More Red Light Cameras May Be Coming to the Boroughs

Photo byPawel CzerwinskionUnsplash

If a group of state politicians have their way, New York City's five boroughs may soon see an increase in red light cameras. The city claims the cameras are assisting in lowering the number of cars running red lights, despite critics branding them as nothing more than an outright money grab.

Brooklyn State Senator Andrew Gounardes is the sponsor of an Albany bill that would let the city add more red light cameras. Currently, the five boroughs have them at 150 junctions.

"There's 13,500 intersections and 150 cameras," Gounardes said. "So, it's like literally 1%, nowhere near adequate."

The New York City Transportation Department claims that cars are being discouraged from running red lights by the presence of red light cameras. Since the program's inception in 1994, the number of citations issued "has declined by over 77%. The initiative ought to be extended so that more residents of the city can take advantage of its life-saving benefits."

Transportation Alternatives, which promotes safer streets, is headed by Elizabeth Adams. She claims red light cameras are effective. She states, "We shouldn't be stalling or holding back on methods that keep New Yorkers safe."

But State Senator Simcha Felder, of Borough Park, Brooklyn, says the cameras are only a cash cow for the city.

"First they said cameras in front of schools," Felder said. "Then they said, all the blocks around schools. Then cameras were everywhere and still not having the promised result. Cops on the streets is what works."