HEAR IT! Staten Island Pol Loves to Speed — Then Shrugs Off His Recklessness

Whaddya gonna do?

Staten Island Council Member David Carr shrugged and drove away from a Streetsblog reporter who confronted him on Thursday about his long record of reckless driving: 12 speed-camera tickets, one red light ticket and one bus lane infraction since Feb. 2, 2023.

Streetsblog spotted the slack-jawed Mid-Island Republican getting into his car in the City Hall parking lot at around noon and quickly ran his plates through the city database to confirm that his car has been piloted in a consistently reckless fashion — though, of course, the lawmaker may not be the sole driver.

We ran over to ask about it, and Carr’s indifferent shrug was so striking that it could practically be heard on tape:

Here’s the transcript:

City records show that all of Carr’s $1,000-plus in tickets have been paid. Left unknown, however, is why he is endangering his neighbors by driving at least 11 miles per hour above the speed limit in his mostly residential district.

He drove off without comment.

Carr isn’t the first Rock Republican to be caught on camera driving recklessly. Former South Shore Council Member Joe Borelli was a famous member of the “Speed Demon Club,” both here and overseas. He also shrugged off concerns about exceeding the speed limit.

But speeding is a cause of considerable carnage in the city — and in Carr’s 50th Council District. Last year in the Mid-Island district, 1,112 people were injured in 2,048 reported crashes, including 45 cyclists and 140 pedestrians, according to city statistics.