Victory: NYTWA and O’Brien Staley Partners Reached a deal, Brokered by Sen. Schumer
New York City: 2,400 miles later, we are coming home victorious!
Eighteen NYTWA cabbies drove 1,200 miles to Minnesota to bring home the demand directly to the headquarters of O'Brien Staley Partners/OSK to participate in the City's debt relief program and to halt foreclosures, private sales and litigations. Since the historic agreement was brokered by Senator Chuck Schumer in November 2021 between NYTWA, City Hall and Marblegate Assets to restructure debts to $170,000 paid at $1122 monthly for 20 years, the union has been campaigning for OSP to participate.
Along the way to Minnesota, negotiations began between the union and the firm, arranged and facilitated by Majority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer. Today, O'Brien Staley partners, NYTWA, and Majority Leader Senator Schumer announced a life-saving agreement for OSP to participate in the City's program.
Details of the Deal:
NYTWA Executive Director Bhairavi Desai says:
"We are ecstatic that O’Brien Staley Partners has agreed to Senator Schumer and our call to join the NYC Loan Deficiency Guarantee program, not pursue medallion repossession involving individual owners who keep their loans in good standing, offer the same terms to borrowers currently in court or whose medallion is in storage, and extend a livable interim payment plan to all drivers.
This was not possible without the support of our Majority Leader who worked tirelessly to make sure we were not only at the table, but that drivers were put front and center without compromise. Senator Schumer's leadership continues to be our light out of this dark tunnel.
We thank Mr. O'Brien for his steadfast leadership in resolving our crisis, and doing so with great respect and full commitment. This is a life-saving commitment by OSP to its borrowers - a workforce that is quintessentially New York. Serious and sincere work was put in by OSP, Senator Schumer and City Hall to resolve this crisis for drivers, their families and the City we love, and as a result, hundreds more cabbies will breathe a new life, free of debt and out of poverty.
We entered Minnesota with heavy hearts but will leave with relief, joy and endless hope.
From Senator Schumer, our broad coalition of elected and community allies, and City Hall, particularly the Office of Management and Budget and the Taxi and Limousine Commission whose ground work on this historic program continues to save and change our lives, we say thank you.
NYC, we're coming back home - triumphant!"