Friday Headlines: Oh Really? Edition
Streetsblog’s reporting on a prolific traffic scofflaw, NYPD officer James Giovansanti, has prompted renewed interest from other outlets, like Hell Gate and The New York Times. But a key voice in the fight to rein in these reckless drivers is still tight-lipped on the issue in public and reportedly on the wrong side of the issue in public.
When Streetsblog asked Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie if this was finally going to be the year that he supported the Stop Super Speeders Act, legislation that would force reckless drivers to install devices in their cars that cap their speeds, he spoke as if it had nothing to do with him.
“I don’t sign on to bills, so how do I have a position?” Heastie told reporters on Wednesday.
The governor made the policy part of her executive budget proposal, drastically increasing the likelihood that it will become law, but it’s supposedly on the back burner while more pressing negotiations on car insurance, climate, and immigration take place.
However, that doesn’t mean it hasn’t come up at all. And Heastie can hardly say his feelings on the bill don’t exist or are immaterial when Streetsblog reported last year that due process concerns scuttled its chances in his conference.
“Having a concern doesn’t mean you don’t support things,” he said. “I don’t support people speeding, but, you know, we really haven’t talked about it too much.”
Leaders in both chambers have suggested that there has been progress, albeit slow, on a variety of budget policies, so maybe that tempo of discussion will change.
In other news:
- Hochul and the state Legislature are nearing an agreement on revamped environmental review regulations that would speed up housing and green space development. (Gothamist)
- Assembly Transportation Chair Bill Magnarelli (D-Syracuse) noted the uphill battle for more upstate transit funding as he faces a progressive challenger this election cycle. (Central Current)
- Assembly Member Micah Lasher (D-Manhattan): a child magician at his core. (The Atlantic)
- The field is clear for former Suffolk County Executive Patrick Halpin to seek the Democratic nomination and run against Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Long Island). (Newsday)
- State officials waved through an Assembly candidate’s Working Families Party ballot line switch after complaints that he hadn’t lived in the district long enough. (The Times Union)
- Anthony Constantino’s North Country congressional campaign hired a man last year who was accused of stabbing another man in Nevada. (The Times Union)
- One of Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar’s (D-Queens) ballot petitions has the forged signature of a local news editor. (Queens Chronicle)
- Business groups on Long Island are worried about a potential LIRR strike. (Newsday)
- A report from the New York City comptroller throws the revenue projections for a second home tax into question. (amNY)
- The Working Families Party is thumbs down on Jack Schlossberg and his Manhattan congressional campaign. (City & State)
- We’ve got patriotic Metro-North trains on the horizon. (The Journal News)
- Mid Hudson News followed Streetsblog’s exclusive that the Route 17 widening is a farce.
- The Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act decision could mean New York goes full steam ahead on redistricting. (State of Politics)
- Rochester residents are weighing in on street safety in the city. (Rochester Democrat & Chronicle)
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