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Muslim Cabbies Demand Right To Veto Strip Club Ads
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 22, 2011
Modified Jul 22, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 22, 2011
Modified Jul 22, 2011
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There's a holy war brewing between cab drivers and the owners of taxi medallions who lease the medallions to drivers. According to Taxi and Limousine Commission rules, whoever owns the costly medallion (they currently go for $600,000 and up!) gets to call the shots on the advertising that goes on the roof of the cab. But cabbies—especially the ones who own their vehicles but still lease their medallions—are calling on the TLC to give them veto power over ads with objectionable content, like ones for strip clubs.
At the monthly TLC meeting yesterday, taxi driver Mohan Singh complained that his grandkids noticed a strip club ad on top of his cab and started asking uncomfortable questions, the Post reports. "My children ask me, 'What is this? I want to go to a gentlemen's club?' " Singh recalled. "What should I answer?" Another hack with a Flashdancers ad on top of his taxi tells the tabloid, "I don't like women exposing themselves sexually on top of my business."
TLC Commissioner David Yassky said yesterday he's inclined to permit drivers who own their taxis but lease medallions to toss the sexy women off their business, and there will be a vote in September. "It's made a lot of Muslims uncomfortable," one hack explains. But medallion owners are strongly opposed, arguing that they have to cover the costs and liabilities for the cabs, so they should get the final say on advertising. Of course, this isn't the first battle fought over strip club advertising; in 2009 Queens residents fought a long battle to get rid of a billboard on Rockaway Boulevard advertising a gentlemen's club.
Tagged
advertising
muslim
strip club
taxi ads
tlc
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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