Meet the City’s Worst Pedicabby
If you measure it by number of violations, Seydou Kone, 21, is the city’s worst pedicabby. The New York Post reports that the pedicab driver admits to racking up almost 90 violations this year, and his recklessness (along with the failure to pay tickets) has led to four open arrest warrants. Kone, who moved to New York from Mali in 2007 and obtained a $35 pedicab license from the Department of Consumer Affairs in April 2010 (missing the November 2009 deadline), has broken the law a variety of ways, including blowing red lights, failing to signal, disobeying traffic signs, blocking crosswalks and even riding on sidewalks. In July, officers ordered him to scram from a restricted area in front of the Boathouse. According to court documents, Kone bizarrely mouthed off to the officers, “They will go to see God tomorrow.” A month later, they slapped him with disorderly conduct for scaring a female passenger. “He grabbed [her] purse and stuffed a $5 bill in her purse without her permission out of spite. [She] feared for her safety,” an officer wrote in the August 8th summons. Despite the mountain of tickets, Kone still amazingly has a city license to drive his pedicab. While yellow cab drivers would have had their license yanked by the TLC after two moving violations or 6 points within 15 months, the DCA, which is in charge of licensing pedicabbies, only revokes licenses on a discretionary basis. According to the Post‘s article, the agency was unaware of the number of Kone’s violations and couldn’t explain why he still has his license. While the agency is now considering yanking Kone’s license, he continues to ride, wreaking havoc on Central Park’s streets and sidewalks. Read more about the pedicab licensing and safety at The New York Post.
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Tags: DCA, Department of Consumer Affairs, Pedicab, Pedicab License, Seydou Kone, Taxi and Limousine Commission, Violations
