Hello to all! It’s hard to believe we’re about halfway through 2025. The saying goes “April showers bring May flowers,” but so far it feels like the showers haven’t stopped. As we make our way through June, let’s hope for some nicer weather as the temperature creeps up! There are a few updates I want to give everyone, so let’s jump into it.
First, as many of you are likely aware by now, a number of passenger pick-up changes have gone into effect at JFK Airport. Firstly, as of May 6th, all FHV customer pick-ups were relocated to the Lefferts Boulevard Pick-Up/Drop-off Lot, next to the AirTrain station in Howard Beach.
Also, as of May 13th, pick-ups at Terminal 4 were relocated to Lot 66, the same location that was used last year for this terminal. For Terminal 4, the changes are only in effect from 12:00pm to 2:00am. Outside of these times, pick-ups occur as normal, at the terminal frontage.
As I’ve written before, beyond just the issue of government picking winners and losers by letting yellow cabs continue to pick up at the curb, the Port Authority and the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission has a responsibility to combat illegal hustling. As far as I can tell, they are not meeting this responsibility, and illegal hustling is as bad as it’s ever been. This really is a slap in the face to everyone else who plays by the rules – and of course, continues to put passengers in danger as well.
After the Port Authority’s public commitment to ramping up enforcement, I hope to see some progress made on this issue. As we move further into the summer, we will also be keeping a close watch for any announcements regarding when these curbside changes will end. The Port Authority has said they feel confident with Labor Day as their target, but that remains to be seen.
Next, let’s move on to some news regarding congestion pricing. Last month, the New York Times published a detailed article, with information gathered from dozens of sources, including the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), detailing many of the effects that congestion pricing has had since it began. I won’t get too into the weeds on this, as I would strongly recommend everyone read the article, but let’s summarize it. There are fewer cars on the street, so traffic speeds, peak commute times and New Jersey commutes are all faster. Even local buses are faster and operating with fewer delays. Transit ridership is up massively, visitors to the congestion pricing zone are up, and CitiBike trips are up both in and out of the zone.
Car crash injuries, parking violations, and traffic noise complaints are all down, and traffic outside of the zone has not gotten worse despite many fearing it would. It’s too soon to say how the plan is affecting pollution or its economic effect on low-income commuters, but restaurants and Broadway are holding up and public opinion of the plan is improving slightly.
These are just some of the effects that the article touches on. There’s a lot more that it covers – so again, I encourage you to read it.
Moving on to some news from The Black Car Fund, in May we held our second resource fair of the year at our Driver Education Center in Long Island City. Once again, it was a great opportunity to speak with drivers and connect them with all the benefits and resources that we can.
Thank you to our partners, including The Independent Drivers Guild, Drivers Benefits, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the Hebrew Free Loan Society for joining us and providing their services to the drivers in attendance. Also, congratulations to the drivers who won our raffles and went home with great prizes, like dashcams and gift cards!
Throughout June and July, we will be working on our next set of resource fairs! In August, we will have another fair at our Driver Education Center in Long Island City, and in September, we will hold our next resource fair for upstate drivers near Buffalo! Keep an eye out for more information and official announcements coming soon!
Before I wrap up, I want to tell you something that I bet you didn’t know! Cyclists in New York City are actually legally allowed to proceed through intersections during a red light, when the pedestrian “walk” signal is illuminated. Drivers are definitely not allowed to do this, so I think most people assume that cyclists wouldn’t be either. However, it has been legal for cyclists since 2019, and the issue came up recently in a court case where a cyclist challenged a red-light ticket she received in 2022. A Manhattan Supreme Court judge confirmed its legality, making it clear that communicating this type of information to New Yorkers needs to get better.
Until next time!
