NEW YORK.- “Given the intensification of assaults, robberies, assaults and even deaths against taxi drivers, I call on the authorities, both police and the city, to provide greater protection to members of the taxi industry.”
The call is from the president of the NY State Federation of Taxi Drivers (NYSFTD) and the High Class consortium, Antonio Cabrera, who has thousands of drivers under his jurisdiction.
Among the most recent attacks against our drivers, we can highlight the assault on a taxi driver in front of 3013 Newkirk Avenue in Flatbush in Brooklyn, who at knifepoint deprived him of $400 as a result of his long workday.
Likewise, in the Bronx, another taxi driver was robbed at knifepoint on Reverend James A. Polite Avenue and 165th Street and was robbed of $87 dollars.
Also, the Dominican taxi driver Carlos Infante was assaulted and severely beaten by a couple to such an extent that he lost his left eye. This event occurred when answering a call at the 3560 Webster Avenue building in The Bronx.
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While, in Queens, the taxi driver Kutin Gyimah, 52, was beaten by 4 passengers (men and women) who did not pay for the service. The taxi driver tried to charge for his work, but was beaten so savagely that he died. This event occurred on 54th Street with Boulevard Avenue.
“Given these unfair and cowardly acts, I urge the New York community to cooperate with the police when they become aware of some of these incidents, calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-8477 or 1-888-577-4782,” he said. Cabrera.
“The community can contribute a lot, and we have to fight by all means the criminal acts against the taxi drivers who provide their services to hundreds of thousands of people daily, contributing to motorize the economy in the Big Apple”, he specified.
