Kiryas Joel, NY – In these days, plans are being discussed to draft a new local village taxi law to bring an end to increasing troubles that come along with outsider dangerous cab service in Kiryas Joel.
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As reported before and as is well known, several non-Jewish taxi firms infiltrated KJ in the past years. Because their fees were somewhat less than what the heimish taxi companies charge, they succeeded in getting a market share among KJ residents.
Unfortunately, the lower prices cost KJ residents a big price. The taxi firms introduced immoral drivers who caused inconvenience and untold sorrow both bodily and spiritually.
Some drivers are here illegally and don’t even have a valid driver’s license. Some don’t have their vehicles properly registered, and nobody can track them down if they commit a crime, God forbid.
The Village Public Safety was involved in a number of incidents concerning these individuals, and it became evident that some of them have a horribly criminal record. Their presence in the village puts all residents in danger both bodily and spiritually.
The cry of the heartbroken families was heard by village officials, begging them to take drastic measures to come up with a solution to the heaven-reaching problem.
In light of this, the village management convened to discuss plans on how to bring about an end to the growing problem in a legal manner, which will force these individuals to get the hell out of here.
After lengthy deliberations in the presence of competent attorneys, several alternative drafts are currently being refined into laws that will reduce the influx of unfavorable taxicabs and curb their ability to spread and saw further damages, God forbid.
Some the plans considered include: A special village permit and medallion that every driver will have to obtain in order to drive a taxi in village of KJ. To get the medallion, the vehicle will have to be registered with the village and drivers undergo a criminal background check to ensure they don’t have a criminal record.
Another plan submitted is that every taxi vehicle should be painted with an indentifying code number along with a telephone number. This will enable residents to make note of the code number and call in with complaints about the driver, and the Village Public Safety officers will address the issue.
According to current plans, registration will have to be renewed annually, which will allow officials to review whether there were any problems with that driver. Thus, it is our hopes that, God willing, the aforementioned troubles will be eliminated as far as possible.
Quite understandable, the law will benefit the five heimish and responsible taxi firms operating in KJ, which provide respectable jobs to tens of Hassidic men. The law will strengthen the ability of KJ residents to further patronize their own brethren.
Presently, village officials are working on the details of the law and how the Public Safety will enforce it. The new law will, God willing, go into effect shortly for the benefit of the general public.
What type of problems are we talking about? someone please enlighten me.
It sounds scary bodily and spiritually.
I thought we live in America. If the local residents are so worried about these “dangerous” taxi drivers don’t use them. They will not keep coming back to the area if they get no business.
How about a little responsibility by the people for a change.
No one seem to care about the way that the car service drivers in Monsey speed recklessly through the streets.
Where are the Monsey Rabbonim on this?
smart folks way to go!!!! keep the crime out and the people safe.
any clue why the heimish cxharge more? do they pay more for gas? or registration? license?
why not have the best of both worlds the crime free goy with cheap rates who speaks yiddish drinks kosher.
soon as they refuse a person who isnt heimish they will have their butts sued off. so plan it well and get it right the first time!
Hatzlacha
They want to discriminate between Jewish and NonJewish drivers. What a shame and outrage.
Fascinating — demonize the humanity of your competition, in this instance, hard working men and women trying to provide for their families, and then seek to illegally constrain their right to earn a living. What an example to our children.
Good for KJ. Law or no law, I wouldn’t use the non-heimish taxis. I have seen enough of their dangerous behavior here in Monsey!!! Why do you want to entrust your life to some potential criminal who’s quite likely here illegally, drives crazy and talks to himself, just to save a few bucks?
Hopefully they will craft the law to avoid any problems with over discrimination against “non-heimeshe” men and women. A taxi service comes under various NYS laws that restrict discrimination based on race, religion, gender or ethnicity. Any responsible man or woman (both Yidden and goyim, including litvashe) with the proper driver’s license, vehicle registration, insurance and with no arrest record should be welcome to participate in the new program. Hopefully, some of the chasidim in the KJ community will seek to participate but the probelm originally was that the “heimeshe” car services raised their prices very high when gas prices were high but did not reduce them when gasoline prices camd down.
