New York – A federal bankruptcy judge has ruled that one of New York City’s top yellow cab operators must give up 46 coveted taxi medallions.
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Evgeny (yehv-GEH-nee) Freidman is referred to by New York’s tabloids as the so-called Taxi King. He owns more than 800 such lucrative city-auctioned medallions and various companies that manage a fleet of taxis.
But the Daily News (http://nydn.us/2iQIYX7 ) reports Saturday a judge ruled he must hand over the medallions and taxis to his creditors by Jan. 9.
The 44-year-old Freidman filed for bankruptcy this summer.
He has been sued in state court by Citibank which says it lent him millions of dollars in loans that have not been repaid.
The value of Taxi and Limousine Commission-issued medallions has dropped with the rise of app-based ride-sharing companies.
Years ago, there were many Jewish taxi cab operators in NYC. Now, all of the cabbies are from Muslim countries, Latin American countries, or from the West Indies. Not all of them know the streets in NYC, or which streets to avoid. On the other hand, to become a licensed taxi operator in London, UK, one must past an extensive test, which shows that the operator knows where all of the streets in London, are located.