The Party Without a Product: Inside Lyft's New York Launch

Image: LYFT

New York City's newest transportation app is still preparing for Lyft-off.

About 2,500 people packed into a warehouse in Brooklyn Friday night to celebrate the launch of the ride-sharing startup Lyft. But among the guests wearing pink mustaches, drinking free beer and dancing to live music was one major issue: Lyft is still illegal in the city.

The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission put the brakes on Lyft's official app launch by filing a restraining order on Friday, saying that regulatory laws for the startup still need to be enacted.

However, Lyft had already scheduled its launch party, and said via an official blog post that the event was still on. It received 6,000 RSVPs, and was promoted heavily on social media:


Taxi drivers, who are concerned the startup will cut into their business, protested outside the party. They held signs that read, "Lyft Yourself Out of NY" and other slogans criticizing the company.

"What Lyft is doing is called illegal pickups. There's no way that Lyft can come in just because they created an app, and call it rideshare and take over our fares," Victor Salazar, one of the protesters, told Mashable.

Inside the party, guests listened to performances by Q-Tip and Golden Pony. Many also participated in a community art project, painting welcome messages to Lyft, and pasting them on the wall. Meanwhile, the company served vegan hot dogs wrapped in kale outside.

A man in a suit sits in front of a type writer

People with typewriters were on hand at the event to write customized haikus for guests.

Image: Lyft

The date for Lyft's official app launch in New York City is unknown, but company spokesperson Katie Kincaid told Mashable that prospects look good.

"We're in ongoing discussions with the city and the TLC," Kincaid said. "There are legal proceedings that took place today, and we'll resume them on Monday. We are experiencing a delay in launch, but we're really excited to be in New York."

While negotiations between New York City and Lyft could be resolved soon, alternative car service Uber spent more than a year securing its place in New York City.


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