mr. gruber? >> chair peskin, board members, mark gruber. last week you heard from taxi drivers who purchased medal yons anions and are now trapped in a system with no exit. for many years a medallion was dangled before them, and then the rules were changed from that point on. the only way to get a medallion was to pay $250,000. many of them did that. and then uber and lyft came along. the city did nothing to protect its taxi industry or the value of its medallions at the time. the me medallion sales program was a bad idea from the start and broke down once uber and lyft entered the scene. medallion purchased loans, sucked money out of the pockets of drivers in an industry we can ill-afford given the brutal competition we now face. this system needs to go. refund the money paid for medallions over a period of years to amortize the financial impact. this is an essential element in any plan, to return the taxi industry into health. if you can help businesses impacted by construction projects along van ness and chinatown, you can help these med