Council Members Van Bramer, Levin Come Out on Top in TA Report Card

Which members of the City Council have made transportation a priority this term? A new report card from Transportation Alternatives [PDF] ranks each borough's delegation on whether its members sponsored 15 key transportation bills and resolutions signed by the mayor in the first six months of 2014. It found that, while a majority of council members are working for street safety, a smaller number have carried the banner for livable streets by sponsoring multiple pieces of legislation so far this year.

Most of the legislation TA used as a measuring stick was passed in May as part of a package of Vision Zero bills and resolutions. The report also included a resolution urging the state to take action on the Sheridan Expressway plan, among other bills. The report card tallied co-sponsors, not just the primary sponsor who introduced the legislation.

The average council member signed on to just two of the 15 bills. "A select group of Council members sponsored significantly more," TA says in the report, with Jimmy Van Bramer, Steve Levin, Maria Del Carmen Arroyo, and Helen Rosenthal led the way, each signing on to ten or more bills.

While most boroughs had their leaders and laggards, council members Vincent Ignizio, Steven Matteo, and Debi Rose of Staten Island all ranked poorly. Rose sponsored only one of the 15 pieces of legislation, to mandate speedy repair of broken traffic signals. Matteo and Ignizio did not sponsor any of the bills or resolutions.

The report card is a useful, if limited, snapshot of City Council activity. It did not look at the votes of council members, which are typically lopsided once a bill makes it to the floor. It also did not consider whether, of all the bills a council member sponsors, he or she is more or less likely to sign on to a transportation bill when compared to bills on other issues. One more flaw: Despite being a big street safety supporter, Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito ranks very low in the report card because, as the Council's leader, she did not co-sponsor any of the 15 bills TA examined.

Council members do more than just sponsor legislation. They also make sure city agencies are putting street safety policies into action in their districts. Following up on last year's campaign questionnaire, TA staff reached out to the 51 council members and their staff to learn what they're doing. Council Members Inez Dickens, Andy King, Ruben Wills, Vincent Gentile, Jumaane Williams, and Mathieu Eugene did not respond to TA's inquiries.

TA found some common issues: Ten council members are advocating for expanding the bike lane network, 12 are pushing for Slow Zones, 26 support better bus service, and 30 are working on traffic calming and street redesigns. On traffic enforcement, attention from council members was less thorough: TA reports that while 24 co-hosted Vision Zero town halls, only six council members reported following up by working with local precincts.

Despite this, the report praises the City Council for linking safer streets and policing. "The Council made an important connection between public safety and traffic safety," the report says, citing the Vision Zero hearing jointly hosted by the transportation and public safety committees in February.

Going forward, TA urges council members to continue their efforts on traffic calming and to increase their attention to Bus Rapid Transit. It also urged more oversight of NYPD traffic enforcement and TLC management of taxi and livery driver safety.