New York State’s taxi union is demanding accountability from Gov. Andrew Cuomo for the death of nine livery cab drivers from one car company.

The New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers say the deaths could have been prevented.

They spoke in the Bronx Sunday to say that they should have been kept safe from the beginning of the pandemic.

Drivers claim that the Taxi and Limousine Commission did not deliver personal protective equipment to the city’s 540 car services, adding that drivers should have been at the top of the list to get vaccinated.

Fernando Matteo says Cuomo should have given better instructions. “We could have prevented these deaths if our leaders in the state, specifically Gov. Cuomo, would have given us better direction,” Matteo says.

News 12 reached out to the City and State Department of Health, who told News 12: “This guidance was issued well before the federal government recommended wearing a masks, and at a time when personal protective equipment was nearly unobtainable. Every death is a tragedy, but let’s stick with the facts: New York was the first state to require masks and among the first to recognize drivers’ status as frontline workers and make them eligible for vaccines.”