The livery driver who killed himself in front of City Hall is the third cabby in the last three months to commit suicide because of economic anxiety over the industry, officials said Tuesday.
During a vigil for 61-year-old driver Douglas Schifter — who wrote a lengthy suicide note about the “disastrous” conditions — a taxi union official revealed the suicides of two livery cab drivers in the Bronx.
“Three suicides in three months is 3 too many — and no more.” said Bhairavi Desai, Executive Director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.
“Drivers have been working longer hours, they’re earning less money, I’ve seen payment statements where they’re taking home like $50 after they’ve put in a 12-hour shift.”
Desai said there’s a “deepening sense of desperation and there’s no end in sight for the plummeting.”
Danilo Corporan, 57, wrote a suicide note on the back of a summons he received before leaping out the window of his Manhattan apartment in Dec., sources told The Post.
Corporan attended at hearing at an administrative law court on Dec. 20 for accepting illegal street hail and killed himself after being told he could lose his license. Tragically, Corporan’s charges were dismissed days later, the sources said.
Mayor de Blasio also attended the vigil where he stressed that both economic issues, as well as mental health issues, are significant factors in recent suicides.
“Economic distress is real but a lot of people have faced economic distress and don’t turn to suicide,” de Blasio said about Schifter.
“We need to figure out constantly how to get help to people who need it.”
Still, de Blasio added that “we’ve got to figure out a set of standards that applies to all elements of the for-hire vehicle industry equally and simultaneously.”
TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi released a statement mourning the loss of Schifter and acknowledging the “clear oversaturation” of the for-hire market.
“The despair felt so deeply by Mr. Schifter has become a topic of daily debate and concern for us at the TLC,” Joshi said.
“And while we lack the jurisdiction to limit the licensing of drivers or vehicles, we are tackling the issue of driver earnings protections this year.”