Mayor Mamdani’s TLC Pick Sparks Showdown Over NYC’s Taxi Future

Paul Riverbank, 1/14/2026Can Midori Valdivia steer NYC’s contentious taxi industry toward fairness and innovation?

On a muggy evening like that, with drivers killing time and phones buzzing about the latest fare, Mayor Zohran Mamdani decided this was the spot to mark a turning point. He stood next to a line of cabs and announced Midori Valdivia as his choice to lead the Taxi and Limousine Commission. For anyone following New York’s rough-and-tumble transit politics, Valdivia’s name has had a way of surfacing—usually tied to complicated, trying debates about how the city moves.

Valdivia isn’t a newcomer to these scrums. Her resume, as lengthy as an MTA feasibility report, includes stints at the TLC, the powerhouse Port Authority, and the MTA itself. She’s spent just as much time hashing out issues in boardrooms as out on sidewalks, speaking to drivers in their own language of long nights and tougher regulations. “Transit is what gives this city its heart,” the Mayor said—not mincing words in his praise.

And Valdivia matched the moment, not with platitudes, but with her own brand of earnestness. “Transportation is how New Yorkers make their lives work. It’s freedom—sometimes survival. That’s why I’ve taken this work to heart,” she told the crowd that night, her voice slightly hoarse from days of meetings.

Her philosophy is broad, even if her audience is specific. “This isn’t about vehicle types or fare calculators. It’s drivers, riders, the businesses that make up the marrow of New York,” she continued. She shrugged off the abstract, focusing on the people who burn the midnight oil—quite literally. For her, advocacy isn’t an academic exercise; it’s ground-level, seen in wage disputes, in call-and-response exchanges with drivers who don’t see many paydays worth celebrating.

Valdivia’s approach has always involved wading straight into fraught territory. She’s on board with congestion pricing—a mission that has as many critics among yellow cab drivers as it does fans on the city council floor. Still, she’s the fact-driven type, regularly citing data drops in car crashes within test zones, even as Uber drivers grumble about shifting regulations under their breath. “We cannot slip back into gridlock and danger when there’s a workable solution on the table,” she wrote in a Letter to the Editor last year, a document passed around in unions and driver WhatsApp groups alike.

But before anyone paints her as a city-hall technocrat, consider her work as a consultant. She stood shoulder-to-shoulder with gig drivers in fights over stolen wages. And when the city’s medallion system nearly collapsed—a story that needs little retelling for anyone who’s hung around a driver’s lounge—the financial pain wasn’t lost on her. Mamdani laid it out plainly in his remarks: “Our drivers, our city—their fates are joined at the wheel. If we forget that, we lose something essential.”

Still, fixing the for-hire industry in 2024 is as much a maze as ever. The ghosts of past crises flicker each time a medallion value dips, or when a new app-based competitor appears out of nowhere. Recent years have seen minimum wage wins for drivers and some memorable, bruising negotiations with city officials. Not every initiative lands as intended, but supporters—among them, the normally hard-to-please Taxi Workers Alliance—see Valdivia as one of the few officials who actually listens before she moves to action.

Of course, the industry’s headaches aren’t going away. David Do, who’s stepping down, managed several storms: from pandemic shutdowns to ride-share surges to endless debates about how the city should balance fairness, innovation, and basic safety. Now, Valdivia faces a gauntlet of her own: new tech, old grudges, the eternal challenge of making policies that work for everyone—from legacy yellow cabs to gig app drivers squeezing in a double shift.

“To me, transportation has always been about freedom,” Valdivia repeated toward the end of her speech, glancing at the huddle of drivers—some barely awake after a long night. That’s the heart of what’s ahead: not just cars inching down avenues, but real people, trying to keep New York’s perpetual motion both humane and fair.

Her nomination is now in the hands of the City Council. Whether or not she gets the job, the real story won’t unfold in hearing rooms—it’ll keep playing out, day and night, in the swirl of traffic, the glow of smartphone screens, and the stories exchanged between drivers and the city they call home.

