Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Richard Brodsky

Will Brodsky and Assembly Dems Back Up Their Enforcement Bluster?

brodsky.jpgA short item in yesterday's Crain's Insider notes that the hiring of 100 additional traffic agents is on hold due to belt-tightening in the city budget:

An increase in the number of traffic agents, called for in PlaNYC, was cut from the city budget approved Sunday. The agents were to patrol new bus lanes and ticket cars under the anti-gridlock law just approved in Albany. Previously, only police officers could write the tickets. Adding agents is now slated for fiscal 2010.

According to the 2008 PlaNYC progress report [PDF], the new hires had already been postponed, so this is the second year in a row that beefing up the number of traffic enforcement agents will be delayed. Makes you wonder if the money will be there in 2010, as hoped for.

Earlier this year, when Richard Brodsky was touting his version of a congestion mitigation plan [PDF], the Westchester Assemblyman championed better enforcement as a key alternative strategy to pricing. His plan, which he introduced in the State Assembly as bill number A10198, also included a provision for 100 additional traffic agents. (It did not, incidentally, include red-light or bus-lane cameras.)

The bill never came up for a vote. Now the city is having trouble funding the same number of agents (we have a request into the mayor's office to determine why this provision was singled out). Will Brodsky and the Assembly Democrats who stood with him in February back up their talk next session, and push for the enforcement measures in A10198? Inquiries placed to his office yesterday afternoon and this morning have not yet been returned.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Eyes on the Street: DOT’s ‘Broadway Vision’ Starts to Clear Up

The Department of Transportation has transformed Broadway into a new corridor for pedestrians and cyclists.

July 8, 2025

Amsterdam Leads the Way on E-Bike Regulation — Should New York Follow Suit?

The city's biking- and walking-friendly streets expose the hypocrisy harsh e-bike enforcement without better street design.

July 8, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines: Rethinking Avenue B Edition

DOT is taking feedback on the future of Avenue B. Plus more news.

July 8, 2025

Eric Adams’s ‘Dept. of Sustainable Delivery’ Isn’t Actually A Department

The "Department of Sustainable Delivery" will launch with 45 "peace officers" in 2028, the mayor said on Monday.

July 7, 2025

New Air Quality Stats Dispel Earlier Forecasts for Congestion Pricing Pollution

Air quality has improved or remained steady across the five boroughs since congestion pricing launched in January, city health department data showed.

July 7, 2025

‘Rush’ Routes Debut in Queens Bus Map Overhaul More Than Five Years in the Making

The MTA's new "rush" routes make fewer stops in busy downtown areas to avoid wasted time merging in and out of traffic.

July 7, 2025
See all posts