"NY POST, 5/12/04
CABBY CRABBY AT KOCH
By JAMIE SCHRAM and CLEMENTE LISI
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ED KOCH Aide ""caused"" injury.
May 12, 2004 -- A Bronx taxi driver thinks former Mayor Ed Koch can't hack it as a model citizen.
The cabby, Carl Essel, was fuming mad yesterday after Koch's bodyguard unintentionally injured a cyclist as he was getting out of a cab - and, before the cops showed up, the former mayor and his escort took off, the hack said.
""He saw the accident. He ignored it,"" Essel told The Post. ""I thought a former mayor would care.""
Essel, 39, said he picked up Koch and his bodyguard, identified only as Allan, at La Guardia Airport around 8 a.m. and dropped them off at 51st Street and Sixth Avenue.
When the bodyguard tried to exit the cab on the street side - a traffic violation called ""dooring"" - his door struck a cyclist who was traveling along Sixth Avenue.
Essel, who has been driving a yellow cab for about a year, said Koch bolted out of the cab and his bodyguard quickly paid the $35 fare.
""They left me in a real mess,"" he said.
Essel said two cops parked across the street approached him to see what happened. The cyclist suffered only a few scratches.
The NYPD said no accident report was filed.
Essel, who was not issued a summons, said he is worried the incident may put the brakes on his ability to lease or drive a cab. ""I have a clean driving record and I'm proud of it,"" he said. ""They put my driver's license in the middle of a crisis. I want an apology.""
The Taxi and Limousine Commission said Essel will not face any sanctions in connection with the incident. City traffic law prohibits anyone in a car from exiting ""from the side facing on the traveled part of the street in such a manner as to interfere with the right of the operator of an approaching vehicle or a bicycle.""
Koch, 79, said he was unaware of the accident. ""I got out and said goodbye and walked into the building,"" he said. ""I didn't walk away from anything. I have no idea what he's talking about.""
Koch said whatever happened may have ensued after he was gone. ""I'm not a witness,"" he said. ""What happened is between the cabby and the police.""
Essel said Koch was there and did nothing. ""He didn't say anything,"" he said. ""He walked out on me.""
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cabby crabby at koch
"Hmmm, did the cyclist (just a few scratches...) see Koch opening the door or did the cabbie open HIS door (perhaps to dispose of his ""yellow snapple bottle"") door the cyclist and then blame it on previous passenger Koch."
It was the bodyguard - Allan - who opened the door on the street side.
Empty barrels make the most noise!
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NY Post, 5/14/04
BIKER BOPS KOCH
By JAMIE SCHRAM and CLEMENTE LISI
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May 14, 2004 -- If only Ed Koch had asked, How are you doin'?
The unlucky cyclist who was unintentionally injured when the former mayor's bodyguard flung open a taxi door onto oncoming traffic said yesterday the former mayor saw him on the ground and didn't care enough to help him.
""Our eyes met and he just walked away,"" said Solomon Schacter, 43, a computer programmer injured Tuesday when a cab door hit his bike. ""I wish he had stopped and asked if I needed help.""
The Post reported Wednesday that cab driver Carl Essel was fuming mad at Koch and his escort, identified as Alfred Sallie in a police report, because they left him alone to deal with the cops after causing the accident.
The cabby had picked up the duo at La Guardia Airport and dropped them off at 51st Street and Sixth Avenue. That's when Sallie flung open the cab door on the street side - a traffic violation called ""dooring"" - and struck Schacter, who was traveling along Sixth Avenue on his way to work.
Hours after the accident, Koch, 79, said he was unaware his bodyguard had been involved in the accident.
As mayor, Koch became famous for asking people on the street, ""How am I doin'?""
Schacter, who came forward after reading about the incident in The Post, said Koch is a liar.
""I flew over the handlebars,"" Schacter recalled. ""The next thing I remember was looking up and thinking, 'What's Koch doing here?' ""
Koch did not return a call yesterday seeking comment.
Schacter, who suffered cuts on his hands and a bruised right shoulder, said Koch even walked past the two cops who came to his aid moments after the collision.
""Nobody came over to help me except one of the cops,"" Schacter said.
City traffic law prohibits anyone in a car from exiting ""from the side facing on the traveled part of the street in such a manner as to interfere with the right of the operator of an approaching vehicle or a bicycle.""
An NYPD spokesman said Sallie was not issued a summons.
Schacter said he's still ticked off at Koch because the former mayor never bothered to help him.
""I even voted for the guy,"" he said. ""I always had a high regard for him as a politician, but as a person, I'm not so sure."""
The cyclist was unlucky, his inuries unintentional.
Hey, coulda happened to anyone... I just flung my door open, into traffic, without looking, and ooops! Someone happened to be there! Not my fault!
Imagine if the bodyguard's gun went off, unintentionally, because he forgot to put the safety on? Would it be safe to say the guy who took the bullet was just unlucky?
