A New York City taxi driver may have to pay $25,000 after a judge said the cabbie refused to pick up a trio of passengers because they’re black. She then told him she would be report him before he replied, “Go ahead and report me”.
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Cynthia Jordan told the judge that she and her two daughters approached the Manhattan cab in order to get to a family birthday party.
Jordan, a vice-president at a stock-transfer firm, says she unfortunately faces this type of discrimination often.
Bria told The News she was proud of her mother for not backing down.
Jordan filed a complaint against Raza to the TLC and the city’s Commission of Human Rights, at the urging of Holder who works for the city’s 311 system, she said.
“Discrimination against a taxi rider due to his or her race is unacceptable and a clear violation of the human rights law”, a commission spokeswoman said in a statement. “She called me a lowlife cabbie and those women white b–s”.
Jordan’s daughter, Chiley Holder, saw Raza let out a passenger and switch his on-duty light on, but as soon as Holder approached the cab, he switched his light off and locked the doors, according to the decision.
However, just as she was looking for another cab, her 16-year-old daughter pointed out that Raza picked up two white women up the block.
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“It’s not usually language I use, but I was angry at this time”, she said. “I just drove off. I didn’t want anything to do with this”. Based on this new information in the lawsuit, Raza was forced to pay $200 to the city taxi company for violating their rules which prohibit the unjustly refusal of passengers. “She jumped in my auto and I have to take her”. After much effort, Baqir Raza stopped to drop people off, so they tried to get in his vehicle but he didn’t stop. It’s a judgment the family hopes will send a message to all taxi drivers who discriminate.
