Government Organizations

When a driver in New York loses his license, it's up to the state Department of Motor Vehicles to decide when, or if, he gets it back. Based on a recent hearing attended by Streetsblog, the DMV adjudication process at times relies primarily on testimony from drivers involved in fatal crashes, rather than police reports or other evidence.

Steve Levin and Ydanis Rodriguez today introduced a resolution calling on Albany to lower the citywide speed limit to 20 miles per hour, as proposed in legislation sponsored by Assembly Member Dan O’Donnell and state Senator Martin Dilan.

All five New York City district attorneys were invited to Monday's City Council Vision Zero hearing, according to the office of transportation committee chair Ydanis Rodriguez. Yet Manhattan DA Cy Vance was the only one who participated.

As part of his Vision Zero agenda, Mayor Bill de Blasio wants Albany to elevate careless driving to a criminal offense, increasing penalties while making it easier for police to hold reckless motorists accountable.

Which governor is worse on transit issues, Chris Christie or Andrew Cuomo? Amazingly, New York's chief executive could win this race to the bottom. The latest move from Cuomo would cut a guaranteed source of revenue for the MTA that Albany can never raid for its own purposes.

After two weeks, it's clear that NYC's new automated speed camera program needs much more leeway from Albany in order to wrestle the city's dangerous speeding problem under control.

State Senator Martin Malave Dilan, of Brooklyn, has introduced companion legislation to Assembly Member Dan O’Donnell's speed limit bill, which would set the maximum speed on NYC streets at 20 miles per hour, except on streets "where the City Council determines a different speed limit is appropriate."

Transit advocates are sounding the alarm as Governor Cuomo again tries to quietly raid dedicated transit funds and back away from the state's promises to the MTA so he can plug Albany's budget holes.

[Editor's note: Streetsblog will not be publishing Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.]