For those of you who do not have the “pleasure” of living in New York City as I do and may not know this, New York City taxi drivers are on “strike” and have been since yesterday at 5:00am. The New York Taxi Worker’s Alliance, run by Executive Director Bhairavi Desai, organized this “strike” to protest the installation of new Global Positioning System tracking devices which are to be installed in all of New York City’s 13,187 taxicabs. Desai and her group feel that the GPS devices are intrusive and will keep “big brother-esque” tabs on the drivers throughout their entire shift, offer the option to pay your fare by credit card, which will take too long to process and cost the drivers money in wait time and fees – and, somehow – take DNA samples of the drivers and use them to fight the war on terror.

For close to two-and-a-half years, I was the Executive Director of Public Affairs for the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. During my time there, I have gained enough knowledge and experience of the taxi industry to know who the big players are – and know who is not. That said, I can tell you that Bhairavi Desai is not a big player in the taxi industry at all. In fact, she is nothing more than a liar who is using the drivers who blindly follow her to both forward her own agenda and get her name both in print and on television. She uses inflated numbers and outright lies to manipulate the media, force both the City and the TLC’s hands – and panic innocent New Yorkers who do not know the real truth about her…

…the real truth that I know – and would be more than happy to share.

First of all, she calls her group, “The Official Taxi Workers Union.” Truth be told – there is no “union” in the taxicab industry at all. If I started, “The National Columnists Alliance” and made myself Executive Director – and even if columnists from across the nation joined up – that still does not make my group the official columnists union, does it? Also, I have read as recently as in today’s paper and heard her say for years that her organization has over 10,000 members. I have even seen and heard numbers as high as 20,000. Again, truth be told, she is lucky if she has a following of over 100. Even worse, whenever there is a microphone or a reporter’s tape recorder in her face, she will say absolutely anything to get her story printed. For example, in Tuesday’s New York Post, she was quoted as saying that after the “strike” begins, “There won’t be a single taxicab on the streets.” Yet, today, close to the end of the 48-hour “strike” – there are cabs everywhere. Moreover, all the newspapers and television stations are saying that the strike was minimal. The Post even printed a headline today that reads, “Strike Fizzles.” Even Mayor Bloomberg was quoted today as saying that, “The City has not come to a stop and people are getting where they need to go.” He even has statistics to back up his statement from JFK and LaGuardia Airports as well as other city sources. I was even in the City today and did not once see a lesser amount of taxicabs on the streets than I would normally see. Yet, in today’s Post, Bhairavi Desai called the “strike,” “a resounding success,” claiming that only ten percent (or 1,318) of New York City’s taxicabs were operating – and they were driven by scabs.

See what I mean?

When I worked for TLC, just hearing the name Bhairavi Desai would both get me angry and make me sick. The reason is because I knew that now, my colleagues and I would now have to work our butts off to write statements and field media inquires – because she was yet again spewing another pack of lies. In fact, I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to shove her away from a microphone and tell whoever was on the other end of it what a blatant liar she is – something I obviously could not do as the TLC’s Executive Director of Public Affairs…

…but I can now.

Personally, I think that Bhairavi Desai should be charged with disturbing the peace, creating a false panic – and forced to repay the City out of her own pocket for all the extra money and resources it had to use to prepare for this “strike.” Furthermore, I wish that every member of the media would read this column and realize that, like all New Yorkers – they were taken for a ride – and completely blacklist and ignore her the next time she wants to hold a press conference and spew more fictitious information.

My heart goes out to all of my former colleagues at the TLC. I know first hand how much hard work and effort they have had to put forth this week to deal with this “strike” – and I wish them the best of luck in dealing with it. TLC has an amazing staff that each do a great job – I just hope that they get through this soon.

Ironically, in today’s Daily News, Bhairavi Desai is quoted as saying that the “strike” was their answer to, “every lie, every misrepresentation, every mistruth that has come out of the TLC’s mouth.” Well, Ms. Desai, this column is my answer to every lie, every misrepresentation, every mistruth that has come out of your mouth…

…and that’s the truth.