We noted last October that there may be more than the usual hassle getting a cab to go from Manhattan to Brooklyn these days. According to the Times City Room Blog, the Taxi and Limousine Commission saw a 38% increase, from the last six months of 2009 to the same period in 2010, in complaints of drivers refusing, despite the requirement that they do so, to take fares to destinations within the five boroughs. The Times story quotes TLC Commissioner David Yassky, a Brooklyn Heights resident, as being “alarmed by the trend”, and supporting, along with the Bloomberg administration, increasing the penalties on drivers who refuse fares. A representative of the drivers blames the problem on economics, saying that drivers who are forced to take long trips aren’t compensated sufficiently to cover the cost of leasing their cabs, and may end a shift without making any profit.