Just let women drive.
Where’s the evidence of “putting our children at risk?” This is the worst kind of made up racism — trading on people’s fears of “the other” to minimize business competition. we of all people should understand how dangerous and offensive it is to engage in this kind of behavior. What a chillul hashem.
It so happens to be the heimeshe car services went down with a whole dollar
What disgust me is how in finnacial bad times frum people can’t support our own.
Why do people go to goyim and support them when there are so many frum people in dire need for parnassah?
People who go to a goy to save 3-5.00 on clothing, food or taxis are sick in the head.
You give to a yid hashem will always pay us back. Give maser hashem will give you money. Bench and say brochos before and after all meals hashem will pay you back. Washing your hands with a FULL cup of water properly and hashem will bench you with money! G-d even says says about maser to test him! The only time in the torah where your, kaveh yochel allowed to “test” g-d.
Support your brothers and sisters and stop being cheap over 3.00
Do you think a non-Jew would be able to get such a permit? Or for that matter a non-Satar Chasid? This is America yet these guys want to leave in a Shtetl but the Shtetl had goyim!
I don’t know where people take out this against non-goyim, its against illegal criminals who drive recklessly around un-registered
Without livery plates,
The frum companies all are completely registered, paying taxes, and are completely legit, where there are “a lot” unregistered, unlicenses unmarked cabbies, and they should get off the streets,
And should this be an example to monsey tooooooo, yes
sounds like someone was raped or something but they’re scared to talk about it…(come on ppl read between the lines)….better to hide the ugly facts than to let people be know that something like that exists and be aware..
It’s a shame how political correct people became to the extent of being self hating Jews, There are many laws in Shulchan Urach regarding patronizing your own it is only human nature, the Chinese buy only by the Chinese, and no one accuses them of racisms, same with all other ethnic group, its only the people writing comments on Jewish blogs that jump up at every opportunity to knock their own you should be ashamed
If the licensing rules are followed openly and fairly, no problem.
If somehow goyish, or even just “non-Heimish” firms can’t get the licenses, I’d expect a very large lawsuit.
Even the heimish companies employ some non jewish drivers. This is not about religion, this is about safety. Some of these cab companies have drivers that ‘once had’ license in Mexico.
If there would be 1 yiddish owned company then you could question the motives, but there are 5.
Sometimes the Village does good things (more than sometimes) but the haters out there will find something to bash about anything.
Due to tznius problems, and respect for people’s feelings they are NOT putting the actual stories in the paper. But, there HAVE been some “incidents” with “outsiders” coming to get more than KJ’s business.
Read between the lines.
There IS a problem, and they are trying to solve it.
True, the residents should use Heimishe car services/taxis only anyway. It is foolish to call a “stranger” to take one’s beloved in his car, when there are available known persons.
Oy! The “stranger” is a dollar cheaper? That is a foolish way of saving a dollar. Safety comes first. Cities all over the country have had problems with unidentifyable drivers of car services, so they created licensing arrangements with fingerprinting and background checks.
Here is KJ doing the right thing. Here they are coming up to the standards of cities across the country, doing what other cities have done for many, many years, and You Bash Them For It? You bash them for trying to protect their young daughters-in-law? You bash them for trying to protect their wives? Their kids?
Will this help the heimishe car services? Sure
But that is not a bad thing. Should be not also help our own.
The heimishe car services were not over charging. They were just not undercharging. Sometimes a new “outsider” service, would begin with lower prices to get business, only to raise prices later. They can’t survive on the lower prices. Should the responsible heimishe companies meet every low price?
We need to send our loved ones with responsible drivers, whose background is checked. It is a good thing.
Don’t bash the good.
But, yes, it would have been better if people did this on their own. But regulation is sometimes necessary to save a life, or to prevent a nasty incident.
If something happened to YOUR wife or daughter, YOU would be screaming for this too.
tzedakah bederech kuved is the biggest tzedakah
does this mean that if the village found out that a particular heimishe taxi driver has been arrested in the past then his taxi licence would be revoked?