PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Ugin Pema, Taxi Owner-Driver from New York
5:22:00
·
125 sec
Ugin Pema, a Tibetan taxi owner-driver living in New York for over 26 years, testified in support of making Losar (Tibetan New Year) an alternate side parking holiday. He also raised concerns about corruption in the taxi industry, particularly regarding job assignments at Manhattan hotels.
- Pema emphasized the importance of Losar for Tibetans, Nepalese, and Sherpas in New York City, comparing it to other major holidays like Christmas.
- He requested the passage of Intro 100, which would suspend alternate side parking on Losar, allowing celebrants to focus on their traditions without worrying about moving their cars.
- Pema briefly mentioned issues of corruption in the taxi industry, specifically mentioning required payments to government officials and dispatchers for job assignments at Manhattan hotels.
Ugin Pema
5:22:00
You?
5:22:00
Okay.
5:22:02
Hi.
5:22:02
Good morning.
5:22:02
Good afternoon.
5:22:04
Thank you, Chairman, Group Power, and member of the consultation.
5:22:08
My name is Ugin Tama.
5:22:10
I'm in Tibetan, New York.
5:22:12
I live in New York more than 26 years, and I live in Jackson.
5:22:19
I'm a a taxi owner driver, drive more than 20 years.
5:22:25
I'm here to support the introduction, and it's for console memory Jodie 1 to make a concept of the plus our to go ahead and do you have a holiday for alternate sites have been suspended?
5:22:36
So I would like to thank Jimmy Wong.
5:22:38
Mhmm.
5:22:40
Yeah.
5:22:41
And then to Ben New Year is actually there's very important for I mean, not much Ben, but Denise and Sherpa's on the call.
5:22:50
And then on the also part of the India and and all this, we have a lot of people in New York City.
5:22:57
So we'd like to celebrate with the families and especially, 1st day, we go to monastery or temple to to the prayers and and just like other communities will celebrate that he eat Christmas or other holidays.
5:23:12
So we want not to worry about getting getting a just parking to get or move the car.
5:23:20
To other side, so we could have a peace of mind.
5:23:24
So I would like to I mean, very appreciate that if you pass this bill.
5:23:29
And another thing is I'm a taxi driver, so I have the city and the TLC.
5:23:38
I want to request that.
5:23:40
In New York City, there's a lot of corruption with the government and the drivers.
5:23:44
Some of the drivers, they made a group asked, so they wouldn't have a connection with the a lot of governments and especially in the Manhattan Hotels.
5:23:54
We found Hotels.
5:23:55
So to get a job, to have a job, like, like, where they have, we have to pay $6 to government.
5:24:02
$10, $4 to JK, and then