FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NYC FAITH LEADERS SUPPORT FOR-HIRE VEHICLE BILLS
August 3, 2018
The Honorable City Council Speaker Corey Johnson
City Hall Office, New York, NY 10007
Dear Speaker Johnson,
As New Yorkers of faith, we have watched with growing concern as corporate greed has pushed the people who drive our taxis and for-hire vehicles to the limit. The recent suicides of taxi drivers are a wake-up call that we must act. The time has come to support legislation in the City Council that will promote fair working conditions, environmental justice, relieve traffic congestion, and create hope.
In the absence of regulations, the for-hire car industry has pushed more than 80,000 vehicles into the streets since 2013. This growth is largely the result of additional cars from the four largest app-based services, Uber, Lyft, Via and Juno. The results are visible citywide: most taxi and for-hire vehicles are empty at least 40 percent of the time, reducing driver wages dramatically and making it impossible for drivers to earn a decent living; traffic in the Central Business District has slowed 21% since 2010; and our children cannot afford the added exhaust of even more cars in a city that already struggles with asthma.
The City Council has proposed a legislative package that aims to address these troubling trends. [Taxi/Uber legislation proposals: Levin: Proposed Int. No. 144-B – 8/1/18 Lander: Proposed Int. No. 890-B – 8/1/18 Daiz: Proposed Int. No. 838-C – 8/1/18 Diaz: Proposed Int. No. 634-B – 8/1/18 Diaz: Proposed Int. No. 958-A – 8/1/18] After a temporary halt to any new cars on the streets, the City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission will be able to control further growth in the number of new cars, create employment standards that will reduce the incentive to have empty vehicles in the street and ensure that drivers are paid $15.00 per hour, plus expenses. This will relieve congestion, reduce emissions and lift up tens of thousands of hardworking families.
The Micah Table, The Labor-Religion Coalition of New York, and many other faith organizations and communities stood with fast food and airport workers in their struggle for dignity and economic justice. Now we join the City Council in its efforts to ensure that New Yorkers who drive cars for a living have the same shot at the American Dream.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Michael Feinberg,
Executive Director, The Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition
The Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer,
Executive Director, The Interfaith Center of New York
The Rev. Joel Gibson,
Executive Director, The Micah Table
Hanadi Doleh,
Program Associate for Community Partnerships, The Interfaith Center of New York
Rabbi Joseph Potasnik,
Executive Vice President, The New York Board of Rabbis
Rabbi Samuel Weintraub,
Kane Street Synagogue, Brooklyn
Rabbi Simkha Y Weintraub, LCSW,
The Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services
Al-Hajj Talib Abdur-Rashid,
Imam, The Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood Inc. & Chair, The Association of African American Imams
Rev. Dr. Raymond Rivera,
President/Senior Pastor, Latino Pastoral Action Center/Sanctuary Church
Imam Souleimane Konate,
Masjid Aqsa Salam & The Council of African Imams in America, Inc
Cheikh Ahmed Mbareck,
Executive Director, Majlis Ashura (Islamic Leadership Council) of New York
Sunita Viswanatha,
Founder, Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus.
Dr. Debbie Almontaser,
Muslim Consultative Network
Dr. Rabbi Barat Ellman,
Adjunct Professor, Fordham University & Adjunct Faculty, Bard Prison Initiative
Harpreet Singh Toor,
Chairman, Public Policy & External Affairs, The Sikh Cultural Society
Santokh Singh,
General Secretary, Shri Guru Ravidas Sabha of New York
Geshe Tashi Dorje Sherpa,
Director, Center for Universal Peace
Rev. Dr. TK Nakagaki,
President of the Heiwa Peace and Reconciliation Foundation of New York
Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis,
Senior Minister, Middle Collegiate Church
Minister Rob Stephens,
Minister for Congregational Life, Middle Collegiate Church
Dr. Diane Steinman,
Co-Chair Immigration Committee, The Micah Table
Bishop Orlando Findlayter,
Senior Pastor, New Hope Christian Fellowship
Rev. Daryl Bloodsaw,
First Baptist Church of Crown Heights
Elder James Richmond,
Seventh Day Adventist Church, Greater New York Conference
Rev. Dr. Anthony M. Graham,
New Hope Family Worship Center Bishop
Kareem Evans,
Charity Neighborhood Baptist Church
Rev. Clive Neal,
Bedford Central Presbyterian Church
Rev. Evan Gray,
Macedonia Baptist Church
Rev. Hiram Ratliff,
New Tabernacle Baptist Church
The Rev. Elizabeth G. Maxwell,
Rector, Church of the Ascension
The Rev. John E. Denaro,
Rector, St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church, Brooklyn
The Rev. Dr. Mary Foulke,
Rector, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Harlem
The Rev. Dr. Clyde Kuemmerle,
Executive Director, Ecclesia Ministries of New York
Brother Anthony Zuba,
Capuchin Franciscans & Pastoral Associate, Church of the Good Shepherd, New York, NY
Fr. Luis Barrios, Ph.D., STM,
Priest-in-Charge, Holyrood Church/ Iglesia Santa Cruz
Rev. Dr. Samuel Cruz,
Associate Professor of Church and Society, Union Theological Seminary
Rabbi José Rolando Matalon,
B’nai Jeshurun NYC
Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis,
Director, Kairos Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice
The Rev. Winnie Varghese,
Trinity Church Wall Street
The Rev. John Merz,
The Episcopal Church of the Ascension, Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Rev. Dr. Daniel Dupree,
Greater Universal Baptist Church
Pastor James Osei-Kofi,
Bethesda Healing Center
Bishop Sylveta Hamilton-Gonzales,
Qkingdom Ministries
Bishop D.A. Sherron,
Global Fire Church
Rabbi Rachel Timoner,
Senior Rabbi, Congregation Beth Elohim, Brooklyn
Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum,
Senior Rabbi, Beit Simchat Torah
Rev. Stephen C. Holton, STM,
St. James Episcopal Church, North Salem
Pastor Nigel Pearce,
Grace Church of Harlem
Rev. Dr. Robert L. Brashear,
Pastor Emeritus, West Park Church
Minister Patricia Malcolm,
Churches United to Save and Heal (CUSH)
Russ Jennings,
Love in a Dangerous Time Podcast
Ann Toback,
Executive Director, The Workmen’s Circle
Rev. Michael Livingston,
Senior Executive Minister, The Riverside Church in the City of New York
The Rev. Dr. Katharine R. Henderson,
President, Auburn Seminary
Dr. Sana Qutubuddin,
Muslim Peace Coalition
Imam Abu Sufian,
Madina Masjid, Brooklyn
Naureen Akhtar,
Organizer, Ocasio2018 & ICLA Fellow, The Interfaith Center of New York
Rev. Luis-Alfredo Cartagena Zayas,
Outreach Pastor, Park Avenue Christian Church (DoC)/UCC
Chaplain Kim Eliano,
The Micah Institute
Sheik Hussein Atta,
Ogden Islamic Center
Imam Tahirou Sawadogo,
Masjid Al Wadud
Imam Segouna,
Bronx Islamic Center
Rev. Dr. Daniel Dupree,
Greater Universal Baptist
Rev. Ebenezer Aduku,
John Wesley United Methodist Church
Imam Abdulah Bajara,
Islamic Cultural Center of the Bronx
Imam Jounadi Diaby,
Luqman Islamic Center
Aisha Al Adawiya,
Founder, Women In Islam, Inc.
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https://interfaithcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Vehicle-Bills.pdf
