City Council
Streetsblog Basics
One Year and 280+ Deaths Later, No Council Progress on NYPD Crash Reforms
It was a year ago today that the City Council transportation committee, led by James Vacca and Peter Vallone Jr., convened a hearing on pedestrian and cyclist safety and the failure of NYPD to properly investigate traffic crashes.
February 15, 2013
Staten Island Motorist Strikes Couple, Killing Elderly Man; No Charges Filed
A motorist who killed an elderly man and injured his wife on Staten Island has been cleared of responsibility by NYPD.
February 4, 2013
34th Precinct Ceases Speed Enforcement After Inwood Slow Zone Goes In
Here's another example of how James Vacca and Jessica Lappin, if they're serious about street safety, targeted the wrong agency for a public scolding yesterday.
January 25, 2013
Details on Fatal Midwood Crash Don’t Mesh With NYPD Victim-Blaming
The driver of a Ford van killed a 15-year-old girl in Midwood Tuesday. It was the second crash in which a child has died in city traffic in less than a week, and at least the fourth time a motorist has killed a pedestrian in the course of six days.
January 23, 2013
Legal Double Parking in School Zones — What Is Joel Rivera Thinking?
City Council Member Joel Rivera is taking some heat for a bill that would, in his words, "allow parents to double park when picking up their kids from school [and] not receive a parking ticket.” It's the latest answer to a question no one asked from a council whose raison d'être seems to be absolving city motorists of as many responsibilities as possible.
January 10, 2013
James Vacca’s Pet Peeve Committee Is Back in Session
The City Council transportation committee met today, and if you thought the council was due for a break from dreaming up motorist entitlements, think again: this afternoon's agenda was all about parking.
December 5, 2012
Margaret Chin and 1,000 Citizens Ask NYPD to Investigate Pedestrian Death
Council Member Margaret Chin's office has joined those calling for a full investigation into the death of Kwok Fu, the 82-year-old man who was struck by the driver of a National Guard truck on Canal Street.
November 28, 2012
Three Killed in Traffic in Three Days as City Council Dithers
Three pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes on consecutive days in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan this weekend.
October 22, 2012
Vacca Lectures DOT on NYPD Delivery Cyclist Enforcement
The City Council Transportation Committee is on a mission to bring bike delivery workers into compliance with traffic laws, but council members appear unsure as to how to go about it.
September 7, 2012
Council Members Call on Ray Kelly to Reform NYPD Crash Investigations
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.
July 25, 2012