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For a 2-page fact sheet on idling go to www.edf.org/stopidling. How much pollution is created by turning the engine off and on again: get into the habit of turning off your engine while you are waiting at the curb or even while you are double-parked even if it's just for a short period of time. An exception would be if you are only pulling over so somebody can get in or out of your car.

As to Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), we are an environmental non-profit organization that receives less than 1% of its funding from companies and we have not gotten any money from Mayor Bloomberg or Mayor Bloomberg's companies. Our donor list can be found in our annual report at www.edf.org.

Yes, EDF has supported congestion pricing -- in part because it would cut pollution in outer boros and help fund expansion of transit to outer boros and in part because less congestion is better for air quality. We also believe it would have been good for the city because the future of city depends on keeping job market accessible to everyone via transit, not gridlock. And whether or not you like congestion pricing, stopping unnecessary idling is a no-brainer.

For more information go to www.edf.org/stopidling

Liam/Remember, if NYC wants money, try TAKING IT from people who go from 11-to-16 BILLION while we all suffer.

BLOOOOOOOMBERG (AND OTHERS)

Classic Commie line -- I suspect your taking the p#ss out of us!

Mali from brooklyn/#44 - I TOTALLY agree with you on this issue and this woman's attitude. But I got a chuckle on this and it goes directly to my point - you address her as an 'agency' spokesperson or as a spokesperson for the administration when she is supposedly a spokesperson for the Environmental Defense Fund. It really raises questions about the independence of this organization and whether their motivation is driven by money, publicity and links to the interests of political figures without ANY real understanding of the complex economy and interdependence of Manhattan to the outer boroughs and the suburbs. Environmental solutions need to be found that address the regional problems, not the quality of life of a select few or with punitive actions that are undermined by other actions.
For example: the City can quickly improve air quality in Manhattan by changing alternate side of the street parking to once a week instead of twice a week - Specially on residential streets that are kept clean by the building staff as the street cleaners are inefficient. This would also reduce costs for the City. I cannot support a mayor or an 'agency' like the EDF who increase the number of Taxi medallions and some months later push for an expensive 'congestion' pricing scheme because of congestion while exempting taxis. This clearly tells you that the driver is publicity and money. Not the environment

Oh for god sake’s people, ticket double parker’s long before you even begin to worry about people idling on the streets. How much unnecessary congestion is caused by double parking? A slow moving car stuck in grid lock because the far left and far right lanes are chocked off by double parked cabs burns way more fuel then any idling car, bus or truck.

And yes, police fire and ambulance have every justification to idle. Most of these vehicles have several hundred thousand (very hard) miles on them. The first start of the day may be the last. Sounds great to clamp down on local rescue. But do you want the ambulance to be late while you’re having a heart attack because they could not get the truck started?

Bennett: The "demands of alternate side" can be remedied by not owning a car. Also, since this happens very early in the morning, I question the "necessity" of AC in the summer.

66/#40 - Not sure who you are and who you represent- but I am an independent taxpayer and a New Yorker who is environmentally conscious - I used to contribute to the Environmental Defense Fund but stopped donating when they cooked up the congestion pricing with the mayor and went on a publicity campaign to sell it (I got the mailings saved!) as a way to reduce asthma in poor communities when in fact it would have done the opposite. - This program concocted to raise the profile of the mayor for a possible presidential run - it exempted taxis from congestion pricing and allowed for people to avoid the 'congestion' pricing by diverting traffic to the highways and bridges surrounding Manhattan with the exception of the poor areas in upper Manhattan. ANYBODY with a sense of history and knowledge of the City knows that most public housing and most poor neighborhoods are next to these highways and under the bridges which would have endured the diverted traffic from Manhattan's business and tourist districts and the wealthier neighborhoods of the Upper East and West sides.
There should have been a more comprehensive and regional program to reduce traffic in the whole region - Not just in the politically powerful areas of the City. Again, how much money does the EDF receive from Mr. Bloomberg and his associates? and why do they work so closely with this administration on their poorly thoughtout 'environmental' policies while neglecting the realities of the 6 million OTHER new yorkers living in the outer boroughs?

66 #40,
I have to back Leo #36 on this one. I can't comment on the EDF per se, but my impression of the push for "congestion pricing" last spring was that it would result in moving the congestion and pollution to neighborhoods outside the zone. One of those neighborhoods, the South Bronx has the highest incidence of childhood asthma in the country.

FYI:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Start-stop_system

raise the gas tax

I appreciate the concerns about idling, but perhaps the department can send forward a better spokesperson. Your guest is smarmy, punitive, and not very practical. "Go into a coffee shop" (and spend what?)

