 What's your name? Good morning everyone. My name is Mira Zoschi. I'm deputy mayor for New York City operations. And we're here today because of a very sad reality, speeding kills. But we're also here today to mark the moment where New York City gets one of the sharpest possible tools against this traffic violence. The ability to run our speed cameras 24 seven. That means we will no longer leave nights and weekends unprotected. And this has been a long time coming. Year after year, we have actually as a nation made progress in reducing speeding related traffic fatalities. But in 2020, we reversed that progress. And as a nation, the number of deaths that were attributable to speeding went up to the largest number that it's been in a decade. And it's tools like the one behind me that will get us to the point where we can reverse that trend. So this is a huge city victory for the city. And it comes because of the tireless advocacy of electeds, of advocates, of men and women voicing their opinion that they absolutely want safer streets and a safer city. So I want to turn the mic over to a very important advocate who has personally endured the pain of traffic fatalities and traffic violence and has turned that pain into advocacy. And is here to share her message with us today. Monique Williams from Family for Safe Streets. Thank you and good morning. My name is Monique Williams. My name is Monique Williams and I'm a member from Families for Safe Streets. A little over a year and a half ago, my dad, Jerry Spreex, was killed by a driver in a hit-and-run car crash. My father was kind and very thoughtful, a person who should be here with us today and doing the things that he loved to do. He loved the outdoors. He loved riding his bike. He loved spending time with his family. My dad had two daughters. He has five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. And I cannot describe the pain that our family feels and how much we miss him. Nobody else should experience what I've been through. Nobody else should experience the pain of having to lose their loved one, killed in a preventable car crash on our streets. But unfortunately, traffic violence is getting much worse in the Bronx. This year alone, 50% more people have been killed in car crashes as compared to 2021. There are many things in New York City leaders could do to prevent these deaths, redesigning streets, as the DOT is doing right now. 1,000 intersections is the key. We need to expand the works, and that is why I'm glad to be here today as we celebrate the beginning of 24-7 speed cameras in New York City. Study after study shows that speed cameras reduce speeding, prevent crashes, and save lives. 24-7 speed cameras will get Vision Zero back on track. 24-7 speed cameras will ensure no more families need to experience the pain we've all felt at families for safe streets. Thank you to Mayor Adams, Commissioner Rodriguez, your staff, and all the elected leaders up in Albany who have helped make this happen. Zero traffic deaths must be the goal. Today, we take an important step to make it a reality. Thank you. Thank you very much, Monique, and thank you to all the members of Family for Safe Streets who do some of the hardest work of anybody in this city. I'd now like to introduce our Mayor, who's made it his mission to make this city as safe as possible for all of its residents, and that includes curbing traffic violence. Thank you, Deputy Mayor, and thank you, Monique, for really personalizing what traffic violence is doing to families all over the entire city. These are not stats. These are not numbers. These are dads, fathers, children, spouses, aunts, uncles. These are everyday New Yorkers who are experiencing violence, and it's the continuation of their advocacy partnered with government and partnered with elected officials. I am so proud of the posture that Senator Bernadis has played on this issue. He has fought hard for it in Albany. When you look at Senator Hoylerman as well, the two of them, when people thought this legislation was not going to go forward, they rolled up their sleeves and they made Albany work. And we were able to accomplish a significant part of the promise we made on the campaign trail, 24-hour speed cameras. This is a new chapter in traffic safety in our city. Speed cameras begin operating 24-7 days a week, 7 days a week in New York City. And together with the Commissioner, Donis Rodriguez, we were committed to this. This is something we talked about over and over again throughout the years, and this is a significant moment for us. And for the advocates, families for safe streets, they took their pain and turned it into purpose. They stated that they want to do everything possible to prevent other families of experiencing the pain that they experienced. And as of 10 p.m. tonight, we will have 24-7 speed cameras will be the reality in New York City. A common sense, a common sense action is now moving into place. And I want to thank the Governor, Governor Hoku, who added her voice those last few days in Albany to get it done. This is a major victory for New Yorkers. Traffic safety is public safety. They go together hand in hand. A city that never sleeps deserves a camera system that won't take a nap. 24-7. We're going to monitor those who are speeding in this city. Speed cameras operating 24-7 is a major tool. It's a major deterrence that people often ignore and is going to