FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 30, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
New legislation would help relieve taxi medallion owners of debt
Courtesy of Meeks’ offi ce
As the city moves closer to a bailout for taxi drivers, Congressman Gregory Meeks announced bipartisan legislation that
would provide them debt relief.
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
It has taken more than half a
decade, but relief appears to be
on the way for thousands of yellow
cab drivers who owe hundreds
of millions of dollars on
their medallions while its value
has fallen nearly 80 percent since
2014.
Th e collapse of the medallion
market led many to commit suicide
as they faced fi nancial ruin
due to predator loans, lax oversight
by the city and state, and
unregulated app-dispatch companies
such as Uber and Lyft
that took away so much business
from yellow cabs in recent years.
Congressman Gregory Meeks
unveiled legislation that would
help provide some fi nancial
relief for taxi medallion owners
by not considering debt forgiveness
they receive as income.
“Taxi drivers were sold a false
promise and placed into what’s
become a debt trap they couldn’t
have anticipated,” Meeks said.
“Some fi nancial institutions are
doing the right thing by forgiving
the crippling debt, but
because that relief is considered
income by the federal government,
medallion owners
are further burdened by enormous
tax bills. Th is legislation is
an important step towards justice
for taxi drivers who’ve been
unfairly burdened by enormous
debt.”
Meeks was joined by several
Queens elected offi cials who
were taken aback when a wave
of drivers, mostly immigrants
and people of color, began taking
their own lives as the market
collapsed — people such as
65-year-old Nicanor Ochisor,
a Romanian immigrant who
hung himself in the garage of his
Maspeth home in 2018. Flushing
resident Yu Mein Chow, 56,
was found fl oating in the East
River — his family claimed crippling
debt drove him to suicide
just like Bayside’s Roy Kim, 58,
who hanged himself with a belt
aft er fi nding himself more than
$500,000 in debt.
“Taxi drivers have worked
tirelessly for decades to serve
New Yorkers. Th ey have been an
essential part of our city and have
played by the rules. Th ey have
hit hard times through no fault
of their own,” Congresswoman
Grace Meng said. “Th ese struggling
drivers and medallion
owners do not deserve to have
their livelihoods ripped away
from them. Th ey desperately
need assistance and we must step
up to help stop the suff ering, and
ease the crisis.”
Th e bi-partisan legislation,
known as Th e Tax Relief for
Taxi Drivers Act would ensure
that defrauded New York taxi
drivers would get the debt relief
that they need and not face
“absurd IRS tax bills,” according
to Congresswoman Carolyn
Maloney.
“Aft er years of predatory lending
and infl ated medallion prices,
our city’s yellow cabs became
fi nancial traps for thousands of
drivers,” she said. “It’s past time
we make these hardworking
New Yorkers whole.”
Th e de Blasio administration
and a 19-member City Council
task force is getting closer to a
$500 million bailout plan which
would be largely based on private
fi nancing.
“We want to help these taxi
drivers,” Mayor Bill de Blasio
said. “Th ey’ve been through hell,
we want to fi nd a way to help
them and their families.”
Uno Pizzeria & Grill shuts doors after more than 30 years in Bayside
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
Aft er more than three decades
in Bayside, a Chicago-based
pizza chain is closing its doors
for good.
Signs bearing the name of Uno
Pizzeria & Grill were stripped
from the restaurant’s facade at
39-02 Bell Blvd. A spokesperson
for the store told QNS that the
Queens location served its last
meals on Sunday, Jan. 26.
Hundreds of the franchise’s
fans took to social media, sharing
stories of what the restaurant
meant to them and the
community. Parents recalled
taking their children there
while others remembered the
myriad fundraising efforts
Uno’s took part in.
It is unclear why the restaurant’s
owners chose to close,
but BaysideLiveTV surmised
that it was due to complications
in renegotiating a lease.
Others asserted that owners
could not afford the rising cost
of rent.
Some have speculated the
names of several businesses
that might take Uno’s place. But
Bayside Village BID President
Christine Silletti said that while
there are a few businesses interested
in opening in its place,
“there’s no fi nal deal as of yet.”
“Th e staff at UNO’s have been
great to work with and gave a lot
back to this community,” Silletti
said.
Prior to closing, the Bayside
eatery advertised an earthquake
relief eff ort for Puerto Rico,
encouraging diners to bring in
items like water bottles, canned
food and batteries. A portion of
every sale went toward a donation
to Puerto Rico.
Uno’s founder Ike Sewell started
in Chicago in 1943 with his
innovative recipe for deep-dish
pizza. Th e recipe combined
“authentic Italian spices,” tomatoes
and cheese on a crust with
a tall edge.
Th e Bayside location was
one of two locations left in
Queens, the other being in
Astoria. According to its website,
there are 100 locations
across the United States, District
of Columbia, Honduras, Qatar,
India and Saudi Arabia.
In June 2019, the restaurant
temporarily closed aft er the
Health Department issued it a
failing grade for multiple violations.
Th e agency allowed Uno’s
to reopen a few days later.
Photo by Jenna Bagcal/QNS
Uno Pizzeria & Grill in Bayside closed on Jan. 26
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