By Michele Evans / NYweeklyRecord.com / Date: 7/26/2026
Category: Public Safety / Taxi Drivers / Worker Protection / NYPD Accountability
NEW YORK CITY, NY – Two working cab drivers were shot in the face in separate Brooklyn attacks less than two weeks apart, putting renewed pressure on city leaders to explain how they will protect the workers who move New Yorkers around the clock.
MD Amin, 50, was shot shortly after 4 a.m. Friday on North Portland Avenue in Fort Greene, according to NY1. Police sources told the outlet that Amin’s for-hire vehicle collided with a medical delivery van before another man approached his window and opened fire.
Amin, a Bangladeshi immigrant, has driven for hire for 16 years to support his wife and children, NY1 reported. He underwent surgery and was listed in stable condition. No arrest had been announced in the report.
The shooting followed a July 11 attack in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Police sources told the New York Post that a 21-year-old private-livery driver was shot in the face during an alleged robbery. He was hospitalized in stable condition, and police were still seeking a suspect at the time of that report.
The New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers says Amin was the second working driver shot in two weeks. Founder Fernando Mateo is calling on Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration to require cameras in every cab so investigators can obtain footage after attacks.
Cameras may help document what happened and provide evidence to the NYPD. They do not, by themselves, prevent a gunman from approaching a driver, and the proposal leaves major questions unanswered.
Who would pay for the equipment, installation, maintenance and data storage? What privacy protections would apply to passengers and drivers? Which vehicles would be covered, who would enforce the rule, and how quickly could police obtain footage without turning every ride into unchecked surveillance?
The attacks also raise a broader worker-safety question. Drivers often work alone, carry strangers at all hours and can be trapped behind the wheel during a confrontation. Yet the public response frequently arrives only after blood has been shed.
The shootings are under investigation, and the reported accounts include allegations that have not been tested in court. City Hall, the Taxi and Limousine Commission and the NYPD now face a clear accountability test: whether they will produce a funded, enforceable safety plan instead of leaving drivers to absorb the risk alone.
Sources
NY1: For-hire driver shot during Fort Greene dispute
New York Post: Gun-toting robber shoots NYC rideshare driver in face during violent stick-up
Gothamist: Advocates call for stricter safety measures after two cabbie shootings in Brooklyn
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