New York City, New York – Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal has urged city officials to remove Newsmax programming from taxi seat-back screens across New York City, citing concerns over misinformation and politically charged content. In a January 21 letter, Hoylman-Sigal called on Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) to suspend its partnership with advertising provider Curb unless the company agrees to end its arrangement with Newsmax.
Curb, an authorized technology and advertising partner of the TLC, began airing one-minute Newsmax clips late last year through its Journey Connect platform. The segments appear on seat-back screens in taxis in New York City and other major markets, including Los Angeles, and feature QR codes linking riders directly to the Newsmax app. Hoylman-Sigal argued that Newsmax’s record of misinformation makes it unsuitable for distribution in city-regulated taxis.
Because the TLC licenses taxi operations through medallions, it holds regulatory leverage over vendors like Curb. Hoylman-Sigal said continued carriage of Newsmax content should jeopardize Curb’s TLC partnership unless the company severs ties with the network. The advertising arrangement generates revenue for cab operators and medallion owners, making the dispute financially relevant to the city’s taxi industry.
Newsmax rejected the request, calling it an act of censorship and saying the effort was intended to silence a network watched by tens of millions of Americans. Curb defended its platform as a high-performing advertising product, citing more than 2.3 billion impressions nationwide. As of Friday, the mayor had not publicly responded.
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