Let's talk about more quality public spaces (e.g. libraries, community centers). Let's talk about, supporting small, independent businesses in NYC that deliver, increasing public transportation efficiency....

And really, if this spokesperson hasn't learned yet, respecting the intelligence of those she critiques and collaborating with them instead of taking her moral high ground (we can all state one) she should learn it soon. She's not getting the agency's good message far with her smarmy attitude.

DEP, itself, is one of the biggest violators in my neighborhood, idling for half an hour or more at a time under our window. And what about Fresh Direct, massive citywide perpetrators of idling and accompanying noise pollution.

Another tax-call it what it is.

If the fuel was cleaner (as I can be) the whole point of this tax on the middle class is lost.
This is why the Left Wing Liberals keep eventually losing their place in Congress-petty nonsense.
Remember, if NYC wants money, try TAKING IT from people who go from 11-to-16 BILLION while we all suffer.
BLOOOOOOOMBERG (AND OTHERS)

I wish you would single out FRESH DIRECT as a particularly heinous offender. This company is constantly idling hundreds of trucks, while at the same time blocking traffic, so that able-bodied people can avoid the excercise they might get by walking to the grocery store!

Another thought:

If NYC passes a law like this against its own motorists, what's to come of the millions of cars idling in fast food drive throughs around the country?

LEO/36 --

Huh? Who are you speaking on behalf of, exactly? What even is an "Independent" environmental organization? They're just sticking up for YOUR lungs!

I am totally supporting the idea the speaker is proposing. But unless there is an economic implication (fee), people will comply with this idea. Nobody wishes to turn off their engine in winter and summer.... This society is not really eco-conscience....people change habits if they feel it in their pockets....

Not sure if anybody is reading this comments page/producing but here is EXACTLY what you can do, short and long term, about idling:

http://www.stopthesoot.org/sts-whatyourtowncando.htm

As for discomfort while waiting to move your car to the alternate side of the street...

1. wear a jacket in winter, and warm socks
2. bring a cold drink in the summer...or, just stand next to the car and then hop in when you need to move.

Can you ask Ms. Silverman how much money has the Environment Defense Fund received from Mr. Bloomberg and his associates in the past couple of years? - This is important in that the EDF has compromised its environmental mission by participating with Mr. Bloomberg in his environmental initiatives and propaganda - I.e., tolls to enter the business and wealthy neighborhoods of the City while allowing for congestion in the poorer neighborhoods of the outer boroughs.
The Environmental Defense Fund has lost all credibility as an independent environmental organization

Forgot to say thanks for taking on this issue.

The next one you should tackle is getting smokers to extinguish their butts and throw them into garbage cans rather than, still smoldering, on the sidewalk and often in people's faces. How did this become acceptable behavior? Do these people all think maids follow them around to clean up their smelly mess?

If the car service is waiting for a client-- can't they shut the engine off??

They can turn in ON again if they need to drive away??

I always turn off my car when I'm waiting at a draw bridge, but I am amazed that I seem to be the only person who does this. Not only am I saving gas, I'm reducing pollution. Sometimes you're sitting for 15 or 20 minutes, so Please remind others to shut off their cars.

At the risk of being irritating--how much energy is required to start and restart cars repeatedly? What percentage of greenhouse gases are produced by cars? In NYC most of that comes from the buildings. Someone above pointed out the difference between "parking" in a no parking zone (not allowed) and "standing" in a no parking zone (allowed). That said, I agree that there is too much idling, particularly by out-of-town buses (non-natural gas fueled) school buses (same) and trucks. Delivery trucks do this all the time to avoid "parking" tickets. They are ony standing.

ALREADY ILLEGAL IN NJ

WHAT TOOK NYC SO LONG?

http://www.stopthesoot.org/sts-idle.htm

My relatives in Switzerland always turn off their car to save gas and improve the air quality, even when they're just idling at a stop light (as do many people there). That may be a bit extreme, but I certainly feel that there's way too much unnecessary idling here and it needs to be addressed.

This is a strange issue; isn't a big part of this issue people double parking? This is why their engines are running. Keeping the engine running allows double parkers to make a quick get-away if a meter maid comes by.
I think there are a lot of worse problems in nyc than freaking out because someone's car is ideling.

Idle-Free NYC in May - Asthma Awaremness Month: www.idle-free.info

Drivers know that idling & Double Parking where they stop (in front of school, in front of the store) is Illegal. That's why they keep the engine on-- because they think of being able to quickly move up when a Cop car 'whoops' them.
It's always "I'll just be a minute!"
People have to get back into the habit of parking and walking.
Everyone treats their car as a personal, literal, door to door chauffeur. But unlike a chauffeur, the driver doesn't leave the area and return when called.
And the complaints about ambulances is again more about Drivers complaining that THEY can't pull up to the door and do the SAME THING.
Cops don't like ticketing because it's a bother to them. But it's a Bother to Traffic and to all of us. TICKET EVERYONE who double-parks and Idles.

