August 28, 2011 was a Sunday. Tonight, I drove the night-shift and started in the late afternoon. Tonight shift was odd for a number of reasons. Due to Hurricane Irene this was quite an interesting weekend for New York City. The city was deserted. First of all, the city’s subways were shutdown, system-wide. This was a historic move by mayor Bloomberg made because of the risk of flooding within the underground subway tunnels during the hurricane. Also, a few areas within Manhattan and other boroughs of New York City were evacuated because they were low-lying and in danger of being flooded. The people who were in these areas were instructed to stay somewhere else, for example, with friends, in a hotel or a shelter that the city had provided. This Sunday afternoon was after Irene had for the most part already passed through the city. It was windy, cloudy, and drizzly. When I showed up at the garage in Park Slope, Brooklyn the neighborhood was completely deserted. The storm had not caused major damage but there were leaves, branches, and trash strewn about like you would find after a thunderstorm. I hoped that there were pedestrians and therefore passengers in the city, this part of the city didn’t look promising. I entered the city the same way that I usually do every afternoon, over the Manhattan Bridge, and turning onto Allen then First Avenue. At least in my favor, there was no subway service and no bus service throughout the city. As I pulled up along First Avenue an ethnic looking man possibly from India hailed me and we headed over to the Upper West Side. The ride was conversation free. We stopped at a store. This store was closed and he proceeded to open the metal shield that covered the storefront. What was particularly odd about the city that never sleeps is that today all of the stores along Amsterdam Avenue had metal shields were drawn down in front. There were also a limited number of pedestrians, the fewest I’ve ever seen, and this was during the middle of the day. It was extremely eerie. What was also odd is that there were fewer taxis on the roads to compete with, so this helped the situation. After this Asian man, I headed north and stopped on the right side of Amsterdam Avenue, picking up a European man with a heavy accent. We turned right and headed to midtown down 9th Avenue to 58th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. The taxi business tonight was not as good as I had hoped it would be, being that the city was deserted, but it was still about average. I think part of the reason was because many places were closed today due to the storm. It was definitely eerie but I got used to it and did my business. A few fares later I picked up an Asian American couple headed from the East Village to Battery Park City, an area of the city that was evacuated due to flooding from Hurricane Irene. From a bit of research on 1010 AM radio, I knew that the FDR was flooded and closed so I decided to go down Bowery, then Worth Street, then Broadway, and then make a right and head across West Street into the complex. The flooding that was supposedly there had receded so we had no problem getting in. This very same trip was repeated two more times tonight, the third time was with a young Asian girl who was just hired at JPMorgan Chase as a technology analyst from the University of Michigan. She seemed barely 22 and acted her age. We chatted about New York City for awhile. Then we chatted about her career in IT and my former career in IT. She was a Java programmer or at least she thought that she would be once she began her career at JP Morgan. After my second trip into Batter Park, it had begun to shower a bit. On the way out of Battery Park, I picked up a lesbian couple and took them over to King and 6th Avenue in the West Village. On my way out of the complex, the 3rd time, I picked up an Italian family from Rome, on the West Side Highway, and took them to 49th and 5th Avenue, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. They were on a site-seeing tour across the US and their flight got canceled today as all of the airports in the New York City metro area were closed. We discussed how the city was deserted today and how the winds were really whipping up now with the back end of the hurricane. Also among my list of fares later on in the afternoon were a young ethnic-looking girl headed to Park and 18th Street. She asked me where a Duane Reade’s drug store might be open since many stores were closed today. After her I picked an odd-looking young couple headed to a restaurant also on Park Avenue, a black man headed to work at a hospital at 135th and Lenox in Harlem from the Upper West Side, and a black girl who was heading from the Times Square area to Harlem. She asked a bunch of annoying questions a taxi driver does not really want to hear, like “how much does this usually cost? Can you provide me with a handwritten receipt? Are you going up Madison?” ………
