Taxi lost & found

October 17, 2008 8:47 AM

Help, I left some important paperwork in the back of a NYC cab last night!

I've read this, and submitted the online Lost Property Inquiry form. The lost property precinct numbers were busy when I called; I'll try them again in a few minutes.

Is there anything else I can do?

Like an idiot, I don't have a medallion number. That lost binder has my passport, and immigration forms that have taken me years to get. I can't believe I did this.

posted by ceribus peribus to travel & transportation (6 comments total)

If you don't have the medallion, all you can do is sit back and wait.

I had a friend in a similliar situation earlier this year, and someone found his passport and mac airbook and actually returned them!! Good luck.
posted by cestmoi15 at 8:57 AM on October 17, 2008

311? Can't hurt.
posted by mkultra at 9:10 AM on October 17, 2008

I don't live in NYC, but in Shanghai we know to always ask for the taxi receipt after you pay just in case you left anything behind. Once we had a guy drive away with our stroller in the trunk, but a quick phone call to the cab company and 5 minutes later he drove back to deliver the stroller.
posted by msittig at 9:43 AM on October 17, 2008

Were there any contact numbers or emails on the papers you left in the car? For a friend or anyone at work who knows you? If so, call those people and let them know what happened, so that if the driver contacts them they'll know what's up.

A NYC taxi driver found my wallet in the back of his cab, found a business card for a friend in the wallet, and called them. He returned my wallet and all the money in it to me, and refused to take the award I wanted to give him.

(And this was several years ago, so no he didn't do anything sketchy with credit card numbers or whatnot.)

It renewed my faith in humanity!
posted by np312 at 11:32 AM on October 17, 2008

My contact info, lots of paper with my work's letterhead, and a bunch of forms from my lawyer are all in there. It should be enough to get ahold of me if someone looks.

Nothing had been turned in yet today at the Central Park precinct when I got through to them at noon (I called the others too; no luck). I'll try again after five. This happened around eleven last night; maybe the driver hasn't started today's shift yet?
posted by ceribus peribus at 12:29 PM on October 17, 2008

We got all our passports, verious immigration documents and my husband's laptop and camera back after leaving them in an NY cab. It never made it to the Central Park precinct - the driver returned it all himself, in about 36 hours. Good luck.
posted by rdc at 11:03 PM on October 17, 2008