Public Advocate slams Bloomberg over outer-borough taxi plan

Public Advocate and likely 2013 mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio wants to put the breaks on the city's outer-borough taxi plan.

de Blasio, who has opposed legalizing street hails for livery drivers outside Manhattan, said Mayor Michael Bloomberg should have let the City Council come up with a plan to improve service in the other boroughs.

Instead, Gov. Andrew Cuomo brokered a deal with state legislators, which was approved last month by the Taxi and Limousine Commission, to let 18,000 livery cabs pick up street hails outside of Midtown.

Yellow cab and taxi fleet owners say the new cabs, set to hit city streets next month, will harm business and lower the value of their medallions. The Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade, which represents fleet owners, has filed a suit trying to halt the plan. A judge is scheduled to hear it on Thursday.

"We need this lawsuit to succeed to protect the rights of the people of New York City to govern itself," said de Blasio, calling the legislation about to take effect "a bad plan."

TLC Commissioner David Yassky dismissed the lawsuit, and de Blasio's comments.

"I am confident the suit will be dismissed," Yassky said in a statement, adding: "I cannot understand why Mr. de Blasio would side with a handful of taxi fleet owners against the interests of 7 million New Yorkers in the boroughs and northern Manhattan."