the NYPD meeting with chiefs, yet it's not in his official portfolio. Do you want to talk about why? I mean I know he's a deputy mayor for public safety… You're good. I've done it before. I know he's the deputy mayor of public safety, but in terms of his frequent meetings with the police chiefs, I just wanted to get your take on why that is.

Mayor Adams: Well, all of my deputy mayors, they all have portfolios. Deputy Mayor Joshi has a portfolio of Department of Sanitation, Parks, and a host of others, and they interact. That's how we have a team mindset. Deputy Mayor Banks is in charge of the entire law enforcement apparatus in the city. That includes everything from hospitals to police to sheriffs. It's imperative that we cross-collaborate and communicate. That's how we operate. All of us operate in one unison, and some of those operations, like what we did during J’Ouvert. It took a cross-section of law enforcement agencies, and it's easier when the deputy mayor can reach out to those agencies with the commissioners. So we have a great collaboration. Every week the commissioner and I meet with the deputy mayor of public safety. That is how we function as a team.

Question: Why? Let me just ask why is his office not here?

Question: Mr. Mayor, my colleague Matt Katz earlier this week did a story in which you released some images from Rikers that show inmates defecating in a holding area, lying near feces, needing medical attention. How are you going to respond to those? How is that acceptable? And what do you say to advocates that this is proof that the city needs to accept the federal receivership?

Mayor Adams: I say to advocates that believe we need a federal receivership to go to the Federal House of Detention on Third Avenue. Quality-care of individuals who are in custody should be determined by the entities who are responsible. We are responsible. I have not seen the video we're talking about. I don't know when it was produced. There's not much I know about it, but we're going to look into any allegation of inappropriate behavior and make sure it's done right. The federal oversight has stated we're moving in the right direction. This is the federal monitor. The federal monitor is stating that this administration is moving in the right direction to fix some of those problems that we have witnessed for decades. And so I have full confidence in Commissioner Molina to do what is right, and we're going to review and look over any type of evidence of any improper or inappropriate atmospheres.

Question: Mr. Mayor?

Mayor Adams: Yes, sir.

Question: The Post reported about an hour ago that you're reaching a deal with Norwegian Cruise Lines to house immigrants that have fled to the city or have been bussed here. Is there a more permanent solution after that? Because obviously the space from the cruise ships, or the would-be cruise ships, would run out at the rate they're being bused here.

Mayor Adams: When we get an announcement of any type of deal, we will make it public with a level of transparency. And so any premature announcement of a deal that was reached, they know more than I do.

Question: I wanted to ask about the tent shelter at Orchard Beach as well as the potential for the cruise ship. The administration, even (inaudible) before the Council earlier is saying that the keyword here is voluntary, that these shelters are going to be voluntary for migrants who are transported there. And I'm wondering how is your administration going to communicate that to migrants that have arrived? As they arrive, at what authority are they going to be told that they could either go to the tent facility at Orchard Beach or they could go to a shelter indoors? So when and how is that going to be?

Mayor Adams: We are not going to do what was done in Texas. We are going to give a level of clarity and let the asylum seekers and migrants know exactly what's available in the city and be as cooperative as possible. This is a humanitarian crisis that was created by human hands, and we are faced with it. My ultimate responsibility, I've said this over and over again, are to New Yorkers. That is my ultimate responsibility to the people of this city. And we are going to continue to do what no other municipality is doing. A lot of people are missing that. No other municipality is doing what New York City is doing as well as shelter, education, as well as healthcare. We have gone beyond the call of duty to make sure that we are treating people with a humane way, and we're going to try to be as communicative as possible.

Question: Voluntary. Doesn't that defeat the purpose?

Question: (Inaudible.)

Mayor Adams: This contractor has worked on so many projects. I don't know what their voting pattern is, if they vote for Trump or not. I mean, that's like someone drives Trump in a cab. Do we all of a sudden not take that cab again? Listen, these are professionals that have done a good job and many projects in the city. And they won a contract to do something else. We are not, we weren't aware of that.

(Crosstalk.)

Question: Mr. Mayor, have you heard more about the man who stabbed the medic to death? Did he have any history with mental illness? Did his family (inaudible) any intervention from the city?

Mayor Adams: We are not allowed to go into the mental health of someone. The Police Department did their briefing, and they're going to report whatever information that they are allowed to report. We lost a hero, and it's really unfortunate. When we look at the mental health crisis that our city and country is facing right now. We have to make sure that people are getting the proper care, and that means opening up more mental health beds. That means looking at Kendra's Law. I've been talking about this for some time now. We can't continue to ignore that we have a mental health crisis, and we have to do a better job in dealing with those who need that wraparound care.

Mayor Adams: Okay. Thank you.

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