Lyft finally has the approval it needs to launch in New York City

After claiming it would go rogue in the Big Apple, the ride-sharing app Lyft caved in to regulators on Friday and agreed to immediately start offering the service using only black cars in compliance with city law. The San Francisco-based company reached an agreement with the city Friday in Manhattan Supreme Court. It also reached a deal with state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to halt its Buffalo and Rochester operations by Aug. 1 for not following state regulations on insurance. “We don’t believe any city law has the jurisdiction to do anything to these drivers,” co-founder John Zimmer had said earlier this month. “We feel we are not tied to these laws.” But a judge slapped Lyft with a restraining order on July 11 four hours before hundreds of New Yorkers planned to hit the road moonlighting as cabbies for donations.