My boyfriend and I walked up to a MTA bus that was on and running at a stop on Vernon Blvd in Astoria this paste January. When we got to the door we saw that the driver was not only in the bus and idling, but ASLEEP! We could not believe our eyes. Clearly he had pulled over, before or after his route, to take a nap. When we knocked on the door, he woke up startled, and shouted something to us about this not being the stop and drove off. I was horrified! Talk about unnecessary idling and polluting!

Oh please, Andy. When all of us are too asthmatic to leave our apartments and buy whatever you're delivering here, complain to us then.

I'm unemployed living on the upper west side. The demands of alternate side means you have sit in your car about a 1/2 hour to 45 minutes each day waiting for the side change/sweeper to come. In winter or in the middle of summer it would be brutal to turn your car off. Let me know if you have any good ideas.

Why are icecream trucks llowed to sit idling all day and night?

I regularly ask idling drivers, especially those in trucks on Broadway, to turn off their engines and invariably receive some unprintable response. I have even asked police vehicles to turn off their engines -- they tell me they like the air conditioning or heat -- and requested that THEY ask the drivers to turn off their engines, but they are completely uninterested in this issue.

What are you going to do to educate officials, including police, commercial drivers, and others about the campaign?

This lady is a busybody. She has no idea how business that depends on vehicle works. In New York a vehicle is in fact a "get away car". The parking rules are so restrictive that small businesses cannot afford to park. Delivery vehicles, delivering any kind of good, are obliged to flee from the police to avoid paying a ticket.

311 is useless on this. Sometimes the answering operator doesn't understand wht "idling" even is, mush less that it is illegal past three minutes. Never have I gotten a cop to respond to a scene of idling, and i live on a block where occasionally I've seen cars do it for hourse, including Parks, DOT, Sanitation vehicles. I also live next door to a schoolbus depot where the buses are idled in the morning for between fifteen minutes and TWO HOURS! If the city / Bloomberg really cared, they;d begin enforcement, because thye could make a pile of money in tickets.

There are 500 buses located in Red Hook. I have made many 311 complaints, and discussed this with bus company management. Once, an altercation with a driver on a warm spring morning over his idling bus brought him out of the bus screaming and threatening me. The city does next to nothing about the situation here, it has been that way for many years. We choke all year long under diesel fumes.

Some of the biggest offenders are city employees. I often see police cares and vans, city ambulances, parks department and -this is the best one- the DEP trucks sitting at the curb with their engine on.

Could EDF prepare a one-sheet that we can hand to idlers? I would feel more comfortable handing someone a sheet that summarizes negative impacts rather than feeling like I'm lecturing someone.

Seriously, you should do a show on this EVERY day.

From Fresh Direct, to the basic delivery trucks...they all idle. It's horrible. I wish the city would enforce the no-idle policy.

Not only are they toxic....They're so damned loud.

I live in a 3rd floor walk-up apartment facing an avenue in Manhattan. Every night of the week, trucks that are supplying the 2 restaurants below me stop below my bedroom window and leave their trucks idling for 1/2 an hour or more. A lot of them are refrigerated trucks. Is there anything that can be done about this? Is there a heightened carbon monoxide concern?

How can we possibly expect most quality-of-life to be enforced? At least twice a week, I am almost run down by drivers, going through yellow or red lights while talking on their cell phones!

ah, here's one school based solution to stopping idlers...cool!

http://gothamist.com/2009/03/25/in_wake_of_fatal_accidents_fines_fo.php

One of the worst offenders are the Access A Ride vehicles. Has anyone ever received a ticket for this offense?

I have noticed that the biggest offenders of idling are city vehicle like police cars, fire trucks, ConEd, Keyspan, and ambulances. Not only is it horrible for our health and the planet's health, but they are literally idling away our tax dollars.

it's interesting how the City government has promoted the suburbanization of our economy by neglecting neighborhood commercial streets and promoting large big-box development and movie theaters as in the suburbs, thus encouraging driving and the need to own a car. Now they are cracking down on idling when the City itself has encouraged the use of cars for people to do their errands. - Why doesn't the City crack down on City buses and tour buses which idle?

real experience with idlers - i told a guy who didn't turn his van off the first time i passed by in one direction [15 minutes earlier, atleast] that his tailpipe smelled like a "car-fart", and he got embarrassed enough that he actually smiled before turning his car off very quickly.
I know 'car-fart' sounds childish, but it worked.

and really, how much money could the city raise by actually enforcing these tickets?

