Thursday, October 1, 2026
Village officials, residents and representatives of two rival taxi companies gathered in Village Hall last Monday evening for a public hearing on taxicab service in Rockville Centre.
The hearing — which was open to the public and invited public comment — was called after Village Car Service, a Lynbrook-based taxicab company, decided to appeal the rejection of its application for a license to operate in the village. The application was submitted more than two years ago and rejected in January by Village Administrator Keith Spadaro, who said that the village had no need for another taxi service. All Island Transportation remains the only taxi company licensed to operate within village borders, and has served as the village’s primary taxi company for more than three decades.
A. Thomas Levin, the attorney for the village, began the hearing by asking its fundamental question: “Is there a need, or public convenience and necessity, to have an additional taxi service?” He then confirmed that the hearing would determine if there was a need for an additional service in Rockville Centre, not whether or not VCS would be that service.
However, on a phone call after the meeting, Levin’s assessment of the hearing’s purpose altered slightly, more closely reflecting the wording of its February legal notice: “Appeal of Village Taxi Service, Inc., … from a denial of a license to operate a taxi service and four taxicab vehicles.”
“The village is holding a public hearing on the appeal of the Village Administrator’s decision,” Levin said.
Village Car Service lawyer Allen Stein opened with a critique of Spadaro’s decision that focused on a single phrase within Chapter 297-7 of the Village Code, which focuses on the issuance or denial of licenses. The phrase, “required by the public convenience and necessity,” remained the focus of the night’s debate.
“We’re dealing with laws and rules that go back many, many, many years,” Stein said. “…I hope the board understands that we are dealing with rather archaic language and that, under the circumstances, I’m going to use the expression that we do have to think outside the box.”
