Angry taxi drivers converged on a Newburgh City Council meeting on Monday night to complain that police are ticketing them for illegally parking. City of Newburgh Police are also demanding private Social Security numbers, the cabbies said.
Taxi drivers insisted they should be entitled to block traffic until they finish conducting their business. Although some blatantly admitted to breaking local laws, they were outraged that the police are ticketing them.
Several cabbies were also outraged that city cops are demanding their private Social Security cards, even after producing valid New York State driver’s licenses. Council members and taxi drivers alike suggested it is suspicious that certain officers demanded such private information and then became argumentative when the drivers thought it was odd.
The City of Newburgh Police Department’s Commissioner and Chief will now be ordered to appear in front of their bosses at an upcoming City Council meeting to explain why their officers are demanding private Social Security numbers, even after valid government identifications have been produced.
Miguel Cerrato, who represents the Taxi Association and independent drivers, told the City Council, “The City of Newburgh Police is ticketing the taxi drivers every time that we pick up or drop off passengers, calling it double parking.” He claimed the taxi drivers are not double parking, but are “stopping” to pick up and drop off their fares.
“There are a lot of situations where the drivers are complaining that the Police Commissioner, in one case, asked a driver, ‘Give me your Social Security number’,” Cerrato said.
City Manager Todd Venning explained that double parking is prohibited by the City Code. He noted that commercial vehicles actively unloading are exempt for up to 30 minutes, but taxis are not considered commercial vehicles. Venning also said taxi drivers have previously been advised that if they are picking up a fare and the customer is not ready, they should circle around the block until the customer decides to come outside.
Taxi driver Jose Martinez-Reyes told the Council that a police officer pulled him over and he produced all of his pertinent documentation, including his driver’s license. He said the officer noticed his taxi permit and license displayed in his windshield and “grabbed” the paperwork. He said the officer then wrote him a ticket for not having the paperwork displayed. The drama did not stop there, he said.
After writing the ticket, the officer allegedly demanded Martinez-Reyes’ private Social Security number. When the taxi driver asked the officer why she needed it, she allegedly became argumentative and threatened to arrest him.
Another taxi driver, known only as Francis, told the Council that he has done everything the police asked for but he continues getting pulled over. He said the police ignore regular cars that are illegally double parked and only target taxis.
“I hope that they’re also targeting all of the other people that are double parking,” Councilwoman Ramona Monteverde exclaimed later in the meeting. She said she often sees cars on Liberty Street near Renwick Street that are double parked “and I don’t see any police officers over there ticketing those folks!”
The Newburgh News published a news article and video on February 5, 2023 (story and video here) showing a slew of personal vehicles continuously park in the middle of the only two lanes of traffic on Water Street while they head inside to chow down or pick up their orders. The Parking Enforcement Officer drove by at least three times in one hour, getting stuck in traffic himself, and did nothing to address the illegally parked cars. Following the article, police officers and parking enforcement officers still have not taken any steps to handle the problem.
Francis went on to discuss police asking for Social Security numbers. “Some police officers, when they pull you over, they give you this nasty attitude,” he stated. He noted that the officers are confused about the content in taxi licenses and inspections. “They don’t even know what we’re showing them,” he said. Instead, some officers overreact because they’re confused, he added.
An owner of a taxi company said a police officer handed him a ticket and then demanded his Social Security number. “The officer threatened that he was going to arrest me,” he said, explaining that he ignored the officer’s threats and did not provide his Social Security number.
Councilman Anthony Grice spoke on the issues. “I can understand waiting for five minutes to pick up someone … and certainly we’ll support that,” he explained. “At the same time, I hate double parking. I hate when anyone does it, so it needs to be enforced.”
Grice explained that he was among several Council members who fought hard to pass New York State’s Green Light Law, which negates the need for a driver to provide their Social Security number. “To ask someone for their Social Security card to me just seems a little suspect,” he observed.
Councilwoman Giselle Martinez said her father was previously pulled over by a police officer who demanded his Social Security number. “Whoever these officers are have to be held accountable,” she insisted.
“It kind of breaks my heart that there’s this type of profiling happening,” Martinez added. “I would really like to have a conversation with our Commissioner, with our Chief, with our Police Department, ticketing, and Parking Enforcement, about why our taxi drivers are getting pulled over for waiting for their clients.”
Martinez offered her “full support” to the taxi drivers and suggested amending the City Code so the cabbies could stop long enough to pick up their customers.
Councilman Omari Shakur joked, “I thought I was the only person in Newburgh that got a ticket for double parking, but it seems like they going after you all now.”
Shakur said he does not believe this directive came from the police department. He explained that there are traffic problems in the City of Newburgh, especially on Broadway. “I know our officers are trying to alleviate a lot of the stuff that’s happening on Broadway, so I hope that’s what’s going on.”
Mayor Torrance Harvey said there is a spot on a Court Appearance Ticket for an officer to write a Social Security number if a person does not have identification. However, each of the cabbies who spoke at the meeting reported giving police their driver’s licenses first. Police positively identified the drivers and successfully wrote the tickets before demanding their Social Security information afterward, the drivers claimed.
Monteverde said sternly, “What I would like for the next either work session or Council meeting is the Police Chief and the Commissioner to be here to explain what’s going on because what’s happening is not okay with me and I hope with the rest of the Council.”
Monteverde also questioned the new ticketing blitz, questioning if rookie officers are being trained to write as many tickets as possible and to target taxi drivers. She said, “I would ask that the Commissioner address this as soon as possible and I want to hear from him, as I’m sure you all want to hear from him as well.”
“I don’t understand this, ask for Social Security numbers,” Monteverde questioned. “I don’t think so!”
