City Council

Commissioner Ray Kelly and the New York City Police Department cannot continue to let thousands of serious injuries caused by dangerous driving go uninvestigated each year, said a group of City Council members, street safety advocates, and victims' families on the steps of City Hall today.

Last Thursday, City Council members held another press event on electric bikes. A bill introduced by Dan Garodnick would double the fine for riding an e-bike on the sidewalk from $100 to $200, according to a DNAinfo report, while the penalty for running a red light would go as high as $900.

The New York City Council has learned to stop worrying and love the bus lane. In a transportation hearing held this morning on the topic of outer borough transit, not a single person, whether on the council or testifying before it, had a bad word to say about NYC's Select Bus Service program, which has consistently increased speeds and ridership where implemented. In a span of just a few years, SBS appears to have become a permanent and popular part of New York City's transit toolkit -- and one that will continue to expand.

A Brooklyn motorist who jumped a curb, fatally injured a pedestrian and crashed into a restaurant while attempting to park her minivan last week will likely not receive as much as a traffic ticket, according to NYPD.

So it looks like the City Council is pondering legislation that would raise the fine for biking on the sidewalk (currently $100) and possibly establish a new squad of enforcement agents dedicated entirely to ticketing commercial cyclists.

The City Council has concluded it cannot require NYPD to fully investigate traffic crashes, despite indications that current department protocols may violate state law.

Responding to requests from the community board and advocacy groups, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn did what neither the City Planning Commission nor Borough President Scott Stringer would: reduce the excessive number of parking spaces planned for the Rudin family's redevelopment of the St. Vincent's Hospital site.

Brooklyn City Council Member Steve Levin wants NYPD to explain the way it investigates traffic crashes, and is preparing legislation that would bring department procedures in line with state law and significantly increase the number of officers trained to deal with cases involving serious injury and death.

When the City Council passed Jessica Lappin's Saving Lives Through Better Information bill last year, traffic safety and open government advocates cheered. Under the law, the NYPD is required to provide monthly data on both traffic crashes and traffic summonsing, shedding light on the hazards of city streets and what steps police take to protect New Yorkers from dangerous drivers.