Longtime Mineola resident Veronica Goldman wanted to know why Long Island Checker Cab of Mineola has only one license to operate for point-to-point service in Mineola. The inquiry came after, she said, her 85-year-old mother waited over an hour for a cab from All Island Taxi, which operates 35 licenses in the Village of Mineola, to pick her up. The resident said she wound up having to pick her mother up from the Pathmark grocery store.

The resident brought the concern to the Village of Mineola Board of Trustees at last week's public meeting. Deputy Mayor Lou Santosus deferred that matter to Village Attorney John Spellman, who pointed out that since Pathmark was not in Mineola, any cab company could have been called. A license, which is granted by the village, is only necessary to travel from one point in Mineola to another point in Mineola or to pick up passengers from Mineola. Members of the village board wouldn't comment further since the matter has been in litigation for the past few years and further litigation is imminent.

The disagreement between Long Island Checker Cab and the Village of Mineola has gone as far as the Supreme Court with the Appellate Division the next step.

The village board, which can regulate the amount of cabs that can operate point-to-point service in the Village of Mineola, deemed that the number of licenses operating in the village, which amounts to 37, is sufficient. Of the 37 licenses, one is owned by Long Island Checker and 35 are owned by Long Island Checker's chief competitor All Island Taxi.

Wanting to compete with All Island in Mineola, Long Island Checker Cab submitted an application on June 29, 1998 for 12 additional licenses (Checker Cab would later submit an application for 14 additional licenses). However, the village board denied the application, maintaining the village has reached the maximum number of cabs the board deemed was sufficient for service in the village. The matter has been in court ever since.

Long Island Checker Cab part owner Phil Fortuna maintains that he only wants to expand his business in Mineola to be able to compete for business as is custom in a free enterprise society. He feels the board's decision is unfair and believes its decision is political. One of Long Island Checker Cab's advertisements stated that monetary contributions made in the past to Mineola Mayor John P. Colbert's and Deputy Mayor Lou Santosus' political campaigns have been linked to All Island Taxi.

The Village of Mineola, however, maintains that it has sufficient cab service in Mineola and there has been a lack of evidence to support the need for more cabs in the village. In addition, the village believes the addition of further licenses would cause congestion, safety hazards and inconvenience. The Supreme Court decided twice in favor of Village of Mineola.

Most recently the Supreme Court, in its Aug. 7 decision, agreed with the village that the cab company did not present sufficient evidence that there was a need for additional licenses in the Village of Mineola. "The [Supreme] Court cannot conclude that the challenged determination was arbitrary, capricious or illegal," the decision also stated.

However, despite the Supreme Court ruling, the battle between the Village of Mineola and Long Island Checker Cab, which first began after the village denied an application by the cab company after a public hearing on Dec. 9, 1995, is not over. Long Island Checker Cab plans to file an appeal with the Appellate Division.

It appears that the controversy and the bad blood that has developed between the cab company and the mayor will continue unless a compromise between the two sides can be reached. According to Spellman, the village has tried to come to an agreement. "We did offer them five licenses and they told us where to stick them," Spellman said at last Wednesday's meeting.

Long Island Checker Cab attorney Phil Bernstein said the company was never offered any additional licenses. Berstein said he and his client, Fortuna of Long Island Checker Cab, met with trustee Elizabeth Conlon, Santosus and Spellman to discuss a possible agreement, but that no additional cab licenses were ever offered.

Bernstein said if five additional licenses were offered, he would have tried to negotiate for more, but that five would have been a good starting point. "It wouldn't have been an unreasonable starting place if it was offered in good faith," he said.

Long Island Checker Cab recently was granted licenses in the Village of Floral Park. During a public hearing on March 5 at Floral Park Village Hall, Fortuna asked for 10 licenses. He was eventually granted five.

In a recent development in Mineola, the board stressed at last week's meeting that if anyone has a problem with taxi service in the village, they should call Mineola Village Hall at 746-0750 and ask for the village clerk to voice the complaint. The village will then keep track of complaints. Trustee Jack Martins said the board would be able to get a better idea of whether there is a problem.