De Blasio Says He's Still Against 'Taxi Of Tomorrow,' Despite Court Ruling
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Despite a new court ruling, Mayor Bill de Blasio said he is still opposed to a plan for a new fleet of city taxis.
De Blaiso's predecessor, Michael Bloomberg, wanted to mandate that all yellow cabs be replaced with custom-designed Nissan NV2000 "Taxi of Tomorrow.''
The yellow cab industry filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block the plan and a judge halted the program last year. But an appeals court ruled Tuesday the plan for the taxis is legal and can proceed.
Judge David B. Saxe called the Taxi of Tomorrow a "legally appropriate response" to the Taxi and Limousine Commission's obligation to produce a 21st-century cab.
Nissan won a contract in May 2011 to supply minivans with sliding doors for the city's taxi fleet.
De Blasio, however, believes the taxis should be wheelchair-accessible. He also said he does not like that Nissan does business in Iran.
The mayor said on Wednesday that he felt the process was "broken.''
He did not say if he would abandon the city's legal efforts - begun under Bloomberg - to create the new fleet.
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