The effort to allow New York City to set speed limits below 25 miles per hour has a new backer — state Assembly Transportation Chair Bill Magnarelli (D-Syracuse), who endorsed the bill package known as “Sammy’s Law” during a meeting in Albany with members of Families for Safe Streets on Tuesday.
Thank you @BillMagnarelli for supporting Sammy’s Law! pic.twitter.com/8RCrRxBceK
— Families For Safe Streets (@NYC_SafeStreets) May 23, 2023
Magnarelli had previously said he would only support the legislation if the City Council passed a home rule message asking for its passage. The Council has yet to pass such a message, but last week the chair of its own Transportation Committee, Selvena Brooks-Powers (D-Queens), said she would vote in favor.
Gov. Kathy Hochul also gave a boost to the bill in a statement posted Tuesday on Twitter.
“Giving New York City the ability to lower its speed limit will prevent crashes and save lives,” she wrote.
“I included Sammy’s Law in my Executive budget because it will make our streets safer for all New Yorkers — regardless of how they choose to get around their community.”
In other news:
- Streetsblog’s Jesse Coburn did a video interview with NJ Spotlight News about his investigation into used car dealers in New Jersey and Georgia who print and sell fraudulent temporary license plates.
- New York’s neighbors to the northeast are talking big on transit-oriented development… while also cutting transit service. (CT Mirror)
- Like Streetsblog, the War on Cars podcast interview Henry Grabar about his new book on “how parking explains the world.” (TWOC)
- WPIX dove into the MTA’s fare proposals.
- Cops arrested a homeless man for shoving a woman into a moving train car, causing her severe injuries. (NY Post, amNY, NBC New York)
- Transit advocates push “fair fares” expansion ahead of looming fare hike. (NY Daily News)
- Ex-FDNY pleads guilty to wrong-way, drunk killing of Queens teacher. (News 12 Long Island)
- NYC’s least-appreciate civil servants fight for better working conditions. (Gothamist)
- Zero injuries after school bus carrying six kids bursts into flames in Queens. (CBS New York)
- Hell Gate learns to bike.