The TLC will get some tender loving care.
Mayor de Blasio on Monday announced the nomination of Jeff Roth, deputy commissioner of the city Veterans’ Services Department, as the next commissioner of the Taxi & Limousine Commission.
The move comes three months after former TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi left the seat, and less than a week after the mayor announced the city will impose some of the world’s toughest regulations on Uber and Lyft.
The city will not issue new licenses to app-based for-hire vehicles for at least a year, and will require the e-hail companies to cut down on the time their drivers spend in the busiest parts of Manhattan without a passenger in tow.
Roth, who previously served as TLC deputy commissioner, will be tasked with implementing those regulations, as well as doing damage control for the yellow cab industry.
At least nine city taxi drivers have committed suicide over the past two years amid plummeting yellow cab medallion values and take-home pay. Roth will oversee the opening of a new assistance center to provide drivers with financial and mental health services — the mayor promised it will open in the next year.
Roth has some experience with that kind of outreach. Since 2016, he’s overseen the city’s VetConnectNYC program, which helps connect veterans to vital social services.
Acting TLC Commissioner Bill Heinzen, who was also deputy commissioner before being promoted, will remain in his role to help Roth complete the transition. Whether Heinzen chooses to remain at the agency remains unclear.
“I am honored to be nominated to lead the TLC, which regulates such an integral component of this city’s transportation network,” Roth said.
The City Council must approve Roth’s nomination.
