The New York City Department of Transportation has granted self-driving taxi company Waymo to test drive up to eight self-driving cars with a safety specialist behind the wheel in Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn.

People like Paolo say he's heard about the cars and is excited to see them on New York City streets.

"I have some friends that are studying in Arizona and they already tested it out. They went in a self-driving car and I thought this was really cool. And I was like, 'Well, I hope they do that because I really want to try,'" said Paolo.

The permit allows the cars to be tested with a trained safety specialist behind the wheel.

The New York City Department of Transportation says it's currently not legal for self-driving vehicles to operate as taxis in New York City.

A spokesperson for Waymo tells News 12 they're advocating to change that.

Michele Dottin, a taxi driver and education director of the Independent Driver's Guild, says she has some concerns.

"I understand technology right? But this new technology will replace actual people working. So how are you going to replace that with income?" said Dottin.

Local STEM organizations like Digital Girl, Inc. think there could be positives. Recently students got to learn about the Waymo vehicles.

Michelle Gall, founder and executive director of Digital Girl, Inc. says it helps who are interested in STEM.

"It's exciting to be able to apply what they've been learning over the summer to what the possibilities are. You know, seeing the Waymo technology really kind of put two and two together and make them say, 'OK, you know, this is really great.' And to be able to see it up close and personal and look firsthand is really important," said Gall.

The city says Waymo has until the end of September to test drive the vehicles on New York streets. After that, they said they'll be able to apply for an extension to their pilot testing period.