38 THE QUEENS COURIER • KIDS & EDUCATION • AUGUST 30, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
kids & education
School zone speed cameras will be back
Queens in time for the start of classes
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/ @jenna_bagcal
Speed cameras across Queens will be
active once again in school zones come
September.
On Aug. 26, the City Council made a
deal with the mayor and the governor to
reinstate the speed camera program that
went dark on July 25, as fi rst reported by
the Wall Street Journal.
Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a
30-day emergency executive order that
allows speed cameras to be reinstalled in
school zones. Th e order will pass through
the City Council, who are expected to vote
in favor of the legislation on Wednesday.
Following the Council meeting, Mayor
Bill de Blasio will sign the order into law
before school goes back in session.
“Speed cameras save lives; it is unequivocal
when you look at the data since the
speed cameras were put in place,” said
Cuomo at a press conference on Aug. 27.
“Before speed cameras, 18 children were
killed per year. Th at went down to eight
children aft er speed cameras — that’s
10 children’s lives that were saved by the
speed cameras.”
Th e governor was joined by Council
Speaker Corey Johnson and Amy Cohen,
a co-founder for the group Families for
Safe Streets and mother of 12-year-old
Sammy Cohen who was killed in a car
crash in 2013.
Senator Jose Peralta released a statement
praising the eff orts to reinstate speed cameras.
Th e Queens senator had been pushing
for the renewal and expansion of the
program, which would add an additional
150 cameras to the existing 140 that have
been in place since 2014.
“I thank Governor Cuomo for his leadership
on this issue and for signing this
executive order to ensure that when school
starts next Wednesday, we’ll have speed
cameras back on our streets,” Peralta said.
“It’s been proven over and over again that
speed cameras are one of the most important
and eff ective tools we have available to
slow down drivers and keep our kids safe
on our streets. Th at’s why I continue to
call on the Senate to return to Albany so
that we can pass legislation that I’ve introduced
to expand the speed camera program
and once again codify their use.”
Politicians and advocates had criticized
Senate Republicans such as Majority
Leader John Flanagan for “playing politics”
with the speed camera issue. But
Candace Giove, a Senate GOP spokeswoman
said that the Majority has been
in support of the speed camera program.
“We have said all along that our Majority
supports extending this program to keep
speed cameras on. In fact, we’d even consider
codifying the governor’s executive
order into law. Th e real question is will
the Assembly join us,” said Giove in a
statement.
Th e state Assembly, which has a
Democratic majority, approved the passage
of the speed camera bill during their
legislative session in Albany.
Screenshot of Governor Cuomo’s speed camera press conference.
Speed cameras will be back in school zones this September.
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