Senator Avella Calls Mayor, DOT Phonies on Speed Cameras

Albany, NY – Yesterday, Mayor de Blasio and Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Polly Trottenberg announced a push to install more speed cameras throughout the City. Senator Avella responds to the Mayor’s insincere comments.

Senator Avella was one of the earliest elected officials to question the Mayor’s motives for the installation of speed cameras—since a number of locations appeared to be speed traps—as intent on raising revenue rather than the primary purpose of getting motorists to slow down.

The Senator from Queens urged the Mayor and DOT to prove that they are more interested in safety than money and erect signage that would alert drivers to the speed camera and warn them to slow down.

“If the Mayor was actually interested in reducing speeding near schools, why has he and DOT refused to erect proper signage alerting drivers to the presence of a speed camera. They have consistently refused my request to install signage that simply states “Speed Camera Ahead.” If you really want motorists to slow down by schools, then why not erect this signage. The answer is clear - the Mayor wants the revenue and could care less about actually reducing speeding. The City should be encouraging safer driving and deterring speeding beforehand, not trying to trap someone after they’ve already put everyone else in danger,” said Senator Avella.