NYC school zone speeding cameras set to expire due to no action by state Senate
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Time is running out for most school zone speed cameras in New York City - almost all of them will be turned off Wednesday afternoon because of no action by the state Senate in Albany.
Friday in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn the mother of a three-year-old run over in 2013, pleaded with state Senators to pass a bill that would renew a license for cameras already in operation.
Amy Tam-Liao, who lost her daughter Allison, said, "We don't' need another tragedy. We want this for our family, your family and our Senators' families as well."
Currently, there are 140 school zones with speeding cameras. With no action by the state Senate, 120 of them will be turned off Wednesday afternoon. The other 20 will go dark in August.
Earlier this year, city leaders had hoped to expand the 140 zones to about 280 across the city but the state Senate shot that proposal down and then went even further-refusing to extend a camera license for those already operating.
On Thursday, Governor Andrew Cuomo blasted Republicans in the Senate.
"If you don't pass this bill you'll put lives in jeopardy and there will be no excuse," said Cuomo.
In the past, Republicans have questioned whether the cameras are an invasion of privacy. They've also told the Governor if they're being called back to Albany, they want to vote on other issues as well.
On Friday, Thomas Chan, Chief of Transportation for the New York City Police Department said, "this program has been effective in reducing violations and violators in the vicinity of schools." Since 2014, the number of speeding citations in schools zones has dropped by 66 percent.
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