34 THE QUEENS COURIER • KIDS & EDUCATION • JULY 26, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
kids & education
Queens elected offi cials mourn the end of
the school-zone speed camera program
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/ @jenna_bagcal
Th e divisive New York City schoolzone
speed camera program went dark
yesterday, as local elected offi cials and
advocates mourned its end.
“Today is a sad day for New York: rather
than do their jobs, Senate Republicans
continue to play politics with our children’s
safety by allowing the school zone
speed camera program to lapse,” said
Senator Michael Gianaris. “As these cameras
go dark, families will wonder if their
children will be the next victims of reckless
drivers. Th is failed leadership shows
why a Democratic majority is more necessary
than ever.”
State Senator Jose Peralta, who held
a press conference in East Elmhurst to
advocate for the renewal and expansion
of the program on July 13, reacted to the
120 of 140 cameras being turned off at a
press conference he hosted yesterday.
“Th is program saved countless lives,
and because of the lack of action from
the Senate Republican Majority to vote
on my bill, school zone speed cameras
will be turned off today,” said Peralta
in a statement. “Th is is senseless, illogical.
Th is program has been tremendously
successful. New York City kids will no
longer be protected from reckless drivers
when they travel to and from school. Th is
is a sad day for our city, for our kids and
for all New Yorkers. In September, more
than one million children will return to
school on more dangerous roads, this is
unacceptable.”
Advocacy groups Transportation
Alternatives and Families for Safe Streets
joined the senator at the July 25 press
conference and vowed to do what they
could in order to reinstate the cameras
and hold the Republican Senate accountable
for their inaction.
In offi cial statements from Senator
Flanagan and Governor Andrew Cuomo,
the offi cials pointed fi ngers at one another,
saying that it was the other’s fault that
the program would not be renewed.
Flanagan blamed the governor and the
Assembly’s “unwillingness to engage senators
with a larger vision for street safety to
protect children.” He added that Cuomo
had been “derelict in his responsibilities”
and was not present in Albany until the
last days of the session, only sending senators
a speed camera extender aft er the
Assembly left town and Senate adjourned.
“Senators came up with many ways
to protect students from speeding cars,
including installing red lights and stop
signs at every school intersection to protect
all students while also extending the
current speed camera program,” said
Flanagan. “Governor Cuomo, at the time,
urged legislators to ‘do the stop signs, do
the lights,’ until elevating his campaign
became more important than safety. Th e
Senate Republican Majority is committed
to doing even more to ensure the safety
and well-being of all of New York’s students.”
Th e governor said that the Republican
Senate was letting politics get in the way
of making the best decision, and called
the decision to not hold a special session
“a complete dereliction” of the duty to
Photo courtesy of Senator Jose Peralta’s offi ce
ensure public safety.
“Th is is not an ideological issue —
Senator Golden and his conference are
playing politics with the lives of children,
and it’s transparent,” said the governor.
“I have said for weeks, there is no
need for me to call a special session as
the Assembly has already passed the bill
during session — all that is left is for the
Senate Republicans to act.
“Here’s a tip for Senator Golden,”
Cuomo continued. “Maybe he should
hold a protest in front of Senator
Flanagan’s offi ce and demand he bring
his own conference back to Albany to
vote for speed cameras on the merits like
they should have done in June. If it helps
the Senator, I will repeat the call for the
Senate Republicans to immediately return
to Albany and pass the bill that sits on
their desk — I will sign it the same day.”
Just days before the program was set
to expire, Queens offi cials made a fi nal
push to keep the speed-cameras afl oat.
On July 23, Councilman Francisco Moya
and Assemblywoman Ari Espinal wrote
a letter to Senate Majority Leader John
Flanagan, calling on him hold a special
session to renew and expand the speed
camera program which places cameras
near New York City schools.
Bayside youngster kicks his way
to the Junior Pan Am Games
Braden Fullman, a 13 year old, 55 kg national champion in karate from Bayside, has qualifi ed for
the USA Junior National Team competing to be held at the end of August in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
Braden is representing the United States in the Junior Pan American Championships along with
95 other 12-20 year olds representing Team USA. He is trying to qualify for the USA Junior Olympic
Team which will also be held in Brazil this November. Braden needs to score enough individual
points to be ranked in the Top 10 in the world. After his summer trip to Brazil, he’s entering the
eighth grade at M.S. 158 in Bayside.
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