StreetsPAC's Testimony to City Council on DOT Transparency and Notice Requirements
Yesterday, we testified at the New York City Council Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure's oversight hearing on DOT transparency and notice requirements, presenting our opposition to three proposed bills that, ironically, are transparent in their intent to preserve street parking over other curbside uses, gum up bike lane and Open Streets approvals, and undermine the city's speed-camera program. We also voiced qualified support for legislation that would make it harder to remove Open Streets, establish better standards for siting news racks, and make it easier to track requests for traffic-control devices and speed reducers.
Our full testimony follows below.
StreetsPAC Endorsees Win 12 of 13 Council Races; Opposing E-Bike Registration
City Council Election Results
We're happy to report that 12 of the 13 candidates whom we endorsed in Tuesday's election won their races for City Council.
All 12 winners were incumbents who will return to the Council for a two-year term following citywide redistricting, and we look forward to working with them to advance policies to make streets safer and public transit more reliable. We also want to express our gratitude to Amber Adler, who came up short in challenging an incumbent Council Member in Brooklyn's 48th District, for making street safety a focus of her campaign.
Congratulations to all!
Opposing E-Bike Registration
Yesterday, we joined Transportation Alternatives, Los Deliveristas Unidos, and Open Plans in leading a coalition of more than 30 organizations in appealing to the City Council to oppose the registration of e-bikes.
We wrote to Council Members to express our collective opposition to a bill that would require the blanket registration of all powered micromobility devices, a misguided and draconian step that would have disastrous consequences for the adoption of e-bikes.
At the same time, we outlined our support for a number of constructive measures that would improve safety and address many of the conditions that have left pedestrians feeling unsafe, including bills that would require registration and proof of a license at point of sale for mopeds, safety training and certification for delivery workers, and provision of safe, legal e-bikes to workers delivering on behalf of app companies.
And of course, there are other steps the city can take to address safety, such as enforcing laws that already exist, like prohibitions against riding on sidewalks or operating a moped in a bike lane, and building and improving safety infrastructure.
You can read the letter here.
It's Election Day! Vote the StreetsPAC Slate for New York City Council!
Today is Election Day, and polls will be open in New York from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. You can find your polling site, review a sample ballot, confirm your registration status, and see other election-related information at vote.nyc.
We're excited to have endorsed 13 candidates for New York City Council, and you can read more about each of them, and important aspects of their street-safety and transportation records, below. Endorsed candidates are listed in ascending order by district number, and we've included links to each candidate's campaign website and a district map.
Turnout in this unusual post-redistricting election is likely to be low, so your vote for a candidate committed to making streets safer and public transit more reliable can truly make a difference. Even if there's no StreetsPAC-endorsed candidate in your City Council district, we encourage you to get out and vote, as every Council seat is on the ballot. Please make a plan to get to the polls, and don't forget that as long as you're in the queue to vote by 9 p.m., you can't be turned away.
If you do live in one of the 13 districts in which we have made an endorsement, we urge you to vote for the StreetsPAC slate!
2023 NYC General Election
2023 City Council Endorsees: Manhattan | Queens | Brooklyn
Christopher Marte, Council District 1, Manhattan (Incumbent) – Christopher Marte, who won his seat in 2021 with StreetsPAC's support, is seeking re-election in the district that covers the southern tip of Manhattan. He's been advocating with the Department of Transportation for major fixes to Canal Street, and supports plans to pedestrianize significant portions of the Financial District. He's also been pushing to have Park Row, which has been closed off since 9/11, reclaimed from the NYPD, with an enhanced protected bike lane, expanded pedestrian space, and a busway. He's co-sponsored a number of street-safety bills, including being a co-prime sponsor of Intros 500 and 501-A, which would crack down on placards and allow public reporting of illegal parking, two issues that plague his district. Council Member Marte does face a challenger in the general election.
Carlina Rivera, Council District 2, Manhattan (Incumbent) – Carlina Rivera, who earned our endorsement in both 2017 and 2021, has proven herself a real champion on transportation issues in her nearly six years in the City Council. During her current term, she sponsored the legislation that will require the city to produce a master plan for greenways in 2024, and in her first term, Council Member Rivera authored the laws that made the Open Streets program permanent, require implementation of temporary accommodations when construction projects impede on existing bike lanes, and guarantee restroom access for the city's Deliveristas. She was also a key supporter of the 14th Street busway, and has advocated for expanded cycling infrastructure throughout her district, where she can often be spotted riding her bike. Council Member Rivera is running unopposed in the general election.
Keith Powers, Council District 4, Manhattan (Incumbent) – Keith Powers, another two-time StreetsPAC endorsee, is the City Council's Majority Leader, and has been a strong advocate for walking, biking, and public transit, which happen to be the ways he gets around the city. During his first term in the Council, he supported the 14th Street busway, advocated for the extension of the protected bike lane on 6th Avenue to Central Park, and worked to improve the East River greenway. More recently, he pushed for the holiday pedestrianization of the streets around Rockefeller Center, which he believes will be an annual feature, and he recently passed a bill that will create a free or low-cost lithium-ion battery swap program for delivery workers. Majority Leader Powers does have a challenger in the general election.
