Polyglot N.Y. Cabbies Polish Their Image : Lifestyle: A crystal apple from Tiffany’s is among rewards going to the cabby of the month, part of the campaign to make the city more tourist-friendly.

With colorful tales in fluent Brooklynese, the stereotypical cabby used to startle and amuse tourists while chomping on a cigar or yelling profanities out the window at a Sunday driver.

But, for the most part, that kind of cabby has gone the way of Schrafft’s and the Automat.

The new generation--representing 84 nations, 80% of the taxi work force and hundreds of dialects--rushes to earn a slim living in a more competitive industry. There are too many cars and too few passengers.

And although the accent might have changed, the abrupt, often rude image of the cabby remains.

A new initiative by the Taxi & Limousine Commission, the TLC, rewards courteous cabbies with something better than money--gasoline.

The “cabby of the month” program--sponsored by the Gateway America Committee, a nonprofit consortium of business and civic leaders--gives the driver who receives the most praise from passengers, and who has a clean record, a crystal apple from Tiffany’s and free gasoline for a month. That’s the equivalent of $20 to $30 a day for cabbies like North African Tahiru Ali, a seven-year veteran on city streets who is a designated winner. In addition, the chosen cabby will receive his award from Mayor David N. Dinkins at an assembly of his peers and industry leaders.

“The first person anyone sees when they come to New York is a cab driver,” said Eugene Rodriguez, ombudsman for the TLC. “These guys are ambassadors for the rest of us and if they’re snappy toward passengers that’s a poor reflection on the whole city.”

With the $10-billion tourism industry in recession, the city wants its nearly 40,000 cabbies to change their attitudes. If negative perceptions continue, many of the more than 124,000 jobs dependent on tourism could be at stake.

Gateway began sponsoring the award shortly before the Democratic National Convention last summer, as part of its “I Am New York” campaign to make the city more tourist-friendly. Since then, more than 300 riders have called the number posted in taxis to praise their drivers, and Rodriguez has been at work selecting winners.

Although complaints still outnumber praise--there were 874 negative remarks in January alone--officials said the drivers are becoming more polite. “Most people are never going to call us and say they liked their driver,” Rodriguez said. “That’s why any effort is surprising.”

“These guys are businessmen,” Rodriguez said. “They don’t want to hear squat about being polite. They want to know what it’s going to mean for them.”

Jose Nevarez, a cabby since 1970, said that he must sometimes work 14 hours in a day just to take home $20 or $30. “If they made me the best cabby I’d be happy with all the gasoline,” Nevarez said. “It’s as good as gold to us.”

Trinidad-born Clyde Byack, a driver for nearly 18 years, said that financial concerns, coupled with language barriers, have created a batch of drivers who are often reckless and unfriendly.

“What drivers got to understand is that you got to leave your troubles home,” Byack said. “You got to love your job and smile at the people, even when they are not friendly. Besides, they’re in your car for 15 minutes and then you never have to see them again.”