www.BXTimes.com BRONX WEEKLY May 12, 2019 10
CI mobile speed camera
slows traffi c around P.S. 175
(l-r) John Doyle, community activist; Assemblyman Michael Benedetto; and Dan Treiber, founding
member of City Island Rising met to discuss the ongoing placement of a mobile speed camera outside
of P.S. 175 on Thursday, May 3. Photo by Silvio Pacifi co
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
Speed demons beware! A
speed camera may be coming
to a street near you.
A mobile speed camera
was recently approved for
P.S. 175.
On the February and
March days that the camera
was in use, tickets were issued
to motorists who drove
past the school on City Island
Avenue travelling 11
miles per hour or more over
the 25-mile per hour posted
speed limit.
Mobile speed cameras
have been deployed around
the borough, including on
Schurz Avenue in Throggs
Neck, according to previous
Bronx Times reporting.
Fixed cameras are located
outside many of our
borough educational institutions,
including the Lehman
Educational Campus.
City Island leaders said
the P.S. 175 camera has
had a calming effect during
morning drop offs and
afternoon pick ups at the
school.
Assemblyman Michael
Benedetto requested a NYC
Department of Transportation
camera at P.S. 175
when he was alerted that
the area around the school
was prone to speeding.
A press conference announcing
the speed camera
was held outside the school
on Thursday, May 3.
“There are statistics
that show that when speed
cameras are put in front of
locations, it reduces speeding
some 63%,” said Benedetto.
“Since the mobile
camera was put in use on
City Island, 52 violations
have been issued to motorists.”
Benedetto said that he
hasn’t received any blowback
from having the cameras
at the location, and
feels the benefi ts of increased
safety for children
walking to and from school
should outweigh any inconvenience.
The assemblyman said
that City Island resident
John Doyle, one of the
founders of a new community
organization called
City Island Rising, alerted
his offi ce to the speeding
problem in front of the
school
“This is a consistent location
where we get complaints
about traffi c irregularities,
speeding, and
people just blowing through
the red light,” said Doyle.
“This camera is making a
meaningful difference.”
Benedetto hopes that
Governor Cuomo will sign
into law a bill authorizing
the use of more speed cameras
that has already passed
the state legislature.
If signed, the legislation
increases the number of
speed cameras from 140 in
NYC to 750, Benedetto explained.
“No one likes getting a
ticket,” said Doyle, “But it
is a small price to pay if we
can save even one life.”
Island activist and P.S.
175 parent Dan Treiber said
that parents are talking
about the camera, and its
seems to be a speed deterrent.
“If people drove slower
it would be better,” said
Treiber.
Treiber said that at certain
parts of the day there
is congestion in front of
the school building. When
motorists leave the area after
picking up or dropping
off, or if they don’t have a
schoolchild, they tend to
drive away fast.
He said he believes that
speed cameras are effective
in reducing speeding
on local streets.
The City Island speed
camera will become permanent
if the need is confi
rmed.
The mobile speed
camera operates during
school hours only, Monday
through Friday. It monitors
speeding within a
quarter mile radius of the
school.
Speeding summonses
are $50 and issued by mail.
The infraction does not add
points to a driver’s license.
Mall owner summonsed for
expanding driveway curb cut
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
The NYC Department of
Transportation summonsed
the owner of a Throggs Neck
mini-mall for painting yellow
lines along both sides of
a driveway curb cut that is
supposed to be a maximum
of 15-feet-wide according to
NYC Department of Buildings
regulations.
The owner of the mall
that contains a 7-Eleven and
a mobile phone provider at
the corner of East Tremont
Avenue and Barkley Avenue
was issued a summons by
the DOT for Defacement of
the Street after allegedly
painting the curb along East
Tremont Avenue yellow, presumingly
to effectively expand
the width of their parking
lot’s entrance/exit.
The summons was issued
on Thursday, April 25
to the owner, listed on DOT
records as The TSG Grat 4
LLC C/O Gladstone Development
Corp, said DOT spokesperson
Alana Morales.
Assemblyman Michael
Benedetto said he called on
DOT to crack down on the
owner’s improper elimination
of important curbside
parking spaces.
“When I went to 7-Eleven
two weeks ago, I noticed that
the curb was painted back
about 20 feet on both sides
of the curb cut,” said Benedetto,
adding that he alerted
DOT to the situation. He believes
that as many as two
parking spaces were jeopardized
by the paint job.
Benedetto believes the
lines were painted to widen
the driveway, he said.
“I believe that the only
entity that can legitimately
paint yellow lines on a curb
is the DOT,” added Benedetto.
DOB spokesman Andrew
Rudansky stated that the
according to records, 3508
East Tremont Avenue was
constructed in 1961, and has
a permit for a 15-foot curb
cut to access the parking
area in front of the commercial
stores.
There weren’t any 311
complaints or enforcement
actions concerning the curb
cut itself, he stated.
He said that the defacement
of the street is also under
DOT review.
The size of the curb cut
was clearly marked in the
property’s original building
plans when it was fi led.
A representative for the
mall wasn’t immediately
available for comment as of
press time.
A DOT Notice of Defacement violation was issued on Thursday, April 25.
Photo courtesy of Assemblyman Benedetto’s offi ce
Shop In Our
Classified
Pages
and Save
Money
/www.BXTimes.com