Catherine Yang

Since last May, people have had the choice of hailing a cab by extending their hand or through their smartphones, and the traditional street hail overwhelmingly remains the preferred method.

But with competition from black car services through tech companies like Uber and Lyft, Council member Ben Kallos said it’s time the city created its own app for yellow cabs.

“New Yorkers should be able to get where they need to go in a New York minute in their most trusted transportation source,” Kallos said. This week, Kallos proposed a bill that would require the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) to create or contract out the making of a city-branded e-hail app.

As this year’s historically low rent increase goes into effect Oct. 1, tenants, elected officials, and advocates are starting the campaign for rent reform, calling for a rent freeze for 2015.

Council member Ben Kallos said the increases set by the RGB years before have been higher than necessary, as the Price Index of Operating Costs—the metrics that determine inflation for building owners— often exceeds the inflation of consumer goods as shown on the consumer price index.