This gives new meaning to the term "the mayor's race."
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's personal Dodge Charger has been caught on camera speeding twice in the last month, city records show.
After getting a bus lane violation after an appearance at a Manhattan union hall in March (as reported by the Post), Cuomo's bromobile was slapped with two school zone speed camera violations on March 28, both in Manhattan. Both of the $50 tickets — which, due to state law, do not count on a driver's license because it is not possible to know who was driving a car at any time — have been paid, according to city records.
It is unclear why Cuomo — whose muscle cars are so much a part of his identity that one showed up in the very opening of a Times profile this week and another provided a getaway vehicle when he left office in scandal — would endanger his would-be constituents by driving recklessly. In order to trigger a city speed camera, a driver must be going at least 11 miles per hour above the speed limit. In a 25-mile-per-hour zone, driving at 36 miles per hour is 44 percent faster than the law allows.
Pedestrians struck by drivers at that speed have a much greater likelihood of dying from injuries sustained in the crash than if they are struck by drivers who are following the law.
It's not as if Andrew Cuomo is ill-informed about the city's speed cameras, which are placed only in school zones, under state law — law that was signed, and signed again, by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Streetsblog reached out to the Cuomo mayoral campaign to ask about the former governor's driving record and to ask if he supports the city speed camera program that he has violated at least twice.
The campaign said the former governor got the tickets on the highway-like West Street in Manhattan, where the speed limit is 30 miles per hour, meaning Cuomo's car was clocked at at least 41 miles per hour. Campaign spokesperson Esther Jensen emphasized, "Gov. Cuomo’s commitment to public safety and his responsible and prompt handling of fines as they appear" and noted that "other people drive the vehicle."
She also sent over a statement from Cuomo about his prior commitment to the speed camera program.
"I signed CH 30 of 2019 dramatically expanding (from 140 to 750) the school speeding cameras in New York City, and expanding hours from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m," said the statement attributed to Cuomo. "The data has shown that they serve a deterrent effect, and help reduce accidents, even when operating 24/7 as they have since 2022."
The statement also pointed out that Cuomo signed into law the original speed camera pilot, in 2013, that had 150 cameras operating one hour before and one hour after school.
It is unclear how the news of Cuomo's (or his team's) reckless driving will affect the mayor's race, given that other candidates in the race — most notably Brad Lander, who did at least acknowledge the danger of his speeding — have even worse driving records ... so far. As comptroller, Scott Stringer's driver had a heavy right foot, too.
New York's speed cameras are again up for renewal in Albany. Gov. Hochul extended the program in 2022, though it is unclear if the program will ever be made permanent so that activists don't have to go to Albany every three years to beg.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story reported that the car in question is registered in Purchase. According to documents viewed by Streetsblog, the car was indeed registered upstate when purchased in March. The Cuomo campaign says it has been re-registered in Manhattan. We will update this story when we get confirmation of that.
