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Next NYC taxi boss vows to pull the plug on unlicensed e-hail app Empower
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Mar 12, 2026
Modified Mar 13, 2026
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Lindsey Nicholson/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Mar 12, 2026
Modified Mar 13, 2026
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s nominee to lead the Taxi and Limousine Commission vowed Thursday to crack down on an illegal taxi app called Empower that she says puts both drivers and passengers at risk.
Incoming TLC Chair Midori Valdivia said at a City Council confirmation hearing that she was shocked the owners of the app were ignoring city rules to operate.
Under Empower’s business model, licensed TLC drivers pay a monthly fee to use its app. In return, the drivers take home 100% of fares. As a result, the average fare to travel around the five boroughs is cheaper than competing app-based services like Uber and Lyft, Gothamist previously reported. But Valdivia said Empower is not regulated by the city, leaving anyone involved in a crash with a vehicle using the app exposed to problems with insurance.
“I’m aghast that this is happening,” Valdivia said. “It’s not OK. Empower lures drivers with these claims, but yet, if or when a driver is in a crash, a passenger gets injured, they leave them high and dry.”
“I will use every power in the TLC’s authority and as much as I can in the city’s authority to stop Empower and to stop this illegal operation,” she added.
Valdivia noted Empower’s CEO Joshua Sear has been held in contempt by a judge in Washington D.C. for failing to comply with local regulations. Empower is appealing that decision.
In New York City, Empower is required to register a “base” with the TLC. Officials say registration allows the city to regulate rides and cover insurance claims, should a driver get into a car accident.
Valdivia said TLC officials have repeatedly urged Empower to become licensed but they refused. She described the decision as a “huge risk to drivers and passengers.”
“Every driver using Empower’s software to work for themselves in New York is a TLC licensed driver using a TLC licensed vehicle. We look forward to working with the Mamdani Administration to ensure TLC licensed drivers have the same civil rights as all other licensed professionals in New York and that New Yorkers have access to affordable and safe transportation," Roshn Marwah, Empower's chief of staff, said in a statement.
A vote to confirm Valdivia to lead the TLC is expected on March 26.
This story has been updated with a statement from Empower.
Tagged
new york city
transportation
Ramsey Khalifeh
Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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