Final vote set for March 22; Dial-a-Ride raises other issues
After a series of energized dialogues between Tuckahoe Mayor John Fitzpatrick (D) and Anthony Campanile, co-owner of Crestwood Taxi on Columbus Avenue in the village, it appears that a compromise may have been reached regarding the way in which taxi drivers are licensed in Tuckahoe.

The public hearing on whether or not to transfer the responsibility for licensing taxi drivers based out of the Village of Tuckahoe to the Westchester County Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) away from the village itself was opened at the Dec. 7 meeting of the Tuckahoe Village Board.

Since the beginning of the discussion, when the mayor had expressed interest in shifting licensing of taxi drivers, cabs and businesses to the county, the proposal was pared down to include just the drivers.

However, Campanile, co-owner of the only taxi company currently in Tuckahoe, had continued to express discontent about the transfer of licensing, which would add an extra $75 to the processing fees of each renewal. Campanile had stated that a number of his drivers, if faced with the higher TLC fees, would seek another line of work.

After three months of conversation, though, the newest manifestation of the amendment to village code concerning “Public Carriages and Hacks” includes a
compromise measure: a “grandfather clause” that allows existing drivers already licensed in the village to continue to fall under the village’s supervision.

The new language in the amendment set March 1, the date of the Tuckahoe Village Board meeting, as the dividing line – any drivers licensed in the village on or prior to that date would remain licensed by the village, while any licensees after March 1 would automatically fall to the county.

A twist in this compromise plan is that, due to the fact that many of the changes to the law presented at Monday night’s meeting were quite new, the board was forced to table the vote until its March 22 meeting, allowing the public the minimum amount of time to review the changes before the vote takes place. Fitzpatrick stated that if any new drivers seek to be licensed in the interim, they should obtain licenses from the TLC.

In a conversation Tuesday, Campanile reiterated his thoughts from the board meeting, expressing his support for the compromise.

“I think it’s a reasonable agreement,” he said. “I’m glad the board hopefully took my comments into consideration [and] I’m glad to see they plan to keep my current drivers in the Village of Tuckahoe.”

Campanile continued, saying that he hoped that the board would unanimously vote to enact the compromise at the March 22 meeting.

Fitzpatrick said that based on the discussions he has taken part in with the other board members, it seems likely that the compromise measure will go through with or without his support.

“I think that the board is of [a] mind to ratify the law,” he said. “I’m still debating how I’m voting on this, but it looks like it has enough votes in its current form for it to be moved forward.”

Expressing his dissatisfaction with the apparent resolution of the licensing issue, the mayor said, “I don’t think it was a good idea to compromise this. I think the TLC offers a better plan for that oversight than is currently offered in Tuckahoe.”

The recent sparring over the village’s fledgling taxi industry also manifested itself Monday night in a resolution about the Dial-a-Ride program, a village-sponsored program which provides discounted taxi rides to seniors through the sale of village-subsidized tickets.

Trustee Luigi Marcoccia (R) and Deputy Mayor Steve Ecklond (R) sought to table the resolution, which was intended to set the number of Dial-a-Ride tickets required for a one-way trip in Tuckahoe and for a one-way trip anywhere within the limits of Eastchester (for one and three tickets, respectively).

Both men stated that their reasoning for seeking a delay was simply to clarify with Village Attorney John Cavallaro the role that the village can have in setting rates outside of village boundaries.

Although she expressed her support for the compromise on licensing, Trustee Clare Gorman (D) disagreed with her colleagues on tabling the Dial-a-Ride resolution.
“I thought we needed to have it really set what the rates were for [the seniors],” said Gorman. “I wanted to make sure seniors knew exactly what they had to pay.”
Marcoccia said, although he would have liked more time for the resolution, “I’m happy that this issue is behind us, and hopefully it works for all parties involved.”
Cavallaro, for his part, stated at the meeting that the resolution was an effort to codify what had been standard policy for the Dial-a-Ride.

“There’s a past practice that has developed,” said Cavallaro. “Really what we’re doing is we’re memorializing a past practice.”

Campanile called Cavallaro’s statement “100 percent false,” saying that he has always set his own Dial-a-Ride rates in the town, where he feels the village has no authority.

“I think they should have stuck with the rate chart on file with the Village of Tuckahoe,” said Campanile. “I don’t feel they have the right to govern my rates outside of the village.”

Fitzpatrick has maintained that, because Crestwood Taxi is located in Tuckahoe, the village does, in fact, have the right to establish rates for the aspects of the Dial-a-Ride program that extend beyond the village’s borders.

Another resolution, regarding the cost of the Dial-a-Ride tickets to seniors and the amount that the village would be required to reimburse the taxi company for tickets, was mistakenly placed on the March 1 agenda and will come up at the Monday, March 22 meeting, along with the official vote on the licensing procedures.

Campanile said he hopes to have another meeting with the village to sort out the extent of the village’s oversight in controlling rates prior to the next meeting.