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Sexy Ladies Make Bloomberg Think Twice About Cabbie Sex Trafficking Bill
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 21, 2012
Modified Jun 21, 2012
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 21, 2012
Modified Jun 21, 2012
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Last week, Mayor Bloomberg got in touch with his feminine side as he considered whether or not he'd sign new legislation punishing taxi drivers who are convicted of knowingly transporting sex trafficking victims. Today at the signing ceremony, he decided to delay making a decision for a few more days—because he's worried his daughters might be mistaken for hookers. “I do worry that if my daughters are out there after they’re at a club and they come out late at night and they’re dressed a lot more risque-ly, if that’s a word, than people of my generation did, but still appropriately for this generation, it does put a taxi driver in a difficult position,” Bloomberg said.
Last Friday, Bloomberg channeled his inner Goddess as he questioned the specifics of the bill: “You know, if I were a young lady and I dressed in a ‘sporty way’—or however you want to phrase it...I would not want somebody thinking that I’m a prostitute,” Bloomberg said during his weekly radio show. "There’s nothing wrong with that. Maybe it’s not appropriate to go to the workplace, but at night, sometimes sure, why not.”
The bill would ensure that cabbies caught transporting prostitutes would lose their license for a first offense, and face an additional $10,000 fine the second time around. In several recent sex trafficking cases, it's come out that certain cabbies were in on the deals, pocketing half the money of their earnings. Executive Director Laurel W. Eisner of the Sanctuary for Families—a victims advocacy group that was instrumental in constructing the law—told us a bit more about the new cabby law:
The law will not discourage drivers from picking up "sex workers" or women dressed in any particular way. The law will discourage drivers from engaging in crimes involving sex trafficking, which entail actively participating in and profiting from coerced prostitution. A driver must first be criminally convicted of one of the enumerated felony crimes under existing penal law before being subject to the civil penalties of this law. Picking up a passenger in the ordinary course of business does not implicate the State penal law and does not trigger the provisions of this bill.
City Council Transportation Chairman James Vacca was very disappointed in Bloomberg's delay: "The bill is very specific. This took months of negotiation," he said. "We did not want anyone singled out, and it does not single anyone out based on what they look like." City Council Speaker Christine Quinn also was frustrated, saying it “demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of what our bill does: making sure convicted traffickers are punished for their crimes.”
Tagged
bloomberg
cabbies
daughters
mayor bloomberg
prostitution
sex trafficking
sexy ladies
taxi drivers
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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