Officials Urge State Lawmakers to Pass Speed Cameras Bill

WNYC News | Jun 27, 2018

City officials are continuing to urge state lawmakers to return to Albany and renew a citywide speed camera program before it expires at the end of July.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams made the request at a Wednesday event where the parents of a four year-old girl who was fatally struck by an SUV on Sunday demanded justice for their daughter. Luz Gonzalez and her mother were on the sidewalk when they were struck by an SUV pulling out of a parking spot in front of a laundromat. The driver then left the scene. The driver later told police she didn't realize she had hit anyone and no charges have been filed. The NYPD says the investigation is ongoing.

Adams acknowledged speed cameras wouldn’t have prevented this death, but called on lawmakers and Governor Andrew Cuomo to return for a special session in order to preserve the program, which puts cameras in school zones.

“The absence of speed cameras are putting our children in harm’s way,” he said. “All of our children should be safe and protected.”

There are currently 140 speed cameras in school zones. A proposed bill would expand that number to 290. The bill failed to pass the State Senate, after Brooklyn Democrat Simcha Felder tried to tie the bill to a proposal that would station armed police officers at city schools. The legislative session in Albany ended last week and Governor Cuomo said he won’t call a special session because there aren’t enough votes to pass the bill.

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