save lives. And so a simple flip of the switch. One, two, three. That little flash that goes up off on top that is saying to those who are speeding, you're caught, you will be deterred from doing it again. And this camera here at 4th Avenue and East 10th Street is an intersection that has had a high volume of pedestrian and cyclists all day, all night, and all weekend. So this camera is going to protect those who come here from visiting schools like NYU, the public theater, Webster Hall, and all of the interactions that happen in this community. Now here are the numbers. The numbers don't lie, and this is why it was so persuasive of when Senator Gennadas and others went to Albany. Since the speed cameras were installed in February 2020, it has seen an almost 60% decline in daily speeding. And since the pandemic, 59% of traffic fatalities have happened when the city's speed cameras could not operate. Those numbers are clear. When cameras are operating, we see a 72% reduction when the cameras are operating and speeding and a 14% reduction in injuries from traffic crashes. And even when intersections don't, an intersection that does not have a camera is still become a deterrence because people are not aware where the cameras are located. So we are going to continue to invest in zero tolerance, and this is an important piece and tool, and we look at the combined effort that our traffic enforcement team and others are doing. It is, as I say all the time, many rivers that lead to the sea of all of these issues of violence, particularly speeding in our city. And our city speeding plays a major role in injuries and fatalities, and we're going after it. It's about saving lives. It's about saving New Yorkers. It's about combining all of our efforts to reach the zero tolerance that we're looking for. And again, I want to thank the advocates. I want to thank those in government. And I want to thank those lawmakers who were in Albany pounding the pavement, walking the halls, making sure that we can get this legislation done in the late hours of the budgetary process. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Mayor Adams. Next, we'll hear from someone who I've had the pleasure of working with in former lives on these very issues of how to ensure that we as a city have all the tools necessary to curb traffic violence. When I was chair of the TLC and he was chair of transportation committee for the city council, our now commissioner, DOT commissioner, Yadonis Rodriguez. We're going to hear from Yadonis who's done a lot of advocacy and hard advocacy because there are many out there that would argue that getting tickets is a burden. But Yadonis has very clearly stated it is life is a life saving burden. So we'd much rather be saving lives than worrying about tickets for speeding. It's absolutely the deterrent that's necessary and that works. Well, I know that the mayor loved all his deputy mayor, but I can tell you that I had the best deputy mayor. So thank you for the great job that, you know, definitely, you know, working with Mayor Georgie in a previous role has seen now how she being doing a job in a high level leadership. So I really mean it. Thank you for your support, you know, without your support that you provide to DOT and all agency on the portfolio will not be able to accomplish this great job. Thank you. Look, we have to get here. We didn't have choices. And Mayor Adin said loud and clear since day one when he introduced me as a commissioner, you have a Monday. We need to make the city of New York City the safest one in the whole nation. And that's what we're doing. And I got to say that so far, when we compare even the numbers of petition and cyclists losing their lives in 2014. In these eight months, we have one of the best moms seen those year. What is killing us are those motorists while speeding in the highway. And I know that one life is too many. And that's why we are so committed to continue using all the tools that we have. But the speed camera was so important. Last week we stood at Holstons Street, Holstons and 1st Avenue, the side of the cross that killed a college student, a future doctor. Starting NYU a couple of blocks from here. Today I'm proud to be standing alongside the mayor, NYPD, the city agency as we make it clear that New York City is taking its time against reckless and speeding drivers. And I also want to be clear, most drivers respect the law. But that percentage of the reckless one, they are killing New Yorkers. And we will see a new day for them also. They had to be now accountable to have a speed and the speed camera 24 hours and all the things that we are doing it. We are making history tonight starting at today at 10 p.m. Speed cameras will be functioning as the mayor say 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Today couldn't have been possible without the support from the advocate like the mayor has already recognized transportation alternatives, family for safe streets, bike New York and many others. But also the elected official that also the mayor and the deputy mayor also recognized. I also want to acknowledge and give credit to all the leaders. Carl Hastings and there are still causing speaker items for all the support too. I will not speak loud and clear. Speed and kill, but speed cameras save lives. Drivers who get these tickets learn the lesson. The majority of them, more than 75%, they don't