Letters to the Editor
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‘Pedal Power’
The allegation by The New York Sun that my position on regulating the pedicab industry was influenced by lobbyists is wrong [Editorial, “Pedal Power,” April 13, 2007].
The suggestion that a neighbor and friend, Emily Giske, lobbied me or anyone else on the City Council on our pedicab bill is absolutely false.
While the firm she works for as a lobbyist does represent the Committee for Taxi Safety, she is not a lobbyist for that client or on this bill. She has never spoken to me or to anyone in the speaker’s office about this issue.
I support this legislation because I believe strongly in its merits. As the council member representing the theater district, I have heard numerous complaints over the years about congestion and safety concerns related to pedicabs and have been working on the issue since 2005.
My position has long been that we should limit and license operators and impose regulations on them in the same way we regulate horsedrawn carriages, taxis, and black cabs. The overall effect of our bill will lead to a safer, more responsible industry.
Whenever legislation comes before the City Council, we listen to the points of view of numerous stakeholders. Advocates and lobbyists have a right to communicate their position to us.
On this issue, we had numerous discussions with multiple groups and their representatives, including taxi drivers, pedicab operators, tour buses, horse-drawn carriage operators, hotels, Broadway theaters, livery drivers, the police department, transportation department, and others.
No one individual or group was afforded special access over another. And no one group provided undue influence.
The legislation took into account these varying points of view and attempted to arrive at a solution that struck the right balance between permitting this industry to flourish and guarding safety and traffic concerns.
The bill was negotiated closely with the Bloomberg administration, and we are disappointed that we must now move to pass it over the mayor’s veto.
But one only need go to the theater any evening to see the extent to which this unregulated industry needs to be reined in.
CHRISTINE QUINN
Speaker, New York City Council
New York, N.Y.
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