City Council
Streetsblog Basics
NYC’s New Council Speaker Is Melissa Mark-Viverito
Melissa Mark-Viverito will serve as the next New York City Council speaker following a vote today by her peers in the council. She now holds the second most powerful position in New York City politics, after the mayor himself, and will set the agenda for the City Council for the next four years. The vote was un-contested after her chief rival for the speakership, Dan Garodnick, officially conceded.
January 8, 2014
Koo Will Try Override After Bloomberg Vetoes NYPD Hit-and-Run Bill
As one of his last acts in office, Mayor Michael Bloomberg vetoed a bill that would have required NYPD to report to the City Council and the public on hit-and-run crashes. With lead sponsor Leroy Comrie also gone from City Hall, Council Member Peter Koo plans to marshal an effort to override the veto.
January 7, 2014
Council Passes Hit-and-Run Bill; Greenfield Tables Speed Limit Legislation
The City Council yesterday passed legislation requiring NYPD to post regular reports on the most serious hit-and-run crashes, while a bill to lower speed limits on certain streets has been set aside until next year.
December 20, 2013
Council Transpo Committee Passes NYPD Hit-and-Run Transparency Bill
The City Council transportation committee passed a bill today that would require NYPD to issue quarterly reports on hit-and-run crashes and investigations.
December 18, 2013
Ray Kelly Sees Value in Mapping Car Thefts, But Not Car Crashes
A couple of months ago, NYPD brass told the City Council that it would be useless for the department to map where people are being killed and injured by motorists. On the other hand, Commissioner Ray Kelly believes the public will benefit from knowing where cars are being stolen.
December 10, 2013
City: Recycling Plastic Foam Would Add 1,000 Deadly Trucks to NYC Streets
Sanitation truck drivers are among the most dangerous to NYC pedestrians and cyclists, and two City Council bills that could lead to recycling -- rather than banning -- plastic-foam containers may end up putting 1,000 more trash haulers on city streets.
December 9, 2013
Vaccaro: NYPD Coerces Injured Hit-and-Run Victims to Not Pursue Charges
The City Council transportation committee met today to gather testimony on NYPD hit-and-run crash investigations, but NYPD didn't send anyone to the hearing. The committee also took up a bill that would codify updates to DOT's innovative Street Design Manual.
December 4, 2013
Council Now Wants to Set Speed Limits at 25 MPH Citywide
A City Council effort to lower speed limits to 20 miles per hour on residential streets citywide has been dropped in favor of a bill that would set limits at 25 mph on narrow one-way streets.
November 27, 2013
How the City Council Can Impose Tougher Penalties on Reckless Drivers
The election of numerous safe streets candidates earlier this month, followed by the exoneration of road-raging cabbie Faysal Himon and the gut-wrenching parade of daily traffic deaths since, create the best opportunity in years to impose meaningful consequences for sober reckless driving.
November 19, 2013
WNYC: Most City Streets Are Currently Eligible for 20 MPH Speed Limit
WNYC has put together a map showing that the majority of streets in New York City are close to a school -- meaning that, according to state law, the speed limit on those streets can be lowered to 20 miles per hour without Albany's approval:
November 13, 2013