The move angered some local taxi drivers, who noted that an attending increase in licenses would lead to greater competition in the local taxicab business. The City Council passed the cap lift, and the number of Minneapolis taxis doubled between 2010 and 2012. Beginning in 2008, Schiff and other city leaders contended with local ramifications of the 2008-2012 global recession, which included spate of foreclosures in economically distressed neighborhoods. In April 2008, the city council approved a pilot mortgage assistance program called Minneapolis Advantage. The program, which passed the council 10–2, offered forgivable loans to homebuyers who were interested in properties on the same block as foreclosed or city-owned properties within targeted neighborhoods. Schiff argued that the initiative was not targeted enough to have the designed effect and voted against it, along with fellow councilmember Paul Ostrow. The city also strictly regulated non-motorized pedicabs; it first permitted the bicycle-powered taxis in 1984, but there were no active pedicab licenses in the city by 2008. Schiff proposed eliminating some restrictions, and the city council passed ordinances allowing pedicabs to operate on downtown streets, downtown bridges, and on the Nicollet Mall, at any time except the morning and evening rush hours. In October 2011, when the city permitted pedicabs to operate during rush hours (with new safety regulations), eight licensed pedicab companies operated forty cabs in the downtown area. In February 2012, a reporter for the "Minnesota Daily" wrote that Schiff is "possibly the most active and popular City Council member" and noted that 60 percent of Ward 9 voters reelected him to a third term in 2009. An avid supporter of microbrewing in Minneapolis, Schiff sponsored the "Brew Beer Here" ordinance that allowed the sale of 64-ounce "growlers" of beer on Minneapolis brewery premises. Passed in August 2010, the ordinance facilitated brewery operation within Minneapolis city limits and led to the opening of Harriet Brewing Company, the first Minneapolis brewery to open in decades. With colleague Elizabeth Gidden, Schiff co-sponsored the "Surly Bill," an ordinance that permits breweries to sell pints of their products on-site. Schiff also proposed eliminating zoning constraints against establishments serving alcohol within 300 feet of a house of worship outside of the downtown area. The ordinance change was inspired by a struggle between Rob Miller, a brewer interested in opening a "pico brewery" called Dangerous Man Brewing in Northeast Minneapolis, and the church of Saints Cyril and Methodius Church, located across the street from the brewery's proposed location.