Mayor Michael Bloomberg cursed out the chief executive officer of a taxi company who won a court case against the city and pledged a post-mayoral revenge against the entire industry, the CEO and one witness said.
“[I will] destroy your [expletive] industry,” Mr. Bloomberg said to Taxi Club Management CEO Gene Freidman, The New York Post reported.
He made the comments during last Thursday’s game at Madison Square Garden during an impromptu meet at the 1879 Club, a witness told The Post. Mr. Friedman subsequently confirmed the exchange to The Post and added that Mr. Bloomberg also said that come January — when his mayoral term wraps — he would destroy “all you [expletive] guys.
“It was like Gene had kidnapped his child,” the witness told The Post. “He used the f-word twice.”
The court case centered on the mayor’s attempt to replace the city’s cab fleet with hybrid vehicles — a plan called the Taxi of Tomorrow. The judge ruled that the mayor couldn’t order the fleet change because it violated city code.
Mr. Friedman reportedly saw Mr. Bloomberg at the club a day after the court ruling, and asked him about the Taxi of Tomorrow plan, The Post said. Mr. Bloomberg then made the threats, Mr. Friedman said, in The Post.
“He was very angry, very scary, very violent in a non-physical way. He was grinding his teeth, he was spitting, he was red, and he was in my face,” Mr. Friedman said, in The Post. “When we walked away, I asked a friend who was with me, ’Did the mayor just threaten me?’ My friend responded, ’No, he threatened you twice.’ “
The Post reported that the mayor’s office did not respond to requests for comments.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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