Few Taxis on Park Avenue

In Manhattan on a workday morning, the stretch of Park Avenue in the East Eighties is usually busy with cabs. But this morning, the first of a strike by the Taxi Workers Alliance, doormen were scrambling to hail the few cabs to be seen on Park. On this part of the Upper East Side, the strike was definitely having an impact.

In the morning, I usually walk up Lexington Avenue from my home on East 81 Street to take the subway from Lexington and 86 Street. Today I varied my route and at around 7:30 am took Park uptown to get a small sense of the strike.

The streets seemed quieter than usual, so I asked six doormen and building workers if the number of taxis on the street was down. All six said that there were definitely fewer cabs than usual.

For doormen, that seemed to mean hustling to hail one of the few cabs on the street.

But one building worker liked the change. Gesturing to the relative quiet on Park and the blue sky, he said: "This is nice. Look at all the fresh air."