Section 19-532. Public sale of additional taxicab licenses

a.
  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of  law  to  the  contrary,  the
  commission  is  hereby  authorized to issue additional taxicab licenses,
  provided, however, that such additional licenses shall  be  issued  only
  after  completion by the commission of such review as may be required by
  article eight of the New York state environmental conservation law. Such
  additional licenses shall be issued in a number not to exceed the number
  of  taxicab  licenses  whose  public  sale  was  authorized  by  chapter
  sixty-three  of  the  laws  of  two  thousand  three, and shall be fully
  transferable and subject to  the  provisions  of  this  chapter  and  of
  chapter  sixty-five  of  the New York city charter. The commission shall
  prescribe by rule the procedures for the issuance  and  public  sale  of
  such  additional  licenses,  by  public  auction,  sealed  bids or other
  competitive process.
    b. Of the total number of taxicab licenses issued  by  the  commission
  pursuant  to  subdivision a of this section, at least nine percent shall
  be issued subject to the requirement that the vehicles  operated  by  or
  under  agreement  with  the owners of such licenses either be powered by
  compressed natural gas or be a hybrid electric  vehicle,  and  at  least
  nine  percent  shall  be  issued  subject  to  the  requirement that the
  vehicles operated by or under agreement with the owners of such licenses
  be fully accessible to persons  with  disabilities  in  accordance  with
  standards  established  by  the  commission;  provided  however,  of the
  licenses authorized to be sold pursuant to subdivision a of this section
  that are issued after June 1, 2006,  two  hundred  fifty-four  shall  be
  issued subject to the requirement that the vehicles operated by or under
  agreement  with  the  owners  of  such  licenses  either  be  powered by
  compressed natural gas or be a hybrid electric vehicle,  and  fifty-four
  shall be issued subject to the requirement that the vehicles operated by
  or  under agreement with the owners of such licenses be fully accessible
  to persons with disabilities in accordance with standards established by
  the commission; and provided  further  that  if  the  prices  which  the
  commission  is  able  to  obtain for the issuance of licenses subject to
  either of the foregoing requirements does not exceed ninety  percent  of
  the  average price otherwise obtained by the commission for the issuance
  of licenses pursuant to this section, the commission  is  authorized  to
  issue such licenses without such requirement.
    c.  In  the  event  that  the  city of New York is authorized to issue
  taxicab licenses in addition to those authorized by chapter  sixty-three
  of  the  laws  of  two thousand three, such additional licenses shall be
  issued by the commission only after completion by the commission of such
  review as may be required  by  article  eight  of  the  New  York  state
  environmental conservation law. Such additional licenses shall be issued
  in  a  number  not to exceed the number of taxicab licenses whose public
  sale is authorized by law and in  accordance  with  the  procedures  and
  conditions  set  forth in subdivision a of this section, except that the
  first one hundred fifty such licenses issued shall  be  subject  to  the
  requirement  that  the  vehicles operated by or under agreement with the
  owners of such licenses be fully accessible to persons with disabilities
  in accordance with standards established by the  commission,  regardless
  of the prices which the commission is able to obtain for the issuance of
  such licenses.
    d.  The  terms and conditions for the public sale of licenses pursuant
  to this section shall explicitly provide that vehicles  operated  by  or
  under  agreement  with  the owners of such licenses shall be entitled to
  accept hails from passengers in the street in accordance with  paragraph
  one of subdivision a of section 19-504 of this code.