Hello everybody… This month, I want to talk about 19-506b1 of the New York City Administrative Code and New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 510 2-a, which mandates a 60-day New York State Department of Motor Vehicle registration and license suspension for a first violation of 19-506b1.
This rule is often enforced by TLC at the airports to keep unwanted solicitation by persons unlicensed by TLC from operating and stealing rides from yellow cabs and other duly licensed for hire vehicle drivers. TLC can enforce 19-506b1 across the city, including hotels, major transportation hubs, hospitals or shopping centers.
19-506 b1 states: “Except as provided in paragraph 2 of this subdivision, any person who shall permit another to operate or who shall knowingly operate or offer to operate for hire any vehicle as a taxicab, coach, wheelchair accessible van, commuter van, HAIL vehicle or for-hire vehicle in the city, without first having obtained or knowing that another has obtained a license for such vehicle pursuant to the provisions of section 19-504 of this chapter, shall be guilty of a violation, and upon conviction in the criminal court shall be punished by a fine of not less than $1,000 or more than $2,000 or imprisonment for not more than 60 days, or both such fine and imprisonment. This paragraph shall apply to the owner of such vehicle and, if different, to the operator of such vehicle.”
This rule is most often prosecuted at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) by the TLC prosecution department, although the NYPD can bring the case into criminal court, and it is theoretically possible to serve jail time for being an unlicensed for-hire vehicle (FHV) operator in NYC. At OATH, a fine of $2,000 can be imposed for one single occurrence of violation of 19-506b1.
I know it can feel like unlicensed drivers are poaching rides all over the city but remember: this rule is there to protect licensed professionals. Yellow cab and FHV drivers who spend time, money and effort to operate legally in New York City should also note another law that was passed several years ago and incorporated into New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL): Section 510 2-a of the VTL provides a severe penalty to those who violate 19-506b1 of the New York City administrative code – even for a first offense.
510 2-a reads, in part: “Mandatory suspension and revocation of a license and registration in certain cases. (a) Within seven days after conviction for a violation of any local law which prohibits the knowing operation or offering to operate or permitting the operation for hire of any vehicle as a taxicab, livery, as defined in section one hundred twenty-one-e of this chapter, coach, limousine, van or wheelchair accessible van or tow truck within the state without first having obtained an appropriate license therefor from the appropriate licensing authority and appropriate for-hire insurance from the appropriate insurance agency, the taxi and limousine commission or other local body having jurisdiction over such offenses with respect to such vehicles shall provide notice of such conviction to the commissioner in a manner agreed upon between any such local body and the commissioner. Upon receipt of such notice, the commissioner shall suspend the license of such operator and the registration of such vehicle for a period of 60 days.”
This means that an individual who is caught driving for hire without a TLC license in NYC will have his NYS driving privilege suspended for 60 days and an operator will have his NYS vehicle registration suspended for 60 days, which will cause insurance premiums to spike. Remember, total fines can amount to $4,000… and this is for a first offense.
As you can see, anyone who is caught and prosecuted at OATH by TLC under 19506b1 faces severe consequences and this rule protects TLC licensees.
Thank you for reading my article. Until next month, be well…