get a third ticket. Because after the second one, they learn that they had to change their way of how they're driving. What was happening is that they have a free ticket to drive from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. where most crashes are happening. So today is a new day. Today we have a mayor that really is timed by his action, by his commitment. He's mandating only DOT by NYPD to do everything that we have to do to make the city safer. Today we are with a mayor that has said very clearly, the streets of New York have to be safer. He sent us to make sure that the camera is working 24 hours. From this night on, after 10 p.m. the camera will be working 24 hours. The drivers asked us to drive fast so that they won't receive the tickets. The pedestrians, cyclists and drivers will also be safe. Thank you. Thank you, and it's a long road to get here. So I do want to call out a special thanks to lots of people that have helped us get to here. On the elected side, we're going to hear next from Senator Andrew Gnardis. But I also want to thank Assembly Member Glick, who was a partner in getting us to this day. As well as Senator Brad Hoylman, who's with us today. So thank you very much. Some individual advocates who have been essential to this initiative. Felicia Parks Rogers of Tri-State Transportation Campaign. Jackson Shabbat of Open Plans. Sarah Lynn of Open Plans. Casey Petresciak of New York League of Conservation Voters. And Danny Harris, who I believe is here with us today, of Transportation Alternatives. I'd also like to give a thanks to Chief Royster, because there's one thing to have tools, but enforcement is the other key and partner to this initiative. And so I'd like to thank Chief Royster and the NYPD for the work that they do every day. And now I'll introduce Senator Andrew Gnardis, who's been critical into getting us to this day. Thank you. Thank you, Deputy Mayor. Thank you, Mayor Adams, Commissioner Rodriguez, and everyone who's here today. I can't state this more clearly. This is such a big deal to quote our president. This is a BFD, okay? I remember almost 10 years ago, standing at a rally in Bay Ridge, when we were trying to push for the first pilot program for 20 cameras just during school hours. And we had to push and prod and fight just to get 20 cameras. And here we are 10 years later on the cusp of doing something monumental, keeping the city's speed camera program operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week. What a journey that's been, and I'm so proud that I played a part in that, because this is deeply personal for me, too. My grandmother lost her 12-year-old daughter to a car crash some 60-odd, five years ago. I wasn't even a thought. But the pain of that loss, as any of the families here will tell you, lingers forever. It impacted my family. I have to take my son to daycare in the morning, and we have to cross busy streets. Treats where cars are taking turns recklessly, speeding right through lights and stop signs. This issue affects every single New Yorker, regardless of who you are and where you live. That's why this is such a big deal, and that is why for all the progress we've made on street safety, I know we have so much more work left to do. But I echo the deputy mayor, you know, some folks might think this is a burden, you know. There's a loophole, actually, in this law that I want to share with everyone, and that if you don't want to get a ticket, here's the easiest loophole. Don't eff in speed, because it's going to kill people. It's going to maim people. It's going to injure people. Your ability to get somewhere from point A to point B 35 seconds faster does not supersede my ability to walk my son to school or to daycare or to church, or a bus driver to go to their early morning shift, or to an essential worker who has to go to a hospital at three in the morning, or a family trying to walk to a park, or a senior trying to get to a senior center. Your right to speed does not supersede anyone's rights to live on the street safely, and that's why we have more work to do. I'm so proud of this team to be a part of it, to make sure we're going to deliver, to make vision zero a reality. I want to thank our mayor for making this such a top priority. Thank you very much. Thank you, everyone. And please drive slowly. Thank you. Consequences to repeat offenders, and is the reckless driver accountability act in full implementation? Yeah, and as the commissioner stated, that over 70% after the second ticket don't repeat, and even as a substantial number after receiving the first ticket, many people slow down. And so we have to continue to look at those who are just not getting the message. And everything from the Drivers Accountability Act to even being stronger to suspending licenses, keeping them off our roadways, we're open to look up under every stone to get those reckless drivers off the roads. You had a bill somewhat to that effect that did not pass. I mean what needs to happen to get the message across that repeat offenders need to face some amount of consequences? We're going to keep pushing the envelope as far as we can go. You know, sometimes the legislative process isn't always the most cut and dry, neatest thing. We're going to continue to push on this issue, continue to fight to make sure that we get reckless drivers off the road. The city is now implementing the Driver, Reckless