Gothamist

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.

Gothamist

WNYC Listen Live

Donate

 

 

News

Baby Slows Down Rush Hour Traffic


By

Ellen Burke

Published Mar 12, 2010

Modified Mar 12, 2010


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


Never miss a story

 Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .


By

Ellen Burke

Published Mar 12, 2010

Modified Mar 12, 2010


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

A Brooklyn woman gave birth in the back of her livery cab in the Battery Tunnel yesterday morning, slowing down commuters and "freaking out" her cabbie. Park Sloper Maya Polton said her water broke at about 7:30 a.m., but she and her husband waited a little while before calling a cab to take her to a Manhattan hospital. By the time they got to the tunnel, baby Jacob Max Handelsman wasn't waiting any longer.

To be expected, it wasn't exactly smooth sailing. After father Eric Handelsman helped deliver Jacob, things got a little stressful. "Oh my God, no, what do I want now? I have a baby in my hands." But Handelsman told WCBS he was able to wave down a Fire Communications worker, who guided them out of the tunnel and waited with the family until an EMT crew arrived.

Jacob and his mother were both given clean bills of health at New York Downtown Hospital, but a few things still aren't settled. Polton told the Daily News she and her husband want to track down their driver to thank him for the ride. And they aren't sure if Jacob, who's being called Jay-Cab, was born on the Brooklyn or Manhattan side of the tunnel.

Tagged

baby

battery tunnel

birth

cab


Ellen Burke

Read more

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


MORE news

Inside New York's bitter Republican civil war after blue wave

New York Republicans are openly calling for a shakeup of the state party.

By

Walter Wuthmann

Published Nov 5, 2026 at 12:55 p.m. ET


Queens Public Library online system downed by ransomware hack, officials said

Officials are uncertain why the library was targeted.

By

Catalina Gonella

News

Queens Public Library online system downed by ransomware hack, officials said

Officials are uncertain why the library was targeted.

By

Catalina Gonella


Early Addition: How every single NYC neighborhood voted in the governor's race

By

James Ramsay

DSNY worker arrested for killing a woman in Brooklyn while driving a garbage truck

By

Brittany Kriegstein

Brooklyn fire kills 6 people, injures 9 others in Sunset Park, officials said

By

Brittany Kriegstein


Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .