East Hampton Town Supervisor Speaks Out on Uber, 'Not Pleased' With Governor's Proposed Statewide Regs

With the summer season only months away and massive crowds set to descend upon Montauk, the issue of taxis has once again sparked concerns.

East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell spoke to Patch this week about a recent New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to institute a statewide regulatory framework for Uber and other apps used by individuals to call taxis.

Recently, the Observer.com reported that Cuomo said he’d like to see a New York State-wide regulatory framework for issues such as insurance, taxes, and vehicles.

Cantwell said the proposal would take away local control. “I”m not pleased about this,” he said.

To that end, Cantwell said the plan is to prepare a letter to Cuomo, stating that if the state is going to consider such a measure, East Hampton Town would ask to be addressed with respect to regulation of cabs and Uber-type services, without a limousine commission, which, Cantwelll said, is an expensive means of control available for local adoption.

All taxis and cabs, and not just Uber, the supervisor said, have raised traffic and safety issues, especially in the summer months when Montauk becomes a Montauk for the party crowd.

“We don’t have control over where cabs park and in places like downtown Montauk, we could have hundreds of cabs operating on a weekend, and they park wherever they want, taking up parking spaces up and down Main Street.

The goal, Cantwell said, would be to direct cabs and taxis to designated areas “that don’t take up valuable public parking space while waiting.”

During the summer months, when scores of revelers pack Montauk, an endless stream of hundreds of Uber type vehicles and taxi companies descend on the area, creating “enormous congestion and safety issues,” the supervisor said.

That’s why, Cantwell said, last year, the town adopted laws to require cabs to be operating under a license with an East Hampton address. The Town announced last year that Uber, a mobile app that connects riders with a taxi, private car or ride-share from their mobile phone, had suspended operations in East Hampton immediately.

Several Uber drivers went to court last year facing misdemeanor charges for licensing violations in East Hampton after the Town cracked down on the ride-sharing service.

Cantwell said last year that three solutions could exist. Uber could open a home office in the town so drivers who wanted to work in the town could register their cars with the office address. The drivers could chose to own or lease their cars which would allow them to operate as a separate business for hire, and each would apply for their own business license. Second, Uber could form a partnership with a local company that is already licensed and headquartered in East Hampton. Or, the supervisor said, Uber could recruit East Hampton residents as Uber owners or drivers.

Cantwell also said that the regulations governing cars for hire specifically allow an owner of one or two cars to run the business using his or her home address, as long as it is in the town.