Blaz blasts Albany for speed cam fail
Mayor de Blasio ripped the state Senate for failing to renew or expand the city's school zone speed camera program before the legislative session ended Thursday morning — saying it will cost lives.
“The failure to preserve and expand life-saving speed cameras near New York City schools represents a massive failure of leadership,” de Blasio said in a statement. “Kids will be in danger. Kids will lose their lives.”
The original legislation allowing the city to use speed cameras in 140 locations around schools expires this summer. The city had pushed for an extension of its right to use the cameras — and permission to add 140 more.
But an expansion bill failed to move out of the Republican-controlled Senate. Sen. Simcha Felder, a Brooklyn Democrat who conferences with the Republican Party, had called for the renewal of speed cameras to be tied to police officers being placed at public and private schools, a deal breaker in the Assembly.
“The state Assembly majority has shown the way with their expansion bill,” de Blasio said of the Democratic-led body. “Senate Republicans haven't done their job until they pass the bill, which has majority support.”
De Blasio called on Gov. Cuomo to get involved and to call lawmakers back to work. With the legislative session concluded, lawmakers are not scheduled to return to Albany until January.
If nothing is done, the cameras will have to be turned off July 25.
Cuomo — who says he supports an extension and expansion of the speed camera law — didn't rule out calling lawmakers back for a special session.
“I think it would be an atrocity and literally a public safety hazard if the Senate doesn't renew the camera (law),” said Cuomo.
Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-Suffolk County) and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said they don't anticipate coming back to Albany before the year ends.
Flanagan chided the Senate Democrats for “playing politics” by blocking an alternative bill pushed by Sen. Martin Golden (R-Brooklyn) at the end of the legislative session that would have required more warning lights, stop signs and other measures to help reduce speeding around schools — but not renew the camera program.
Senate GOP spokesman Scott Reif also accused de Blasio of doing little to get the bill passed.