It happened on North Portland Avenue between Park and Myrtle avenues just before 4:15 a.m.
Police say the black Sprinter van was involved in a minor crash with a medical transport van.
Apparently after the crash, a female passenger in the medical transport van made a phone call and multiple people came down and started to argue with the driver.
A random man, apparently also emerging from the adjacent Walt Whitman Houses, then walked up to the driver's side window and shot the victim.
His involvement remains a mystery as the others involved claim not to know the gunman.
The driver, 50, was shot in his right cheek. He was said to be awake and speaking to emergency service workers as he was rushed to NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.
He is listed in stable condition.
The gunman ran away from the scene and into the Walt Whitman Houses.
He is described as a man with a large build, wearing a black shirt and gray shorts.
The New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers is outraged and released a statement that said in part:
"No taxi driver should fear being executed simply for picking up a passenger and earning an honest living. These shootings are the direct result of violent criminals carrying illegal guns and a criminal justice system that too often fails to keep dangerous offenders off our streets. New York's hardworking drivers deserve better."
The Federation of Taxi Drivers is demanding more protections and immediate action from elected officials.
Meanwhile people living near the Walt Whitman Houses are left hoping for a change that they doubt will ever come.
"It's going to stay like this. It's going to stay like this because you can't force somebody to change, you can't force somebody to behave a certain way, so this is just how it's going to be," one resident said.
The victim is the second driver to be shot in the past two weeks.
21-year-old Danish Sarwar, a rideshare driver, was shot during an attempted carjacking in Brooklyn and was unconcious for 10 days.
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
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