T.A. E-Fax: Save Pedicabs!

Send an E-Fax to Key City Councilmembers

Save a vital part of New York's carbon-free future.

On March 30th, Mayor Michael Bloomberg vetoed Intro 331A, a bill passed by the City Council that would have strangled the city's growing pedicab industry by capping the number of pedicabs at 325, banning electric-assist motors and giving the police power to ban pedicabs from certain streets at will. At this Monday's City Council meeting, Council Speaker Christine Quinn expects that the City Council will override the Mayor's veto, unless you act now!

Please send an e-fax to the City Council and urge them to abstain from overriding the Mayor's veto and to re-write the pedicab regulations so that they both ensure safety and encourage green business and environmentally-friendly transportation. Send an e-fax!

New York City Pedicab Owners Association (NYCPOA) President Peter Meitzler called the Mayor's veto "not just a victory for the pedicab industry, but for all entrepreneurs who want a fair shot at establishing and growing a small business in New York." The Mayor noted that it should be the "free market" that dictates the number of pedicabs on the street, not regulations imposed by the City. His Honor has asked for the regulations to be re-written either without a cap on the number of pedicabs, or with a number that is more reasonable.

In the days since the Mayor's veto, both the NY Sun and the Daily News have editorialized on the Speaker's position against pedicabs, making it clear how essential it is that individual Councilmembers stand up for small business, the environment and the safety of NYC's streets by voting in support of one of our city's newest, zero-emission, alternative transportation industries: pedicabs.

If the City Council overrides the Mayor's veto, and Intro. 331A becomes law, it will have a chilling effect on all persons who might in the future consider starting a green business in New York City. The lesson will be that any green business in our City is just a special interest push away from being legislated out of business.

To prevent this dangerous setback from happening, it is time to call on individual City Councilmembers and insist they either vote "No" or "Abstain" on the pedicab bill veto override vote on April 23, 2007.

Send an e-fax right now.

E-Fax to Key City Councilmembers: Subject: Dear Councilmember On April 23rd, the day after Earth Day and the unveiling of Mayor Bloomberg's PlaNYC 2030 long-term sustainability initiative, you will be casting a vote that has the potential to severely damage if not destroy one of our city's newest, zero-emission, alternative transportation industries: pedicabs. That vote, which seeks to override the Mayor's veto of Intro. 331A, will speak directly to your commitment to the sustainability and safety of NYC's environment, neighborhoods and streets. If you vote to override the Mayor's veto and Intro. 331A is enacted into law, there will be a chilling effect on all persons who in the future might consider starting an environmentally-friendly, non-polluting, green business in New York City. In destroying the pedicab industry, you will establish a precedent that any small business in our City, be it pro-environment or otherwise, is just a special interest push away from being legislated out of business. To prevent this override from happening, I am asking that you stand up for our environment and the pedicab industry by voting to uphold the Mayor's veto and supporting the introduction of a new pedicab bill that will not only provide the regulations that the pedicab industry needs and wants, but will also ensure that pedicabs remain a vital, zero-emissions component of NYC's transportation system in the years to come. Refusing to override the Mayor's veto of Intro. 331A does not mean that you are opposed to stringent pedicab safety regulations, nor does it mean that you do not value the safety of NYC streets. Like you and the pedicab industry itself, I strongly support regulations that will bring the highest standards of quality and safety to the pedicab industry. Upholding the Mayor's veto of Intro. 331A will provide the Council with an opportunity to introduce a new pedicab bill that contains all of the safety standards contained in the current legislation without strangling the growth of this human-powered mode of transportation by reducing the number of pedicabs on the streets by 40%, implementing a de facto ban on pedicabs in the outer boroughs and violating the City Charter by empowering the NYPD to unilaterally ban pedicabs from any midtown street for up to fourteen days and for the entire holiday season. The City Council needs to uphold this veto because it needs the chance to write a new pedicab bill; one that is based upon the public interest rather than only special interests. Along with the New York City Pedicab Owner's Association, the New York Public Interest Research Group, the New York League of Conservation Voters, Sierra Club, Transportation Alternatives and the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, I am asking for your leadership on this important issue and am confident that you will provide it. Vote "No" or "Abstain" on the pedicab bill veto override vote on April 23, 2007. Sincerely,
Name:
Address:
City:
State:
ZIP:
Email:

Please include your full contact information so that your message will be treated as official correspondence. Your message will be faxed to key City Councilmembers and a copy e-mailed to Transportation Alternatives.

© 1997-2007 Transportation Alternatives
127 West 26th Street, Suite 1002, New York, NY, 10001
info@transalt.org; Phone: 212-629-8080; Fax: 212-629-8334