It’s 27! Jumaane Williams’s Driving Record is Worse Than Reported

Council Member Jumaane Williams has a horrific driving record. Photo: John McCarten for NYC Council
Council Member Jumaane Williams has a horrific driving record. Photo: John McCarten for NYC Council

He’s worse than you thought.

The man who wants to be your next Public Advocate has been nabbed by school zone cameras 27 times — not 18 as the Daily News reported this week.

In its story about Council Member Jumaane Williams’s driving record on Sunday, the tabloid used the lower figure because it only searched back to 2016. But the full record shows that Williams has nine more camera violations, plus 20 other infractions, dating back to 2013, when school-zone cameras were approved.

Williams had called the Daily News story a “political” attack, but in an interview earlier this week with Streetsblog, Williams apologized and took responsibility for the tickets. “I’m absolutely sorry, and should be held accountable — as I am,” he told Streetsblog’s David Meyer. Williams has paid $1,628.38 in fines, but still owes $245, records show.

He promised to change his driving behavior.

“You gotta slow down, that’s the whole message I got seeing that jarring number of 18 tickets in two years,” he said, suggesting that he was well aware that there were more violations lurking deeper in his driving record.

The 10 bus lane violations are particularly ironic. Earlier this year, Williams joined several other car-loving southern Brooklyn lawmakers in opposing dedicated bus lanes for the B82 route citing a preference for on-street car storage.

The NYPD said that 80 percent of drivers nabbed by a speed camera never get a second ticket, though Williams is hardly in that category. In fact, with 27 speed camera violations, Williams would be one of the 2,500 worst repeat offenders caught on camera. (One caveat: Tickets are issued to specific license plates, so it is unclear if Williams was the driver in every instance.)

Would-be supporters of Williams are conflicted.

“Councilmember Williams has acknowledged his culpability, and promised to change. The proof will be in his follow through,” said Eric McClure of StreetsPAC. “Our elected leaders should hold themselves to at least the same standards they expect of the rest of us, and respecting the speed limit – especially around school kids – and staying clear of bus lanes is not a very high bar to clear. He can do better, and he knows it.”

Willliams did not respond to a request for comment for this story, but tweeted at Streetsblog after this story was published:

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