GREENFIELD — After losing its approval from the Greenfield Board of License Commissioners, American Knight Transportation has moved out of 357 Main St.

The city’s Board of License Commissioners declined to renew Richard Haste’s business license at the end of 2021 and he removed his company’s possessions from the spot last month, transitioning to a mobile business. Haste, a Bronx native who has been in the transportation business for 40 years, relocated American Knight Transportation to Greenfield in November 2019.

Danielle Letourneau, the mayor’s chief of staff who also serves as the director of general administration and supervises licensing, said the license commissioners declined to renew Haste’s business license for numerous reasons. She said Haste did not have his drivers vetted by the Greenfield Police Department as required, did not pay his $50 annual fee, did not have a workers’ compensation affidavit or workers comp certificate of insurance, and did not have proof of insurance for his four vehicles.

Letourneau said she worked at length with Haste to try to help him straighten out these matters but to no avail.

“We wanted him to come into compliance,” she said. “We did not want him to close or leave or move.”

Haste, however, feels that city officials have “a misconception of what my business actually does.”

“They’re trying to push me to get taxi licenses for my drivers,” he said. “My drivers are not taxi drivers by industry standards.”

Haste said his company is not a taxi service but a livery, which he said means clients must make reservations and cannot simply hail down a driver. But Letourneau said Greenfield requires a business like Haste’s — if it is registered within city limits — to have a vehicle-for-hire license. City ordinances define a vehicle-for-hire as “any vehicle used or to be used as a taxi or livery or limousine vehicle.”

Haste, however, said that “can’t be” and those types of businesses are different, adding that he feels the city should update its ordinances.

He also said the state offers different definitions for those two business types. According to state law, the Registry of Motor Vehicles defines livery vehicles as “any limousine or other vehicle which is designed to carry 15 or fewer passengers, including the driver, and carries passengers for hire, business courtesy, employee shuttle, customer shuttle, charter or other pre-arranged transportation, and which vehicle is not required to obtain a taxicab license pursuant to” state law.

Echoing his rationale for his drivers not needing vehicle-for-hire licenses, Haste claimed he does not need to have the police vet his drivers because he operates a livery service. He said his drivers are independent contractors he pays in cash and they all waived their right to workers’ compensation. He also said he paid the $50 annual fee as soon as he found out it was due.

“The problem is the city’s lack of knowledge, combined with the police’s lack of knowledge,” he said.

Greenfield Police Lt. Dan McCarthy agreed with Letourneau in regards to what the city ordinances require.

“There’s rules for a reason,” he said.

American Knight Transportation remains operational and calls to 413-586-5466 and 413-774-5466 get transferred to Haste’s cellphone. Haste said his former four-vehicle fleet has been reduced to one.

Isaac and Angela Mass are the landlords for the 357 Main St. storefront vacated by American Knight. Isaac Mass said the space is being cleaned out to make it ready to rent.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.

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