Council Speaker Menin’s bill has no meaningful economic relief for workers. It only says the city should prepare a worker transition plan by April 2027 and include weak measures like job fairs and job counseling. It says the city should “consider” financial compensation for carriage owners who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy city-issued medallions and build up their businesses.
Council Speaker Menin used the tragic death of a tourist to contrive a public safety crisis. This is disgraceful political opportunism, and Zohran should not simply go along with it, particularly when immigrant families’ livelihoods are being destroyed. This entire situation is reprehensible.
