Taxi Driver Could Pay $25,000 for Refusing Black Passenger

A Staten Island cab driver could face a $25,000 fine for refusing to pick up a customer because she is black.

In a suit filed by the city’s Commission on Human Rights, Cynthia Jordan claimed she was hailing a cab outside of the Herald Square Macy’s with her daughter when driver Baqir Raza turned them down, saying he was off-duty.

The story was first reported in DNAInfo.

“His light was on, so we knew he wasn’t supposed to do that,” said Jordan, who is a vice president of accounting at Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. “Then he drove down about 25 feet and picked up two Caucasian women.”

Efforts to reach Raza were not immediately successful.

Jordan filed a complaint with the Taxi and Limousine Commission, which fined Raza $200.

“I said there has to be something else we can do,” said Jordan.

Jordan said she has been refused service many times before, but this was the most blatant instance of discrimination she had experienced.

“When things happen to you and you don’t feel they’re fair or just, do something, say something, pursue it,” said Jordan.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission could not confirm how often cab drivers refuse passengers. Over the past two-and-a-half years, the city’s Commission on Human Rights filed five complaints related to taxi service.

The settlement must still be approved by the Commission on Human Rights.