Yesterday Governor Cuomo signed an executive “emergency order” to allow the city of New York to reactivate the 140 existing speed cameras which had been shut down in July, and work with the DMV to implement this change. Tomorrow the City Council will vote on a bill to reinstate the cameras and Mayor di Blasio will sign a ” Bill of Necessity” the city equivalent of the emergency order.
Cuomo said, “the cameras have reduced crashes by 60% where installed . By not renewing the program we run the real risk of causing children’s deaths”. He also credited Speaker Johnson for working closely with both the Governor and the mayor to think outside the box and achieve this result.
This is a stunning outcome for a situation that had turned desperate during the summer, with the Republican-led senate refusing to return to Albany to pass the bill . Families for Safe Streets and Transportation Alternatives advocates staged numerous demonstrations including running a marathon around Senator Marty Golden’s block.
The bill introduced in the council could allow more cameras in the future. This is an outstanding outcome to a very long fight. Both Families for Safe Streets and Transporation Alternatives deserve an enormous credit as well as Speaker Johnson. Senator Flanagan and Golden who stubbornly blocked the bill for political reasons, do not deserve to represent their districts.
Here are more details and a discussion of the proposed bill
Join Us
Rally to Demand an Expansion of Speed Cameras
Tuesday, September 4th, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
City Hall