City Council
Streetsblog Basics
Six City Council Members Endorse de Blasio Trash Hauling Reforms
A group of City Council members has endorsed Mayor de Blasio's plan to reform the way commercial waste is collected.
August 23, 2016
Van Bramer + 24 Council Members Call on Albany to Allow More Speed Cams
City Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer, 24 of his colleagues, and Public Advocate Letitia James are calling on the state legislature to expand NYC's life-saving automated speed enforcement program.
May 26, 2016
Sidewalk Biking Enforcement and NYC’s New Criminal Justice Reforms
The City Council just passed a package of bills -- collectively known as the Criminal Justice Reform Act -- encouraging police officers to issue civil instead of criminal summonses for "quality-of-life" offenses like possessing an open container of alcohol or littering. Sidewalk biking wasn't one of the offenses included in the bills, but a reform NYPD made to its enforcement of sidewalk cycling appears to have served as a proof of concept for the rest of the package.
May 25, 2016
Rodriguez: Wouldn’t DOT Like More Vision Zero Funding? Trottenberg: Nope
The de Blasio administration continues to resist the City Council's efforts to devote more resources to street redesigns that will save lives.
May 18, 2016
City Council Proposes Vision Zero Funding Increase — Will de Blasio Agree?
The City Council is proposing a significant increase in funding for street safety projects. Now it's up to Mayor de Blasio to decide whether to devote more resources to get the city closer to his Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic deaths by 2024.
April 5, 2016
NYPD and DOT Back Bill to Expand Right of Way for Pedestrians
NYPD and DOT both support a bill to give pedestrians more legal protection under the city's Right of Way Law.
April 4, 2016
It’s Time to Vote on How to Spend Your Council Member’s Money
For the fifth year, New Yorkers can vote via participatory budgeting on which projects should receive discretionary funds earmarked for their City Council districts. This time around, a record 30 council members are asking constituents how to spend their discretionary budgets. Voting began this past weekend and runs through Sunday.
March 28, 2016
Advocates Ask City Council to Fully Fund Vision Zero Street Improvements
If the city hopes to dramatically decrease the number of traffic fatalities in New York City, DOT needs more resources to redesign the city’s most dangerous corridors and intersections.
March 18, 2016
4 More City Council Members Weigh in on Parking Reform
Last week, City Hall's proposal to reduce parking minimums for subsidized housing near transit got a hearing in the City Council, and for the most part it wasn't pretty. Council members may say they want more affordable housing, but for many of them, that support gets shaky if it means requiring less parking in residential development.
February 18, 2016
City Council’s Zeal for Affordable Housing Crumbles If It Means Less Parking
On Tuesday, members of the City Council hammered the de Blasio administration for not guaranteeing enough housing units for low-income New Yorkers in new construction. But yesterday, when the topic turned to building more affordable housing by reducing parking requirements, several Council members lost their zeal for housing and worried more about car storage.
February 11, 2016