City Council
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NYC Open Data Law Will Sort Out NYPD’s Jumbled Traffic Crash Data
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.
March 9, 2012
Are Council Members Ready to Pay for Their MTA Wish List?
The New York City Council doesn't like the MTA's budget. And really, who would? Fares and tolls are scheduled to rise in 2013 and again in 2015, bus lines cut in 2010 aren't scheduled to ever come back, and the MTA is assuming net zero increases for transit worker compensation. It's a product of worldwide financial crisis and Albany fiscal skullduggery, and it isn't pretty.
March 6, 2012
Numbers Tell the Tale of Ray Kelly’s Squandered Street Safety Resources
A lot of notable statistics surfaced at Wednesday's City Council hearing on NYPD traffic enforcement. Many of them paint a picture of a department that devotes relatively little effort to combating traffic crime, while failing to distinguish vehicles that weigh a couple-dozen pounds from those weighing several tons. Here's a rundown:
February 16, 2012
NYPD’s Lax Crash Investigations May Violate State Law
Unacceptable. Absurd. "Next to useless."
February 15, 2012
T.A. Calls For Interagency Traffic Safety Task Force at City Council Hearing
The City Council is holding a first-of-its-kind hearing on NYPD crash investigations today, a joint effort of the transportation and public safety committees. Based on the early reports via Twitter, it sounds like council members are holding NYPD's feet to the fire for failing to investigate serious crashes and letting motorists off the hook for the harm they cause.
February 15, 2012
Q Poll: Chris Quinn’s Parking Agenda Out of Touch With New Yorkers
To hear Christine Quinn tell it, New Yorkers are crying out for relief from unjust parking policies. Over the last two years, it seems that when City Council members weren't flogging legislation to add layers of bureaucracy to DOT's street safety program, they were tripping over themselves to absolve motorists of one responsibility after another.
February 9, 2012
Nothing About Public Transportation in Chris Quinn’s Transportation Report
If you're like most New York commuters, you took a train or bus to get to work today. And like most New Yorkers, you are invisible to the City Council and speaker Christine Quinn.
February 1, 2012
Quinn’s Parking Agenda Gives Nothing to the 54 Percent Who Don’t Own Cars
On Monday we published the revised schedule for this week's City Council hearing in James Vacca's transportation committee. Out with oversight of the MTA budget and its consequences for straphangers, in with bills to make parking more convenient. Maybe we were being a little unfair with that post, because the person who ultimately sets the agenda for the City Council isn't Vacca, but Speaker Christine Quinn.
January 19, 2012
Another Year, Another David Greenfield Parking Bill
The City Council is again looking to placate scofflaw drivers. This time, Council Member David Greenfield of Brooklyn wants to limit cases in which the city can tow vehicles belonging to drivers who have racked up hundreds of dollars in unpaid parking fines. DNAinfo has the story:
January 12, 2012
City Council Bill Would Weaken Bikes in Garages Law, Keep Number of Spaces
Two years after the City Council passed the Bicycle Access to Garages law, which set aside space for bike parking in commercial garages, legislators are turning their attention back to the issue. In response to low demand for the garage spaces, a bill sponsored by Queens rep Karen Koslowitz would loosen up some of the design requirements for the bike parking spaces while maintaining the total amount of bike parking required.
November 29, 2011