GEORGINA
(
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That’s no hooker, that could be my daughter!
Mayor Bloomberg did an about-face yesterday and refused to sign a bill to stop cabbies from carrying hookers after admitting that even his own sexily clad daughters could be mistaken for ladies of the evening.
“I still don’t understand how a taxi driver can make a decision, and I do worry that if my daughters are out there after they are at, you know, a club and they come out late at night and they’re dressed a lot more risquély — if that’s a word — than people in my generation did but still appropriate for this generation, it does put a taxi driver in a difficult position,” Hizzoner said in a rambling explanation.
His daughter Emma is 33 and Georgina is 29.
Bloomberg had been widely expected to sign the bill at a City Hall ceremony yesterday but changed his mind — at least temporarily — after hearing a growing chorus of opposition.
Critics — who said cabbies could never be certain whether a fare was a prostitute or just a hot-looking party girl — burst into applause at the mayor’s announcement.
But their celebration may be short-lived, because Bloomberg then said he is still leaning toward supporting the bill and would likely eventually sign it.
He’ll make a final decision by tomorrow, he added.
The proposed law makes it a felony to knowingly traffic prostitutes for drivers who have already been convicted of a similar offense.
Women complained that they might have trouble hailing a cab after a night on the town because the cabdrivers might mistake them for ladies of the evening.
But the bill’s supporters — including Bloomberg’s Taxi and Limousine commissioner, David Yassky — insisted it was workable because it would apply only to hacks already convicted of trafficking hookers.
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn slammed Bloomberg.
“If he fails to sign this bill, it will be more than a misguided step; it will be an unconscionable misstep,” she said.
The proposed law would levy $10,000 fines against cabbies who enable prostitution by ferrying prostitutes for hookups with waiting johns.
Officials estimate it would cost the city $2.2 million to implement.