It’s just past midnight at LaGuardia’s Terminal C, and the scene is all too familiar for anyone who’s spent a late night trying to make sense of New York’s for-hire vehicle labyrinth. Under sharp fluorescent lights, yellow cabs wait along the curb in a tired row, while rideshare drivers make slow, looping circuits, scanning for travelers who look as lost as they feel. The air has that buzz—equal parts anticipation and impatience.On a muggy evening like that, with drivers killing time and phones buzzing about the latest fare, Mayor Zohran Mamdani decided this was the spot to mark a turning point. He stood next to a line of cabs and announced Midori Valdivia as his choice to lead the Taxi and Limousine Commission. For anyone following New York’s rough-and-tumble transit politics, Valdivia’s name has had a way of surfacing—usually tied to complicated, trying debates about how the city moves.Valdivia isn’t a newcomer to these scrums. Her resume, as lengthy as an MTA feasibility report, includes stints at the TLC, the powerhouse Port Authority, and the MTA itself. She’s spent just as much time hashing out issues in boardrooms as out on sidewalks, speaking to drivers in their own language of long nights and tougher regulations. “Transit is what gives this city its heart,” the Mayor said—not mincing words in his praise.And Valdivia matched the moment, not with platitudes, but with her own brand of earnestness. “Transportation is how New Yorkers make their lives work. It’s freedom—sometimes survival. That’s why I’ve taken this work to heart,” she told the crowd that night, her voice slightly hoarse from days of meetings.Her philosophy is broad, even if her audience is specific. “This isn’t about vehicle types or fare calculators. It’s drivers, riders, the businesses that make up the marrow of New York,” she continued. She shrugged off the abstract, focusing on the people who burn the midnight oil—quite literally. For her, advocacy isn’t an academic exercise; it’s ground-level, seen in wage disputes, in call-and-response exchanges with drivers who don’t see many paydays worth celebrating.Valdivia’s approach has always involved wading straight into fraught territory. She’s on board with congestion pricing—a mission that has as many critics among yellow cab drivers as it does fans on the city council floor. Still, she’s the fact-driven type, regularly citing data drops in car crashes within test zones, even as Uber drivers grumble about shifting regulations under their breath. “We cannot slip back into gridlock and danger when there’s a workable solution on the table,” she wrote in a Letter to the Editor last year, a document passed around in unions and driver WhatsApp groups alike.But before anyone paints her as a city-hall technocrat, consider her work as a consultant. She stood shoulder-to-shoulder with gig drivers in fights over stolen wages. And when the city’s medallion system nearly collapsed—a story that needs little retelling for anyone who’s hung around a driver’s lounge—the financial pain wasn’t lost on her. Mamdani laid it out plainly in his remarks: “Our drivers, our city—their fates are joined at the wheel. If we forget that, we lose something essential.”Still, fixing the for-hire industry in 2024 is as much a maze as ever. The ghosts of past crises flicker each time a medallion value dips, or when a new app-based competitor appears out of nowhere. Recent years have seen minimum wage wins for drivers and some memorable, bruising negotiations with city officials. Not every initiative lands as intended, but supporters—among them, the normally hard-to-please Taxi Workers Alliance—see Valdivia as one of the few officials who actually listens before she moves to action.Of course, the industry’s headaches aren’t going away. David Do, who’s stepping down, managed several storms: from pandemic shutdowns to ride-share surges to endless debates about how the city should balance fairness, innovation, and basic safety. Now, Valdivia faces a gauntlet of her own: new tech, old grudges, the eternal challenge of making policies that work for everyone—from legacy yellow cabs to gig app drivers squeezing in a double shift.“To me, transportation has always been about freedom,” Valdivia repeated toward the end of her speech, glancing at the huddle of drivers—some barely awake after a long night. That’s the heart of what’s ahead: not just cars inching down avenues, but real people, trying to keep New York’s perpetual motion both humane and fair.Her nomination is now in the hands of the City Council. Whether or not she gets the job, the real story won’t unfold in hearing rooms—it’ll keep playing out, day and night, in the swirl of traffic, the glow of smartphone screens, and the stories exchanged between drivers and the city they call home.