• TLC Accessibility Initiatives — Earn More
• Passenger Spotlight: A passenger writes about a happy experience
• NYC Well: Free confidential mental health and substance use support
• Relief and Pickup Stands: Find pickup stands and public restrooms throughout NYC.
• Get Covered NYC: Free assistance in getting low or no-cost health insurance
• Free Excel Course
• Free Harbor Seal Viewing
• How to Start Your Own Business - Free seminar
• Core Vision Empowerment Through Entrepreneurship
• Civil Service Exam Opportunities

A happy passenger wrote this post about an experience he had riding a yellow cab:
I left my wallet in his cab on Saturday, September 20 around 5pm. I paid cash with no receipt, didn’t have a name or medallion number. I have an 8:30 flight the next morning with no ID, no money or credit cards. He had told me I was his last fare and he was heading home to Long Island (he dropped me off in Battery Park). I called 311, and they were very helpful. I gave them pickup and drop off locations etc.

I went to sleep thinking there was virtually no chance to get the wallet back in time to make my flight. At around 6am, one of the valets at my hotel woke me up and told me to come downstairs to the lobby. As I stepped off the elevator, there is the driver, smiling and holding my wallet. Shock doesn’t begin to explain the feeling I had.

I offered him all the cash I had in my wallet—he refused, instead giving me a hug and wishing me luck. He had left Long Island at around 5am on a Sunday morning to make sure I had my wallet in time to make my flight. The hotel workers and my friends in NYC told me, and I knew this as I come to the city often, that they had never heard of anything like it. It proved to me that there are indeed some incredibly kind, good hearted people in this world.

You don’t have to suffer alone. For free, confidential mental health and substance use support:

• Call 888-NYC-WELL (888-692-9355)
• Text WELL to 65173
• Chat online

A counselor can provide short-term counseling, access to other mental health services, and appointment scheduling assistance in more than 200 languages.

For more information visit NYC Well. Talk. Text. Chat. 24/7

The City offers enrollment assistance if you would like to sign up for low or no-cost health insurance. A counselor can help you understand your insurance and medical care options, regardless of immigration status. Set up an appointment, call 311 or text CoveredNYC to 877877. The deadline for insurance enrollment is January 31, 2019.

Monday-Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm

Visit Get Covered NYC for appointment location details.

Click Taxi Relief Stand Inventory for the list of taxi/FHV relief and pickup stands and public restrooms throughout the five boroughs.

This class is geared for people who don’t know how to use Excel and want to have working knowledge of the program. Excel is a Microsoft program that helps people to organize, calculate, and visualize data using a spreadsheet. It is useful to record expenses and plan out budgets.

Mondays, January 14 and January 28, 11am

For more information visit the Sedgwick Library or call (718) 731-2074.

Sunday, January 13 at 10-11:30am



Orchard Beach Nature Center
Section 2 of Orchard Beach
Pelham Bay Park, Bronx

Visit Seal Exploration

The Department of Small Business Services (SBS) gives you an overview on how to start your own business. You will learn how to create a business plan, get permits and licenses, get financing and much more.

Tuesday, January 22, 2-4pm
New York Public Library
18 West 53rd Street New York, NY 10019
For more information visit: NYC Business Solutions RSVP

Core Vision Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to empower people through entrepreneurship programs, and low cost or free events and services. They partner with different organizations to provide:

• no-credit check low cost insurance
• low monthly auto lease payments
• low down payments
• free towing service
• affordable repair service with payment plan
• 24-hour full service garages

For more information visit Core Vision Empowerment Through Entrepreneurship

The NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission wants to remind you that there are two ways to make extra money while driving a wheelchair accessible yellow or green taxi:

• The TLC Accessible Dispatch program: each time you accept a “TLC WAV Dispatch” trip offered through your in-vehicle technology device, you can earn a Dispatch Fee payment of up to $30 for traveling to the passenger pickup. You will receive the Dispatch payment from Curb, CMT, or Athena (never collect this fee from the passenger!), in addition to the meter and TIF payments. Learn more about Accessible Dispatch, and make sure you are signed up with your technology provider to receive Dispatch Fee payments. Confused about the difference between Accessible Dispatch, Access-A-Ride, and e-hail trips? Read Accessible and E-Hail Trips: What Drivers Need to Know (PDF).
• The Taxi and SHL Improvement Fund (TIF and SHLIF): each metered trip that you drive in a wheelchair accessible yellow or green taxi makes you eligible for an extra $1 in addition to the metered fare. Remember, green WAV drivers are now eligible! You must enroll to be eligible for TIF or SHLIF payments, which are made on a TLC-issued debit card. Download and fill out the enrollment form Enrollment Instructions for Drivers (PDF). This Driver program allows you to get more money for the work you are already doing! If you are an owner/driver, don’t forget that TIF also supports medallion owners required to hack-up WAVs.

A civil service exam is an exam that determines a person’s qualification for a civil service title, a requirement for most New York City agency jobs. Each exam has a filing period of when applications are accepted. Before scheduling yourself for an exam, be sure to read to the official Notice of Examination (NOE)  which details the job responsibilities, qualifications you must meet, test description, filing period, expected exam date(s) and other relevant information. Applicants who pass an exam are ranked in order from highest to lowest score and are placed on a civil service list. When a City agency has a hiring need, people are called from this list based on the order of their score and interviewed. Visit NYC DCAS Current & Upcoming Exams for more information.