This has happened to me twice in the last two weeks in my visits to NYC.

Stayed at the Hyatt Grand Central. Getting a cab to LGA at about 7 a.m. The doorman asks where I am going. Tell him LGA. He doesn't take the first cab in the line but directs me to another cab which is not waiting in line, but at the curb slightly away from the entrance. As I am getting in, the driver gets out and talks to the doorman. I get in cab (with my bag in the back seat) and tell driver (when he gets back in) I want to go to LGA. He says that his meter is not working and that the fare would be $35. Okay, fine, I just want to get to the airport. The fare is approximately that anyway and I decide to give him that amount and not a penny more.

As I said, this exact same thing happend to me two weeks in a row from HGC. I don't think the driver was the same person, but I could be wrong.

Any idea why this is happening?