Berland And Gavilla Clash On Red Light Cameras

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — Red light cameras, one of the more controversial issues among Suffolk County residents, is equally contested between the two candidates for Suffolk County Legislative District 16. Democratic incumbent Susan Berland is running against Republican challenger Hector Gavilla in a district that encompasses Commack, Dix Hills, East Northport, Elwood, Melville and South Huntington in the Town of Huntington, Deer Park in the Town of Babylon and Brentwood and North Bay Shore in the Town of Islip.

Rear-end crashes at Suffolk County's 100 red light camera intersections have increased 60 percent, though deadly or injury-causing crashes have dropped 11 percent, CBS2 reported after a three-year study on red light cameras on Long Island came out in June.

In September, Suffolk lawmakers voted to extend the program for another five years. The 11-7 vote fell along party lines, with Democrats voting for it and Republicans against. Suffolk County has made $30 million in annual revenue from red light cameras, CBS New York reported.

"This is an important issue, because it is the most obvious example of a County Government that is facing a fiscal crisis and willing to impose abusive taxes on the people to help it pay its bills," Gavilla told Patch. "Despite proof that accidents increased after cameras were installed, the Democrats want to continue this scam. We must stop this unholy alliance between the camera company and Suffolk County."

Berland expressed her support of red light cameras in a questionnaire with Patch.

"I agree with AAA, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the National Safety Council that red light cameras save lives," she wrote. "Ignoring the facts, my opponent denounces red light cameras as a 'scam.' The only scam, however, is his use of campaign signs that purport to direct residents to a website concerning the red light camera issue but actually take the user to his campaign website."

Berland's campaign did not respond to requests for further comment on the topic.

A red light camera program checklist was published in 2018 by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates), the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the National Safety Council (NSC), and AAA, which is meant to advise communities on how to set up and operate a program.

"Photo enforcement is a proven, effective tool to make roads safer," the collaborative checklist reads. "Well-controlled before-and-after studies have found that red light cameras reduce violations and injury crashes, especially the violent front-into-side crashes most associated with red light running."

Gavilla disagrees on the merits of the program in Suffolk.

"The Red Light Scam was introduced to New York to allow municipalities to generate their own revenue," Gavilla said. "Other States like Texas banned the red light cameras because they recognized it was Unconstitutional."

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a red light camera ban into law in June, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Gavilla, if elected, said he would try to take a page from Texas' book.

"My goal is to completely abolish this scam once and for all," he said. "I will look for real solutions to make our roads safer."

He proposed re-engineering roads; constructing more jug handle turns and traffic circles could be solutions, he said. Gavilla said there have been fatal accidents on Commack Road and Long Island Expressway service roads "because there is a major blind spot that no one is talking about, and the lights turn green too quickly." He said even though red light cameras were placed there, accidents have not been reduced.

Gavilla said the cameras are disproportionately in lower-income neighborhoods, and that "there are none in the affluent towns in the North Shore or in the Eastern towns."

William Toranzo, a conservative advocate for Suffolk County who is anti-red light camera, created a Google map of red light camera locations in which he urges drivers to "use extreme caution at. No reason to give Suffolk County your hard earned money." The camera light icon means it's a verified location, while the red markers means the location is un-verified. Gavilla featured the map on his website, RedLightScam.com.

Gavilla said most people who have received invoices for red light camera-related tickets did so because of rolling right turns "that have nothing to do with intentionally running red lights."

"The idea that there are so many drivers intentionally blowing red lights is a fake crisis," he added.

Gavilla proposed using 21st century technology to keep all lights red until a sensor detects no motion on the intersections, and that the installation of countdown timers could help everyone know exactly when a light will turn green or turn red.

Although red light cameras are a partisan issue in Suffolk County, Gavilla said he feels that's not the case elsewhere.

"Both Democrats and Republicans hate these cameras because they recognize this abuse," he said, pointing to Texas and Rochester, NY.

The program ended in Rochester in 2016 under the watch of Mayor Lovely Warren, a Democrat, WHAM reported.

"The zipcodes that have the city's highest poverty rates...generated the highest total number of red light camera tickets," Warren said in 2016 according to WHAM. "All programs have a beginning and an end. It's time to bring this one to an end."

Gavilla hammered Berland for her stance on red light cameras.

"My opponent voted for five more years of this scam and she would vote to double the cameras, double the fines and introduce speed cameras," he said. "Why? She is not interested in cutting spending and is looking for new ways to increase revenue. We must be victorious this year or expect more abusive taxes disguised as law enforcement."

Election Day 2019 on Nov. 5 will actually mark a rematch of the 2017 Suffolk County Legislative District 16 race, where Berland defeated Gavilla 7,720 votes to 6,278, a 55.15 percent to 44.85 percent margin.

More from Berland and Gavilla

Candidate Profile: Susan Berland

Candidate Profile: Hector Gavilla

Hector Gavilla's Letter to the editor in response to Berland

Susan Berland's Letter to the editor in response to Gavilla