Council holds emergency meeting following deal brokered with the Governor and the Mayor

City Hall – Today, the New York City Council will vote on legislation creating a local speed camera program that would allow the City to impose liability on vehicle owners for failure to comply with maximum speed limits in school speed zones. This move comes days after Speaker Corey Johnson and the Council reached a deal with Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio to reactivate speed cameras surrounding city schools after the State Senate failed to take action this summer. 

Imposing Liability on Vehicle Owners for Failure to Comply with Maximum Speed Limits in School Speed Zones

Introduction 1089, sponsored by Speaker Corey Johnson, would establish a speed camera program to detect vehicles exceeding the speed limit in school speed zones. The program would not have a cap on the number of cameras that could be operated and would allow the City flexibility in hours of operation to address safety concerns near schools. Vehicle owners would be liable for an operator of that vehicle exceeding the speed limit by more than 10 miles per hour in a school speed zone. Such vehicle owners would be liable for a $50 penalty.

 “The Senate Republicans have made it clear that the safety of kids just isn’t that important to them. They’ve failed to renew the City’s speed camera program and there’s no reason to believe they ever will. Well, that’s not going to work for us. School starts next week. The time for playing politics is over. I promised that we would do everything in our power to make sure kids were safe on the first day of school, and I am proud that we were able to make this happen today. I would like to thank the Governor and the Mayor for working with us on this life-saving legislation. Together we have made our streets safer in the name of 1.1 million school children,” said Speaker Corey Johnson.

 “Safety has been one of my top priorities as Chair of the Transportation Committee. We have passed dozens of bills focusing on traffic safety and with the support of the Speaker we have continued that critical work today. I am proud to co-sponsor bill T2018-2728 with Speaker Johnson. It will create a local speed camera program that will maintain what has worked and will improve on the existing one. Better enforcement and better street design saves lives. We CAN make a difference,” said Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez.

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