Mayor de Blasio has finally tapped a new leader for the city’s embattled Taxi & Limousine Commission, after his first choice tanked a confirmation hearing this summer.
The mayor Thursday nominated Aloysee Heredia Jarmoszuk, a City Hall staffer, as the chair and commissioner of the city agency tasked with regulating e-hail companies like Uber and Lyft and guiding the taxi industry through a financial crisis.
Jarmoszuk currently serves as chief of staff to Deputy Mayor Laura Aglin, where she worked directly with the TLC and Department of Transportation on crafting policy, according to the mayor.
De Blasio was forced to withdraw his first choice, Jeff Roth, after Roth — a former deputy of outgoing chair Meera Joshi — stumbled through a disastrous City Council confirmation in July, where he offered few details on how he would run the agency.
The pick comes amid news that a city-commissioned panel plans to recommend a big bailout for debt-addled cabbies.
A panel appointed by de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson plans to propose a roughly $500 million relief plan for thousands of taxi drivers who were duped by exploitative loans, according to its members.
Members of the 19-person City Council Medallion Taskforce said Thursday it could involve a partnership with banks to buy medallion loans at discounted rates — a system they claimed would only require some, if any, public funding.
“There are a lot of things the city can do without spending tax dollars,” said Councilman Steve Levin (D-Brooklyn), a co-chair of the panel.
Advocates for the taxi industry said they were anxiously anticipating the full report.
“I feel more optimistic than ever before that we are going to win our campaign for debt relief and drivers will finally get the respite they need to live and thrive,” said Bhairavi Desai, director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.
The TLC has operated without a permanent leader for roughly 10 months since Joshi left her post at the end of March amid policy disagreements with the mayor.
The City Council still must approve Jarmoszuk with a majority vote.