An advocacy group for New York’s taxi drivers is calling for stricter safety measures and laws after two cabbies were shot in Brooklyn within the last two weeks.
The most recent incident took place early Friday morning in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood, when a 50-year-old driver was shot in the face shortly after 4 a.m. near 99 Portland Ave., police said. He was taken to Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he remains in stable condition, according to police. There have been no arrests, and the investigation is ongoing.
The incident follows another early morning shooting on July 11 in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Police said a man approached a 21-year-old livery cab driver near 525 Parkside Ave. around 4:15 a.m. and demanded money and the keys to the vehicle. The man then shot the cab driver in the face as he fled the scene, according to police. The driver was taken to Kings County Hospital in stable condition, police said.
Drivers put themselves at risk on the job daily, said Fernando Mateo, the founder and spokesperson of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, which represents over 175,000 drivers.
“Everyone that gets into your car is a stranger, every block you drive by could be a threat and every time you stop to pick up or drop off a passenger, you can get robbed, assaulted or injured,” he said.
Mateo said he and others have reached out to governmental agencies to see what compensation the most recent victim can receive. In a video sent to local news outlets on Friday, Mateo also said GoFundMe pages were being set up for both drivers.
“He’s going to be out of work for a while, his bills are still going to pile up, his rent, his food, his family,” said Mateo.
Mateo also said he thinks every driver in New York City should have a camera in their vehicle to help with investigations. A pilot program launched by his organization last year equipped 500 cabs with cameras, ABC7 reported.
Mateo's organization is also blaming a “lapsed, or nonexistent criminal justice system” in recent years, including policing under Zohran Mamdani’s administration. (Mateo unsuccessfully ran as a Republican in the 2021 mayoral election.)
“We believe that, with this administration, we’re going to see a peak in crime against cab drivers and businesses in general,” he said.
The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.
The 88th Precinct, which includes Fort Greene, tallied two shooting incidents through July 19 of this year, according to NYPD data — compared to six last year. Meanwhile, the 71st Precinct, which includes Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, counted eight shooting incidents through July 19 of this year, a dramatic increase from just three last year.
Mateo also said the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers plans on offering a cash prize for information that could lead to an arrest, but declined to share how much the prize will be until a Sunday afternoon press conference.