…..During the late afternoon, there was more of a lull between my fares and I noticed that many other taxis that I was in competition with were vacant. I had to be nimble, quick, and aggressive when it came to hunting for fares tonight which was odd considering there was no subway……
……Later on towards 8PM after the sun set, two athletic-looking Latin males, one of them wearing a tank top, saddled up. As soon as they got in they began practicing wrestling moves inside my cab, one of them got the other into some sort of a headlock claiming “look, there is no way for you to get out of it,” while the other guy tried to escape claiming he would hurt em by poking him in the eyes. “I don’t want to have to hurt you” he proclaimed in a casual tone. Wrestling inside the cab was a first for me. Then we discussed how the subways were not supposed to be operational again until late Monday. I told them about how I had to hire another taxi driver to take me to get my cab. One of them lived on Carmine Street in the Village, the other on 7th Avenue, while the 3rd passenger I presume was a relative visiting from out of town. They got off in West Midtown. Next in a series of taxi riders were a family going from the Upper West Side to a hotel in midtown; a mixed white-collar couple, headed to York and 72nd, and another in a series of endless sets of European tourists headed to a restaurant on 3rd Avenue and 65th or so. All of these people were going out to clubs, parties, events, bars, and the like which separates them from the day passenger types. I prefer to categorize my rides into several different types, but one distinctive type is of course, people who are headed out to party for the night, or coming home from a bar or club, or private party. These are distinctive fares from those during the day because usually they are a bit crazier and out of control, and of course intoxicated or on drugs. Among the more business-like fares that night were two foreign men, I did not bother to ask from what country, who were headed to Jersey City, New Jersey. They offered me $50 for a 20 minute ride. We went south through the Holland Tunnel then I made a left and headed south for a bit, based on my review of a handy map. They paid me $61, then I returned to the city back through the deserted Holland Tunnel. Next were two young men who were intoxicated but friendly, they were headed upto 3rd and 31st to an all-night restaurant. I also picked up a mixed group of girls/guys headed to 75 West Street on the other side of Battery Park from the West Village.
As time went on past midnight to 2AM or 3AM, the more colorful and crazier the people who got into my cab became. Maybe the hours of between 1AM and 5AM should be considered the crazy time in taxi driving. Tonight, one memorable fare consisted of two young attractive women heading to the Upper West Side. I was coming north on Hudson Street in the West Village when these two girls stopped me, one of them smoking a cigarette. They were both wearing tight shorts and I might consider them to be Williamsburg, Brooklyn type of girls but they were residing in Manhattan. These two girls were going to 83rd and Amsterdam but might possibly want to stop along the way to get ice cream. One of them was from upstate New York and the other was from Boston. One of the girls was wearing a tight tanktop and very short shorts. Sometime during the conversation I heard of them talking about this boy who was in the city today. This boy was in the city to see the new Broadway play, Spiderman Turn off the Dark. They stated that he was not impressed by the play. One of them stated that “every time he comes into the city he wants me to suck his dick.” Then there was some more conversation that was drowned out by the bumps in the road and the shaking of the taxi, but, I took it to also be of a sexual nature. Then they switched to a conversation about their other roomie who they said “was probably fcking her bf on the couch in the living room since “she thought we’d be gone all night.” They laughed, “No maybe they are doing it on top of the microwave in the kitchen, hehehehehe!” After they mentioned this, I started some small talk about who they were and where they were from thinking maybe they were lesbians. “When I’m dating a man I prefer to stick with the man” she stated, but when I’m dating her I prefer to keep her to myself.” The conversation did not seem to progress much beyond this then she paid, left me, and wished me well, tipping generously.
