Taxi workers in New York City closed traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge on Wednesday, reviving a tactic they have used since the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic to support their demand for debt cancellation for loans medallions.

The New York Taxi Workers Alliance (NYTWA) shared a video of the action on social media:

A press release from the 25,000-member union indicates that dozens of yellow cab driver-owners have been implicated in the action.

The afternoon’s direct action on the iconic bridge was witnessed earlier in the day at a city council hearing on taxi driver debt and a subsequent rally outside the chief’s home. majority Senator Chuck Schumer in Brooklyn.

The union said it was happy that Schumer had “answered our call” after issuing a statement in favor of debt cancellation. In a statement shared by the union, Schumer said: “I support the New York Taxi Workers Alliance in its urgent mission to forge a financial lifeline for their hard-pressed members to restructure Medallion debt, to save their future retirement. and to have a fair chance to earn a living wage for all of their many hours behind the wheel. “

Now, they say, the pressure must be focused on New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio to deal with what drivers and their advocates are describing as an economic crisis.

Drivers have experienced an 80 to 90% drop in ridership since March 2020. Like CNN reported last month:

Traditionally, taxis in large cities require medallions, official licenses that allow the exclusivity of yellow taxis to pick up street calls. The new medallions are either sold by the city or, more commonly, bought at auction.

In 2018, nine for-hire drivers in New York City committed suicide, crushed under the financial pressure of debts owed on their medallions. Three of them were drivers and owners of yellow taxis.

Local Sunnyside Post Tuesday sharp to the main reports of the New York Times in 2019, claiming that he “found out that much of the devastation was caused by a handful of taxi company owners – in concert with unscrupulous lenders and city officials – who artificially raised the price of cars. medallions year after year “.

New York State Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou also amplified the Times reporting in the context of driver action, Tweeter: “The predatory loans that have been tolerated by the city and state used to help some people and hurt others were designed to trap people in a cycle of debt.”

Hedge funds are also now to pick up the medallions.

“A hardworking taxi medallion and owner-driver entered this industry believing the city would run a fair system,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said. said in november. “Instead, many of these workers and small business owners have been sent into a burrow of financial ruin.”

The union is demanding that outstanding medallion loans be capped at $ 125,000 and refinanced “for no more than 20 years at $ 757 per month (4% interest rate).”

“The drivers took direct action today and sent Congress an SOS, and Senator Schumer responded to our call,” NYTWA Executive Director Bhairavi Desai said in a statement on Wednesday. But the mayor, Desai said, “has no more excuses.”

De Blasio has said he is waiting for federal funds before taking action. Now we have a pledge of support from the official the mayor is relying on to provide this federal aid to the city. “Act now and end this. poverty and debt crisis,” Desai said.

Among the victims of the crisis is the father of Felicia Singh, a resident of Queens running for a seat on the city council. In a Twitter thread on Tuesday, she Noted that “over 950 medallion owners have had to file for bankruptcy.”

“Due to our inability to pay our taxi locket loan, my dad had to file for bankruptcy,” she tweeted. “Last Friday the bankruptcy court put a ‘For Sale’ sign on our house. There is already an offer for our house and the trustees are ready to sell.”

Until @NYCMayorgives taxi drivers debt relief, “Singh tweeted,” families will continue to lose their income and their homes. “