Rather than staying in a glitzy hotel in Manhattan, the mayor of San Juan—the capital city of Puerto Rico—Carmen Yulin Cruz Soto decided to stay in Melrose at The Opera House Hotel at the recommendation of her friend,City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito according to the New York Daily News.
The Opera House Hotel, located on 149th Street in Melrose, between Brook and Bergen Avenues is nothing to sneeze at either as it is a beautiful luxury boutique hotel in the heart of The South Bronx and the Puerto Rican heart and soul of our city.
Hopefully she’s had the chance to enjoy some of the local culture in our diverse community and it’s definitely an honor to have such a high-ranking politician stay right in our own backyard.
The entire trip hasn’t been easy, however, as the Daily News reported that a cab driver refused to drive her to The Bronx—something which many Bronxites are familiar with although on a personal note, I haven’t had a cab driver refuse to take me to The Bronx since the late 90’s.
Read what the New York Daily News has to say about this ordeal:
“The mayor of San Juan got an unfortunate taste of Big Apple life on Wednesday when she tried to hail a yellow cab from Manhattan to the Bronx — and the cabbie kicked her out.
Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz Soto said on Thursday she then hailed a second cab in Greenwich Village asking to go the the Opera House Hotel and the cabbie obliged — but complained the whole ride about going to the borough.
“Just because you’re going outside of Manhattan doesnt mean you’re going to a lesser place,” she said. She added, “As someone who loves New York City, my request to everyone, especially the yellow cabs, is let’s give New York a chance. All of New York.”
Soto said she plans to file a complaint with the Taxi & Limousine Commission.
It’s illegal to refuse a fare within the five boroughs. Soto said she was staying in the “wonderful” Bronx hotel at the recommendation of her friend, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. The boutique hotel is in Mark-Viverito’s district.
In the first ride, the cabbie told her he didn’t know how to get to the hotel on E. 149th St. in the South Bronx and claimed he had no GPS and “no way of finding out.” “He kicked us out. He told us we had to get out,” she said.”
Source: San Juan mayor has trouble getting cab to drive her to Bronx – NY Daily News
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