Brooklyn Rep Demands State Senate Pass Speed Camera Bill: Report

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — Brooklyn state senator Marty Golden joined the litany of voices calling on majority leader John Flanagan to reconvene the senate and approve the speed camera bill, according to reports.

Just two weeks before speed cameras are slated to switch off, the southern Brooklyn representative called on the State Senate to pass a bill that would keep speed cameras recording in school zones, according to the Brooklyn Reporter.

“Senator Golden recognizes the importance of the life-saving speed camera program and what it has done to save lives and slow down traffic,” said Deputy Chief of Staff John Quaglione in statement.

“Senator Golden believes that anything short of a vote by the Senate before July 25th, to support the continuation and expansion of speed cameras throughout New York City, would be an unacceptable failure for the people of New York.”

This is the latest of several swerves in Golden's position on the speed camera issue, which has been difficult to track. The New York Times reported in May that Golden supported more cameras, but Golden later said he would co-sponsor a law to replace speed cameras with stop signs and traffic lights.

Local outrage grew when four-year-old Luz Gonzalez was fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver in a school zone, and late last month transportation advocates and City Councilman Brad Lander protested outside Golden's office to urge him to support the bill.

At the time, a Golden representative told Patch the state senator commended "the dedication of those who kept vigil outside his office" and was "strongly advocating for the Senate to return to Albany to approve this measure."

But TransAlt representatives noted Golden's statement contradicted a Tweet sent and later deleted the same week.

The State Senate now has less than two weeks to reconvene and pass the bill. Should they do so, and should Governor Andrew Cuomo sign it into law, the new speed camera regulations would not expire until July, 2022.

Photo courtesy City Councilman Brad Lander