….. Later on I went by this club called 1Oak on 17th Street and 10th Avenue, I parked in front of 1Oak and waited for a fare to come out of the door. Now 1Oak usually has some very beautiful people when it’s open and crowded. There are also quite a lot of Europeans, affluent partygoers, and other exotic types of people. Tonight was no exception. A few minutes later, a couple approached the door. It was an Italian couple. I could tell because they were speaking Italian. The woman was exotic looking and more fair skinned than most Italians so I assumed they were from northern Italy. A few weeks ago, I had picked up this beautiful Italian woman from Milan; she was as exotic as they come with a sweet sexy accent that was a bit different than that of southern Italians. Now this Italian man opened the front door and told me where to take the young lady. The young lady stumbled into the back and the man went back inside the club. She was wearing a formal party dress that was a bit revealing. She wanted go to a hotel, the Best Western Presidential on 7th Avenue and 48th Street in Times Square. The Italian girl in the back was sleepy and slumped over in the seat. I tried to start some chit chat with her but she was passed out and a bit drowsy and mumbling. We drove from 17th and 10th up 10th Avenue and then took a right on about 50th Street. This girl was in and out of consciousness. She spoke very broken English and we didn’t have much of a conversation. We turned down 7th Avenue, and headed south a bit, with my trying to find this Best Western. Nowhere did I see a sign that said Best Western and I wasn’t familiar with this hotel, so I turned to her and said miss, where’s your hotel? There was no response. I stepped out of the taxi and went around to the back, opening the door and approaching her, she responded, “the Best Western Presidential, over there she pointed sleepily, take me to the right, take me to the right, it’s over there.” So I thought we will have to go around again, since I missed the turn. That’s odd since I had never seen a Best Western around here in Times Square, it must be new. We go around the block again, I drove down the street she claims is where her hotel is located, but nowhere can I find a Best Western. So we stop again, “I ask her, can you just walk over there to where your hotel is?” She said, no she wants to be driven “over there to the right!” she moans with her head slumped a bit in the seat then she tells me that her hotel is located at 49th Street and 9th Avenue not 7th. Oh great I think, I’m just wasting time now. Again we drive around in a circle, with my cruising over to 9th Avenue, but yet again I cannot seem to locate this woman’s hotel. “Mamma Mia!” She moaned. I go back over towards 7th Avenue but this time a garbage truck is blocking our way. I turn to her and ask her again if she would just mind walking back to her hotel from this corner at 8th Avenue and she finally agreed, with my not knowing exactly where she was trying to go. Now this is an unusual event, I rarely have a fare where I could not find the exact building they want to go to. Because of this I charged her $10 even though the meter was at $13 and then headed back down to the meatpacking district to get some more fares…
… Next up, more drunks and let me tell you, the later it gets the crazier these people seem to become, although I don’t usually mind it. I pulled down 9th Avenue then I made a right onto 13th, into the Meatpacking District. I picked up 5 young white men who were of the scruffy looking variety coming out of a bar, probably some place like Hogs and Heffers. These men had a serious BO problem. Obviously they were on vacation here. The more docile of the men sat up from with me. One of the other men sat leaning up with his tattooed arm draped over the front of the front seat. These men spoke with an odd Midwestern sounding accent. They were from Alberta, Canada. Now one of the more aggressive drunks and the apparent leader of the group started off by saying “Let me tell you that girl in the cardigan was a real c*ckblock! I was trying to pick up her friend and she was a total c*ckblock! I know that chick would've totally gone home with me! The girl in the cardigan was judging me all night!” We are heading west, going towards the West Side Highway. He continued on a rant. Then he looks at this other Indian taxi driver who is parked waiting to make a right turn in front of us, and the light is green but he’s not moving. The aggressive scruffy leader yells “hey man, we’re trying to drive here dude, move it!” out the window. LOL. I pulled around him and gave my horn a bit of a honk. The Indian driver winced a bit and then started moving. Then the aggressive drunk started mouthing off more about the women they had encountered. “Did you see that girl in that Mercedes convertible? That was an $80,000 car. She wanted to do some slumming tonight! She totally wanted to pick us up. All you need is a tattoo and a small c*ck and there you go!“ Love it. Then he mumbled something about the woman in the cardigan being a total c*ckblock for a repeat of the same story he told us the first time around “I tell you she was a total c*ckblock! I think she liked it when I tried to eat her cardigan!” We are moving up 10th Avenue right about 23rd Street after going off the West Side Highway. We come up beside a white sedan driven by a black lady and the aggressive guy goes “Hey man, I know you can take this lady go for it!!”I revved my Toyota engine some and then took off at the green. Only, the red lights up ahead were hindering my aggressive driving and we were about even. Then we are making a right turn towards Times Square and another slow poke taxi driver is parked letting someone off. As we pull beside him, the aggressive guy again yells out the window “Hey man, we’re trying to drive here, move it!” in a half way joking tone! Love it! Of course I usually drive pretty aggressively anyway and I didn’t mind his coaching. I dropped these crazy, smelly guys off at a hotel on 7th Avenue and 52nd or so, then I went back yet again to the meatpacking district. My night ended by picking up a few more ladies, one American girl I took home to Riverside Blvd into Trumps complex on the west side and then two more girls from Costa Rica I took to Broadway on the Upper West Side to conclude another night of driving in NYC’s Craziest Taxi Stories!
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