Beresford Simmons

Beresford Simmons grew up in Kingston, Jamaica, where he was first influenced and inspired by reggae music. He moved to the US in 1968 and began working as a cab driver part time in 1974 or 1975 while also working for Keystone electronics. He began his radio show, Taxi Vibes, in 1979. Simmons got involved with the New York Taxi Workers Alliance in its early years after a short period working with the United Yellow Cab Drivers Association.

In this interview, Simmons relates his experiences as a cab driver and union organizer over the past 35 years. He discusses the major changes that have taken place in the industry and in New York City since the 1970s, when drivers were paid on a percentage-based system, rather than leasing on a weekly or daily basis. Simmons also talks about his relationship with other drivers, through interactions in the waiting lot at the JFK airport, through is radio program and through his work with the NYTWA. He also recounts stories of his interactions with passengers and discusses how political changes in the city have affected the industry.

March 16, 2011

All rights are reserved by the New York City Taxi Driver Oral History Project unless otherwise noted.

We ask researchers and public viewers to understand the following:

1. These interviews were conducted keeping in mind the General Principles & Best Practices for Oral History provided by the Oral History Association (2009). The Oral History Association states that those using oral histories “should strive for intellectual honesty and the best application of the skills of their discipline. They should avoid stereotypes, misrepresentations, and manipulations of the narrator’s words. This includes foremost striving to retain the integrity of the narrator’s perspective, recognizing the subjectivity of the interview, and interpreting and contextualizing the narrative according to the professional standards of the applicable scholarly disciplines.”

2. As we believe that the audio version of an oral history is the primary source and contains important silences and intonations, we have provided access to the full length audio interviews on this website. As these interviews contain verbal stammers, repetitions, stutters and grammatical mistakes that are natural when conversing, please be respectful of this when listening to and quoting from these interviews.

4. The New York City Taxi Driver Oral History Project is a documentation project and is designed to document the voices and perspectives of selected taxi drivers at a given moment in the history of the NYC taxi industry. The project directors have not and do not intend to cast judgment, interpret, or draw conclusions based on these interviews.

5. The opinions and perspectives recorded as part of The New York City Taxi Driver Oral History Project reflect only those viewpoints of the drivers themselves. The project directors do not necessarily share any of the opinions voiced by the interviewees.

6. Citations must take the following form:

"Narrator’s Name," in The New York City Taxi Driver Oral History Project, Item #, http://nyctaxisoralhistory.com/project (accessed Month Day, Year).

Audio

English

Gil Avineri

Gil Avineri (1981- ) was born in Colombia to Colombian and Israeli parents. He grew up in Los Angeles, Houston, and Miami and has traveled across the United States and Europe, as well as visited South American and Israel. Avineri attended Florida Atlantic University where he studied Elementary Education. He moved to New York in 2005 and began driving a cab the following year. He currently resides in Brooklyn with his family. Outside of his profession, he creates journal collages in which he chronicles his experiences in the cab, maintains two blogs and travels frequently.

In this interview, Gil Avineri discusses his decision to move to New York, his initial experiences in the city and how he became a cab driver. He relates significant encounters with passengers and his opinions on current issues in the industry, such as fare gouging, the economic recession, environmental concerns, crime and discrimination. Specifically, he relates a recent situation in which he aided the police in catching a burglar involved in a string of thefts in Manhattan. Avineri expresses a fondness for the community of cab drivers, both in the garages, around the city and online. He also explains the background behind his blogs, “Taxicab Almanac of NYC” and “Tips for Cab Drivers,” and the artwork he creates in his collage journals that detail each of his shifts with maps, images and words. His interview is a thorough and candid overview of the changes in the industry over the past four years and how these changes have affected the cab driving community.

November 11, 2010

All rights are reserved by the New York City Taxi Driver Oral History Project unless otherwise noted.

We ask researchers and public viewers to understand the following:

1. These interviews were conducted keeping in mind the General Principles & Best Practices for Oral History provided by the Oral History Association (2009). The Oral History Association states that those using oral histories “should strive for intellectual honesty and the best application of the skills of their discipline. They should avoid stereotypes, misrepresentations, and manipulations of the narrator’s words. This includes foremost striving to retain the integrity of the narrator’s perspective, recognizing the subjectivity of the interview, and interpreting and contextualizing the narrative according to the professional standards of the applicable scholarly disciplines.”

2. As we believe that the audio version of an oral history is the primary source and contains important silences and intonations, we have provided access to the full length audio interviews on this website. As these interviews contain verbal stammers, repetitions, stutters and grammatical mistakes that are natural when conversing, please be respectful of this when listening to and quoting from these interviews.

4. The New York City Taxi Driver Oral History Project is a documentation project and is designed to document the voices and perspectives of selected taxi drivers at a given moment in the history of the NYC taxi industry. The project directors have not and do not intend to cast judgment, interpret, or draw conclusions based on these interviews.

5. The opinions and perspectives recorded as part of The New York City Taxi Driver Oral History Project reflect only those viewpoints of the drivers themselves. The project directors do not necessarily share any of the opinions voiced by the interviewees.

6. Citations must take the following form:

"Narrator’s Name," in The New York City Taxi Driver Oral History Project, Item #, http://nyctaxisoralhistory.com/project (accessed Month Day, Year).

Audio

English