The major problem with idling is cars waiting to legally park. It you shut off your engine, you are parked and can be ticketed and you can not run the air conditioner or heater.

For years Jersey City send each cleaner with a parking agent. The agent leads the cleaner by half a block. They ticket the lax and the cleaner then does its thing.

People move back and park. Other agents DO NOT ticket for that alternate side parking. No idling problem. No pollution. No time wasted.

really? the city's actually cracking down? didn't notice when i walked around my neighborhood, a restaurant oriented area, and saw [and smelled] a Taxi and Limousine Commission black car, WITH a window cracked open for freshly polluted air from his own tailpipe, sitting in front of the restaurant at the bottom of my building for 1/2 hour. Saw another one right around the corner near a hotel in the area, plus some yellow cab guys standing OUTside their cars with their engines running...
And when I ask half these guys to turn their motors off because leaving your engine running for more than 3-5 minutes wastes more energy than turning it on again, they usually say:
1. "My car won't turn on again." [REALLY? goodness, lord knows how you turned it on the first time!]
2. 'my client' is coming out "soon". Soon - I hate that word. The city needs to start with the TLC commission N-O-W. Give these guys actual tickets and enforce them, NO stupid excuses, and only then will the idling law [and there is actual state law] actually work.

The city could raise significant revenue by fining cars and trucks that idle. The simple rule: If your vehicle less than 2 feet from the curb for more than 30 seconds, it must be turned off.
I used to live next door to the Time Warner Center on 60th St. All day Hummers, Escalades. Maserati's, and Bentley's, and a legion of taxi's would sit idling in front of the door causing black soot to collect in my windows and settle on everything inside my apartment. I complained often to the management and porters to insist the cars be turned off to no effect. The drivers of the fancy cars and taxi's always said the customer expects a warm car in winter, a cool car in summer, etc. Well I say, if people want to idle their cars, pollute the city, contribute to asthma and global warming all for the sake of convenience, then they should have to pay the true cost for it. It's as inconsiderate as second blowing second-hand smoke in city-dwellers faces. If people can't regulate themselves, the government has to do it for them.

I haven't even discussed the delivery trucks. I recently saw 2 men, parked, sleeping in an idling delivery truck.

here in nj it's been illegal but parents dropping off or waiting for their kids in SUVs/cars/vans, have no idea.

In practical terms, how can these idlers (often as not non english spkng, remember) catch on?

here in nj it's been illegal but parents droppping off or waiting for their kids in SUVs/cars/vans, have no idea.

In practical terms, how can these idlers (often as not non english spkng, remember) catch on?

Idling buses is a serious problem too. The buses that terminate at Astor Place in particular idle sometimes for 15 minutes or more and I don't quite understand why. There is also an inspector or some sort of dispatcher who stands at that are where the buses sit and s/he never tells the drivers to shut down the motors. Fortunately(?) lately I notice a number of those buses there us "clean" fuel and I admit although I have my suspicions about "clean" fuels there are no bad odors that come from the exhaust from those buses. But no odor doesn't necessarily mean harmless! Yeah, I agree with other comments here that not enough has been done about idling vehicles and let's hope this law if enforced now.

Start with the tourist buses on 8th Ave between 48th and 52nd Streets. Not only idling, but often blocking the MTA bus stops while they do it - and more than once I've missed the 104 because they couldn't pull over so just drove by.

Good morning.

Idling of cars and trucks is a pervasive problem indeed, probably because it is culturally acceptable behavior. People in general don't appear to be concerned about it and if they are, there is very little dialogue going on, as apposed to other environmental issues. But this is a huge problem, as cities are seeing an increase in asthma rates due to polluted air. I myself have developed an increased sensitivity to vehicle exhaust, maybe because I've been breathing New York's bad air for the last 21 years.

Even though idling has been illegal here for over 30 years, the police walking the streets have been unresponsive whenever I've approached them about specific violators.

I regularly ask drivers to shut off their engines while they're parked and I get mixed results from this. But the City could run an ad campaign much like the "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign [about suspicious-looking packages being left unattended in public spaces]. And I bet that would be a hit, as people like taking positive action in their communities when they have the support of their local governments behind them.

The police could write tickets like they're supposed to. Remember that when Giuliani was mayor, the police force was writing tickets for jaywalkers, which proved rather effective. If action is being taken by the city and it is being reported on the evening news, people will listen and take measures to avoid being penalized.