“[Steven Heller, interviewer]: How would you further describe this ubiquitous NYC profession?
Rodriguez: It was tough. We didn’t make much money. Cab companies wanted to keep the cabs running 24 hours a day. Since I was going to school, I needed part-time flexibility, so I would lease a cab by the shift. The cabs broke down all the time—the garage owners would buy used police cars, slap a coat of yellow paint on them and put them out on the street, but didn’t maintain them as well as they should have. I was very naïve when I first started—I used to just come in, throw in my license, and get going. And there’s a hole in the floor like a “Flintstones” mobile. So I have to get cardboard and put it in the floor so I’m not standing in the street!”
Read the full interview here