New York City Mayor Eric Adams, along with New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) Chair David Do and U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, announced on January 24th that the city’s taxi Medallion Relief Program (MRP+) had successfully provided debt relief worth more than $350 million to medallion owners.
“With $350 million in debt relief for nearly 1,800 taxi medallion owners already, our administration is finally ending the taxi medallion crisis and turning the tide for hard-working taxi drivers who provide New Yorkers and visitors with both an essential and a quintessential New York experience,” said Mayor Adams. “We put the pedal to the metal with this program to reach as many medallion owners as possible, and our team has continued to bring in more participants and deliver much-needed financial relief. New York City must work for working people, and with the incredible success of this program, we are one step closer to achieving that.”
Launched in September 2022, the purpose of the program was to restructure loans for 1,800 struggling medallion owners. As of January 17, 2023, debt worth $356 million on 1,789 medallions had been forgiven. The TLC has reached debt relief agreements with Marble Asset Management and Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed). Under the program, principal loan balances have been reduced from high sums such as $750,000 to $170,000. This has reduced monthly payment plans from $2,200 to $1,234.
“I am proud to have worked hand-in-hand with New York Taxi Workers Alliance, Mayors Adams and de Blasio, local elected officials, and a citywide movement of New Yorkers to broker a deal with City Hall to provide life-saving debt relief for cab drivers,” said Senator Schumer. “Mayor Adams, NYTWA, TLC, Marblegate, and additional partners have worked assiduously to enact the deal we reached and have now provided critical debt relief for more than 1,700 medallion owners. Over $350 million in debt has been forgiven to date, and I encourage eligible cabbies, who work every day to serve this city, to enroll in the program before the final day on January 31, 2023.”
The yellow medallion is an intrinsic part of New York City life and culture. “There is something iconic about our yellow cabs,” Mayor Adams said at a City Hall event in September 2022. “It is the foundation of our city.”