Driver Accountability Act. We're going to take further steps in Albany. I'm not giving up the fight up in Albany to make sure that we have every tool at our disposal to get the worst drivers off our roads and to keep streets safe. But the fact that we got these on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is a huge win. And so I think we should be celebrating that because that's going to make a huge difference to saving lives. The almost overwhelming majority, I hesitate to say every, but overwhelming majority of people who are injured or killed on a street are killed by a car and a speeding car. A car that's running a stop sign, running a red light, taking a turn too fast. We just had a fatality in Bay Ridge on 7th Avenue two weeks ago because someone wanted to take a quick turn and kill the 67-year-old woman. Cars kill. When you're behind the wheel of a vehicle that weighs four tons, you have the ability to take someone's life away. You have a special responsibility when you're operating those vehicles to do so with care and diligence and with safety in mind. And that's where our effort should be focused on because that's how it's killing people. That's what's hurting people. Every family here has lost someone from a car. Every family here has lost someone from a vehicle that was speeding or driving recklessly, not from a bike. Everyone has to obey traffic laws. No one's saying we're giving people a pass. We have to see where the data is showing. The data is showing that cars are killing people. So let's save lives and let's make sure that we get cars to drive the way they should be. So that's one case compared to hundreds of cases we have here. So my point is we have to make sure everyone is adhering to the traffic laws. Everyone is doing their part. No one here is defending pedestrians walking without paying attention or cyclists not following the traffic laws. But we know the overwhelmingly vast majority of people are injured and killed on these streets. Happened because of these vehicles that are just violating the law flagrantly and with impunity. And that's why it's so important that we're doing this today. Like I said earlier, our work to keep streets safe is not done. We are always going to look for ways to improve street safety, whether it's road redesigns, automated enforcement, increased personnel enforcement. Every tool should be on the table to keep streets safe. This is a big tool for that. I know you said satisfy with the number of cameras. I'm never satisfied until we get to zero fatalities and accidents. And so we're going to continue to push to go beyond school zones, beyond whatever the limitations are. Technology works. And I don't know why we're fearful of the technology, particularly as the senator states, there's a real loophole in the tickets. You know, don't speed. I can't. I think that the determination of the numbers should be driven by the places where we see their problems. If we identify locations where there are problems, that's where we should place the cameras. And then we should use some of the mobile technology that allows us, if we have a particular hospital, a particular location, let's move it there. We should not be afraid of the technology that can be used to save lives. And so this is not a punitive attempt on our part. This is, we see the success that when you use cameras, you decrease fatalities. And so we're taking that information and applying it to the technology. And so based on what we see the hotspots are, that's where we should be free to place the cameras there. Yes, Donis? Did you get the question? The mayor committed that we will be redesigning 1,000 intersections. We are above 500 right now. And we are ready to get 1,000 done by the end of this year. I'm sorry, above 500, 1,000 by the end of the year. We keep, you know, notching up these victories. I never see them in the stories, you know? We're like, you know, we're doing our thing. We're getting stuff done. You see that, Michael? You never write about this stuff. We got so many victories in this administration. To speak cameras, you don't have great direct control over that sustain. One of the things you do have control over is making the streets safer and better. You serve both lanes. Now the two main, most ways that you have made permanent under your administration, pushing your queens and putting a first street in Washington Heights, or scaled back as they became permanent, how does that mesh with your 24-hour city where possible movements switch off after 10 p.m.? There's one thing that's my trademark. I am going to always listen to communities. That's what I'm going to do. The commissioner heard from the community, and we modified what we did with the bus lanes in that area. We're going to continue to expand our bus lanes. We made a commitment of the number of miles we're going to do. We're going to live up to our commitment, but we're never going to create an administration where we're not willing to modify, pivot, shift, and listen to community leaders. Community leaders communicated with us. We heard them. We're not going to be deaf to the voices of the people who actually live in the community, and they use those buses. So we can find the win-wins that we all want us to find. But we're going to continue to expand our bus lanes. We're going to have you all not have to cure us. What's going on, Mike? Last week, calling for Burgey to