New York, NY—A coalition of disability groups has responded in federal court after the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) moved to free itself from its court-ordered obligation to make at least 50% of their iconic yellow taxi fleet accessible to people who use wheelchairs. The TLC’s move came after disability groups filed a motion to enforce the settlement agreement last month.Rather than take the steps needed to bring more accessible vehicles into the fleet of yellow taxis, the TLC doubled down, asking the Court to vacate the 50% accessibility requirement altogether, thereby gutting what had been a historic achievement for persons with disabilities in New York City. As described in the disability groups response, the TLC’s actions are without legal or factual support, and fail to acknowledge that the iconic New York taxi is still a huge part of life in the City – and can still be a boon to independence for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers and visitors to the City who use wheelchairs."The question is simple: What kind of city does New York want to be? Will it be an inclusive city dedicated to fair play, or one that keeps agreements only when it's convenient," said Joe Rappaport, Executive Director of the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled, a Taxis For All Campaign member.

Grey scale of two people walking past door with New York spray painted on it; image by Ian Dooley, via Unsplash.com.

"Wheelchair accessible taxis are a necessary option for people with disabilities and for people who do not have or who forgot their phone. We want to ride!" said Jean Ryan, President of Disabled In Action.“The fact that the TLC is attempting to wash its hands of this historic settlement is disappointing, but our clients are not deterred. They will keep fighting to ensure that this critical means of transportation and core component of New York City life is made accessible to all,” said Chloe Holzman of Disability Rights Advocates.“The City’s response to our motion to enforce our settlement agreement is a baseless attempt to avoid their contractual obligation, and an insult to the disability community,” said Dan Brown of Sheppard Mullin.“While believing that taxi and livery fleets should be 100% accessible, we settled for 50% accessibility in 2014. The TLC dragged their feet for years only to finally declare that they were backing out of the settlement, but we will continue to demand our transportation rights,” said Michael Schweinsburg, President of the 504 Democratic Club.About 504 Democratic Club504 Democratic Club is one of only three city-wide clubs; with a nonpartisan membership, (our First Vice President is a Republican) and at 40 years old the nation's first and largest club advocating for the Civil Rights of people with disabilities.About Disability Rights AdvocatesDisability Rights Advocates is the leading national nonprofit disability rights legal center. Its mission is to advance equal rights and opportunity for people with all types of disabilities nationwide. DRA represents people with all types of disabilities in complex, system-changing class action cases. For more information, visit www.dralegal.org.About Disabled In Action of Metropolitan New YorkDIA was a founding member of Taxis For All Campaign in 1996. We are an all-volunteer, nonprofit disability civil rights organization made up of people with all kinds of disabilities.About Sheppard MullinSheppard Mullin is a full-service AmLaw 50 firm with more than 1,000 attorneys in 16 offices located in the United States, Europe and Asia. Since 1927, industry-leading companies have turned to Sheppard Mullin to handle corporate and technology matters, high-stakes litigation and complex financial transactions. In the U.S., the firm's clients include nearly half of the Fortune 100. Sheppard Mullin is proud of its history and commitment to pro bono. For more information, please visit www.sheppardmullin.com.About Taxis For All CampaignFor wheelchair-accessible taxis and for-hire vehicles in New York City, based upon universal design principles.About United Spinal AssociationUnited Spinal Association is a disability led, national membership organization with 61,000 members, the vast majority of whom are wheelchair users.