Nanny gets Nasty: “Taxi King” says Bloomberg threatened to destroy him after leaves office
All because the Mayor didn’t get his way on a court case over his plan for ergonomic and posh cabs
Via The NY Post, Mike unleashes a ‘hail’ storm:
Mayor Bloomberg went on a spitting-mad rant against a city cab-fleet boss who won a court victory over Hizzoner’s planned “Taxi of Tomorrow” — vowing to “destroy your f–king industry” when he leaves office, The Post has learned.
A fuming Bloomberg made the threat against Taxi Club Management CEO Gene Freidman at Madison Square Garden’s private 1879 Club during last Thursday’s Knick playoff game, a witness said yesterday.
“It was like Gene had kidnapped his child. He used the f-word twice,” the witness said.
Freidman confirmed the blow-up to The Post, and said Bloomberg’s tirade included the warning that, “After January, I am going to destroy all you f–king guys.”
That’s bad news for Bloomberg’s political enemies, who could all become targets once the revenge-minded billionaire has nothing but time on his hands.
Bloomberg says he doesn’t remember the incident. Capital NY Reports:
Friedman also happens to be a member of the Greater New York Taxi Association, whose recent court victory may well permanently undermine the mayor’s Taxi of Tomorrow program.
Today, Bloomberg claimed not to remember the episode.
“The only thing I remember from that night, there was a court,” said the mayor on Wednesday at a school in East Harlem. “It was the court in the middle of Madison Square Garden. And the Knicks won. It was a great game. And I had a great time. It’s what I remember from that night.”
Bloomberg, however, did remember why it is he’s so frustrated with medallion owners, an entrenched industry that’s successfully resisted his reform efforts at every turn, including his bid to create a new fleet of taxis for the outer boroughs.
“Number one, we have to get taxi service for four and a half boroughs that are not taken care of,” he said. “What a disgrace. You get into a taxi and it won’t take you to 80 percent of our city. What kind of a city is that?”
“We also have taxis that don’t have all the facilities we want,” he continued, referring to his Taxi of Tomorrow program, which would usher in a new fleet of New York City taxis, complete with passenger airbags, reading lights, and ergonomic seats for drivers.
Who you gonna believe?
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Comments
Bloomberg says he doesn’t remember the incident.
*****
Obviously qualified to work at the IRS.
You know, we pay big salaries to all these bigwig pols (yeah, I know; Nanny Mike waives his salary), and all we get is incompetence and pathetic memories. Maybe they s/b readings books by Harry Lorayne,
memory loss is a common symptom of the batshit crazy…
Bloomberg has a fat lot of nerve telling medallion owners what kind of car they have to use. Control freak.
Hard to figure out how to root for in this one, no ? The nanny do-gooder or the executive of the government mandated monopoly.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this incident happened, but I have to side with Bloomberg on this one. To his credit, he has tried to open up the corrupt government-created cab monoploly. If he can destroy it as a private citizen, more power to him. I can certainly think of worse ways he could spend his time and billions of dollars.
Frankly, they both look unsavory. I went with Undecided because I hope they both lose.
I’m with you Angela. I don’t believe Bloomberg but somehow the Taxi King doesn’t inspire my confidence either. There can only be one solution here – unleash the Weiner 😛
Given what I know of Taxi cab owners, I’m in the undecided category. Both them and politicians can be slimy.
and what is up with that giant pus-filled cancer on this guy’s chin? at least photoshop that rascal out of there…uuugggh.
“Taxi of Tomorrow”??
For crying out loud, he wants to be Walt Disney.
As Snow White once said, “Ohhh … you must be Grumpy!”
[LIKE] <— button
“I don’t remember” doesn’t even approach a denial.
Not being prone to threatening people with abject destruction I’d tend to remember doing, or not doing such an act.
So, experience being my own guide, either Nanny Bloomberg does this as a matter of course, or he’s a liar.
There’s a fourth poll choice missing:
__ Don’t Give A Sh*t
Nay Nay Nanny, said the Cabbie to the Bloomy.
2013 just isn’t working out to liberal dictators’ expectations.
I’m with Jingo and Bloomie on this one. The NYC taxi medallion scam has been totally corrupt for at least 40 years. There’s no reason for limiting the number of taxi cabs in the city. It now costs $800,000 to buy a medallion to operate a taxi – that’s beyond ridiculous, and riders pay the price. That business needs a dose of free enterprise. If Bloomberg wants to blow up the NYC taxi industry, we’ll all be better off.
A Cage Match at the Garden for charity. No time limit. No disqualification. Loser leaves town!
Do it!!
Where’s the video? You know someone had a cellphone in the crowd.
The taxi company and drivers need to secede from Nanny’s United Boroughs of Communism.
If I was a bettin’ man, I’d put my money on Vinny No-neck.
Michael Bloomberg is a megalomaniac in the true sense of the word.
Truly – he’s a sick man.
Mayor Mike has a point, say many New Yorkers like myself. One picks the battles carefully so as to avoid a full-blown war with labor, so Bloomberg has chipped away at the monopoly for years.
He’s tried to give us apps to hail a cab, tried to expand livery and ‘black car’ service for outer borough residents and he’s tried to modernize and standardize the fleet (if you take cabs in NYC you know this is not a bad thing). At every turn these bosses take him to court where so-called judges nix the plans.
As a NYC taxpayer I’m sick of seeing activist lefty judges cost me more in taxes and lousy service, I’m sick of every good plan needing it’s day (or 6 months) in court. I am just as angry at these guys and am rooting for the Mayor!