be issued done permits. Records, he suggested criminal records should be ignored in those cases. Is there a good idea that Burgey should get a special dispute? No. The question was about outdoor dining and the lawsuit. I'm a big supporter of outdoor dining, you know, as it has been reported previously over and over again. The nightlife is a multi-billion dollar industry, and our restaurant owners have gone through a very difficult period. Some of them are still back in their payments. And whatever I can do to help our restaurant industry that employs dishwashers, waiters, busboys and girls, this is an important industry and it is the indicator of our city. And so the lawsuit is going to play itself out. But I'm a supporter of the outdoor dining. I think we need to modify, you know, because some of the outdoor dining locations have become a hazard, they have become places that's not suitable, and I think there's a way to modify to standardize what the structure should look like and they have to be used. It can't be used for storage, it can't be used for all other things, but I'm a supporter of the outdoor dining. And I just, I believe it was a lifeline for the restaurant industry. When you, I wanted to ask you about NYCHA playgrounds that are closed. There's nearly 100 playgrounds that are closed. When you ran for mayor, you said you were prioritizing repairing them, but there's actually more closed this year than last year. Some are closed for repairs, but some are closed for indefinitely. One is closed because there have been drunk dealing there. Some are still closed for hurricane Sandy repairs. I just wanted to ask you, do you think you can prioritize those repairs? I know with the NYCHA funding there's different things with that, but there's thousands of kids who can't play in a playground in their complex because that they're closed. So I just want to get your take and see if you have any plans to next time. We're going to look at that today. I didn't know there was an increase, and I do not subscribe to the theory that because someone is committing a crime on a playground that we're going to penalize the children. That's not acceptable. And those that are closed because of illegal activity that took place, we're opening them immediately. It's the job of the police to keep people safe. It's not the job of the people to be punished because of illegal activity. I'm going to look at that today. I was not aware of an increase. And those that are doing repair to beautify them, it takes a while to do that. That's a real win that if we have to close for a few months because of beautification, that's a win. You know, I want them to have first rate playgrounds. So we're going to do an analysis of every playground that's closed. I'm going to find out why. And we're going to get a timetable on when they're going to be open. But I'll tell you this, there won't be a playground closed because of there's illegal activity. We're going to fix the illegal activity. Given the strong infrastructure you've got when it came to prevention messaging and also vaccination, do you think that your administration dropped the ball when it came to Multibox? No, dropped the ball. We were receiving less than we deserved in vaccines. We advocated. We utilized our direct communication with the White House to get more. We navigated the challenges of, you know, the public groups who put up our website and we say, listen, we got to take over this and get it right because, you know, I'm a big believer in technology of every vaccine that we receive. We got the appointments. We got the vaccines out the door. No, we did our thing and we're doing our thing while we're still dealing with COVID. So we're moving together of still getting people vaccinated for COVID and still dealing with the monkeypox that's coming in. Now the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Dr. Fassan, this team over there, we are pivoting and shifting based on the crises that are coming to our city and country. And others look at what we're doing and they commend what we're doing. So no, we're not dropping the ball. We have the ball and we want the ball and we have it in our hands. Thank you. When do we expect crime to drop? You've been in office seven months. You ran on a platform for lowering crime. When do we expect to see those increases in crime? When we get all our partners on board, we're doing our job and we also need the public on board. The public must really, as they have indicated in Poland that public safety is a major issue, we're doing our job. NYPD has taken thousands of guns off the streets. We are making arrests. The high level of arrests for violent crimes. You're seeing that which is in our span of control. We're doing it to the maximum. Every area of public safety is from the disorderly motorcycles that were on our streets to those who are carrying guns, to those who are creating predatory crimes. This police department has done an amazing job. Now, what we need to do, judges, law makers, prosecutors, criminal justice system has several pieces to it. Every piece must work for us to ensure that this city is safe. We're going to continue to push forward and do our job, but we do need help from every level of government, including our federal government. I met with the ATF head that we just recently appointed, and we're going to continue to forge ahead. Thanks a lot. Keep us a ride. Bye.