Some cabbies caught in lurch after city demands expired plates back

Abshir Mohamed said after moving six months ago, he forgot to update his mailing address with the city.
As a result, he missed out on his usual licence renewal notices for his fleet of five Beck Taxi cabs.
Municipal Licensing and Standards officers recently came to his downtown auto garage and demanded he give back two of his taxi plates — which had expired on Feb. 8, 2020 — because he didn’t pay the renewal fees of $1,450 each.
“I panicked,” said Mohamed, 56. “I’m law-abiding and don’t want any problems, so I gave them back. I never got any notice for these. But this is my livelihood, my income. Now, both are parked and my drivers have to stay home.”
Kristine Hubbard, the operations manager of Beck Taxi, said she’s spoken with several cabbies who claimed MLS officers have taken a screwdriver to taxi licence plates, removing them during the night.
She said during her 38 years with Beck Taxi, she’s never heard of the city cancelling cab owners’ licences. Of Beck Taxi’s fleet, six vehicles are affected.
