By JEFF LIPTON
A new cab company in Long Beach trying to make a name for itself started off on the wrong foot with the county, resulting in thousands of dollars in fines and three of its taxis being hauled away, officials said.
And it all started with a dispute over its name. Beech Street Taxi, at 1046 West Beech St., which was operating as Long Beach Checker when the business was launched about a year ago, was forced to change its name because it was similar to the long-established Long Island Checker.
The owner of Long Island Checker, Phil Fortuna, filed a lawsuit against the president of Long Beach Checker, Thomas Cipolla, in Nassau County Supreme Court, saying the similar name would cause confusion among customers.
After Cipolla agreed to the name-change about three months ago, the new cab company failed to register with the county under the new moniker — even after several warnings to do so.
On Thursday, Nov. 6, the county's Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) towed away three of Beech Street's cabs, effectively shutting down the operation. The company was back in business on Monday, Nov. 10, after the proper paperwork was filed, officials said.
But instead of paying $5 to register each cab, Beech Street ended up paying a total of about $4,000 in fines, towing costs and late fees, county officials said.
“We gave the guy more than enough time to register the cabs,” said Joe Chierchio, assistant to Roger C. Bogsted, commissioner of the county's Department of Consumer Affairs, which takes in the TLC. “I don't like to chase people around for a $5 registration. “It made no sense to chase him down,” he added. “It bothers me that this guy was not coming in for $5.”
Chierchio said the county gave Cipolla a 40-day extension after the registration expired in September to hand in the paperwork.
“We had several phone conversations with them,” he said. “He knows the paperwork was required.”
Chierchio said TLC enforcement agents would have hauled away Beech Street's entire fleet of 10 taxis had they been able to locate them.
“It appears that he hid the cars from us,” said Chierchio, who added that agents searched for the vehicles all over Long Beach and some neighboring communities.
Cipolla refused to comment, referring calls to his attorney, Charles Peknic, who said the failure to register the vehicles was an “oversight” resulting from the name-change. About a year ago, Cipolla worked for Long Island Checker, a Freeport-based, 40-year-old taxi company, and shortly thereafter left to launch his own company, which he named Long Beach Checker. Peknic said the name was not meant to cause confusion or to trick Long Island Checker's customers into using Long Beach Checker. He said the vehicles had a totally different appearance.
Fortuna said he took Cipolla to Nassau County Supreme Court to force him to stop using “Checker” in the company's name. “I have a lot of customers in Long Beach, and I wanted him to stop using that name,” Fortuna said.
Peknic said both companies “negotiated a settlement” and Cipolla agreed to change the name of the company to Beech Street Taxi, “in an effort to prevent any potential confusion.”
Long Beach Checker had paid the $50 to register its 10 cabs with the county, but did not register under the new name by the September deadline, county officials said.
As a result, the three vehicles were towed at a $700 expense to Cipolla, said Chierchio. In addition, he paid a $25 late fee for each of the 10 vehicles and a $1,000 fine per vehicle that was towed, he added.
“It's a shame and it's sad that people in the taxi industry are operating illegally,” said Fortuna, who has owned Long Island Checker for 28 years and is also president of the Long Island Taxi Transit Owners Association. “It makes the whole industry look bad.”
Peknic said the county's actions against Cipolla “had nothing to do with quality of service or the condition of the vehicles. Beech Street Taxi is committed to the people of Long Beach, providing excellent service, courteous drivers and clean and safe automobiles to all its customers.
“Starting a new business is always tough,” Peknic added. “There are a lot of hurdles to pass. It presents many challenges, among them is voluminous paperwork and competition [with other companies].”
Long Beach City Manager Charles Theofan said Cipolla's company has always been fully licensed by the city to operate in Long Beach.
He said he has heard that a number of people have welcomed another cab company to the neighborhood because competition encourages upgraded service. “I'm glad to see that the whole thing has been resolved,” Theofan said.
Chierchio said it’s extremely unusual for the TLC to tow cabs, since the agency has a 99 percent compliance rate. The TLC does impound about 125 cabs a year, mostly gypsy cabs operating without licenses, he said.
Comments about this story? Jlipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
