NYC Speed Cameras Could Finally Run 24/7

NEW YORK CITY — New York City's speed cameras soon could all run 24/7 for the first time.

A deal shepherded by state Sen. Andrew Gounardes and Assembly Member Deborah Glick would renew the speed camera program for three more years and expands its hours to round-the-clock, the New York Post first reported.

Mayor Eric Adams, who has seen a surge in traffic deaths during his first few months in office, praised the deal in Albany.

“Make no mistake about it, this is a major victory for New Yorkers that will save lives and help stem the tide of traffic violence that has taken too many,” he tweeted.

But Adams, in a statement, acknowledged the deal still needs approval by City Council.

The program itself seems like it would be simple: install speed cameras, ticket motorists who drive dangerously, keep streets safer. But it has been tangled in New York politics and bureaucracy since its inception.

The state's Department of Transportation, not the city, had control over the cameras. And lawmakers — as outlined in a recent New York Times report — passed a law that decreed the cameras be shut off from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., as well as weekends.

The forced camera stoppage has long frustrated city officials, who believe they should control what's happening on their streets. Advocates too have railed against shutting off the cameras.

And a city study in fall 2021 found speeding fell more than 70 percent in speed camera zones. The same study found 30 percent of all fatalities in 2020 occurred when those cameras were turned off.

The new deal would give the city permission to place cameras around schools, but not at red lights, the Post reported.