Shekar Krishnan, Council District 25, Queens (Incumbent) – Shekar Krishnan won his seat representing Queens's 25th Council District with StreetsPAC's backing in 2021. He's distinguished himself as a champion of the 34th Avenue Open Street, now dubbed "Paseo Park" and one of the city's most ambitious street transformations. His support has been instrumental to the creation of five fully pedestrianized school plazas along 34th Avenue, as well as a superblock around Travers Park. He's called for a comprehensive redesign of Northern Boulevard, and as someone who often gets around by bicycle, he's been outspoken about the need to protect bike lanes with more than plastic. As chair of the Council's Committee on Parks and Recreation, he's in position to help steward the city's coming greenway master plan. Council Member Krishnan faces two challengers in the general election.
Julie Won, Council District 26, Queens (Incumbent) – Julie Won won a hard-fought, 15-person race in 2021 to succeed Jimmy Van Bramer as the Council Member representing Queens's diverse 26th District. A victim of a hit-and-run while biking in 2020, she's proven herself a fierce advocate for safer streets, nowhere more so than in her continued push to have the Department of Transportation dedicate more space to biking and walking on the Queensboro Bridge. She's advocated for the hardening of protected bike lanes in her district, too many of which are frequently driven or parked in, and she's asked the administration to fund a comprehensive planning effort for Northern Boulevard. Council Member Won has fought hard for wide-ranging safety improvements in the wake of the death of seven-year-old Dolma Naadhun in Astoria in February. Council Member Won does face a challenge in the general election.
Lincoln Restler, Council District 33, Brooklyn (Incumbent) – Lincoln Restler has emerged as one of the city's most committed elected leaders on transportation issues. He's introduced several important pieces of legislation, including Int. 417, which would eliminate an extended and unjustified waiting period for bike-lane projects; Int. 500, which would eliminate thousands of city-issued parking placards; and Int. 501-A, which would enable citizen reporting of "hazardous obstruction," including parking in bike lanes, bus stops, and on sidewalks. He convinced a majority of his colleagues to sign on to a letter supporting "Sammy's Law," a precursor to a home-rule message, and was the driving force in the creation of the protected, two-way Schermerhorn Street bike path. He's been a strong advocate for a slimmer, future-friendly BQE, is committed to tackling safety issues on Atlantic Avenue, and continues to call for the full suite of pedestrian and cycling upgrades to McGuinness Boulevard that had been promised by the Adams administration. Council Member Restler does have an opponent in the general election.
Jennifer Gutiérrez, Council District 34, Brooklyn/Queens (Incumbent) – Jennifer Gutiérrez was elected with StreetsPAC's support in 2021 to succeed Antonio Reynoso in this district straddling Brooklyn and Queens. She rallied her City Council colleagues in the spring around the "Sammy's Law" home-rule resolution for which she was lead sponsor, and which should have been the key to the bill's passage in the Assembly. Ms. Gutiérrez has advocated for better bike infrastructure, including a Citi Bike station at transit-starved Ridgewood Reservoir, and has pushed to make certain that plans for the repair and renovation of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, which runs through her district, address the entire corridor. As Chair of the Council's Committee on Technology, she's interested in exploring ways to identify and track motor vehicles with fake or obscured license plates, and she's also planning to introduce a bill that would require the placement of anti-dooring reminders on the passenger windows of for-hire vehicles. Council Member Gutiérrez does face an opponent in the general election.
Crystal Hudson, Council District 35, Brooklyn (Incumbent) – Crystal Hudson won her City Council seat with our endorsement in 2021. As Chair of the Council's Committee on Aging, she's keenly interested in making streets safe and the transit system fully accessible for older New Yorkers, while trying to balance their needs and concerns with a broadly progressive transportation agenda. She's supported the Willoughby and Vanderbilt Avenue Open Streets in her district, and has been pushing the Department of Transportation for greater progress on protected bike lanes. Council Member Hudson believes the current two-lane configuration of the BQE Triple Cantilever should be made permanent, and she made sure that NYCHA tenant representatives were included on the BQE Community Visioning Council. She's an advocate for better bus service, and for improving conditions for the city's Deliveristas, and she's supportive of safety upgrades on Franklin Avenue. The Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan, which she has championed, calls for the comprehensive, safety-first redesign of Atlantic Avenue. Council Member Hudson is running unopposed in the general election.
Sandy Nurse, Council District 37, Brooklyn (Incumbent) – Sandy Nurse earned our endorsement in 2021 on her way to winning her seat by defeating an incumbent Council Member. As Chair of the Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management, she's been pushing City Hall to speed up the implementation of the commercial waste zone program, which should have a significant benefit to street safety, and is committed to moving a bill that would require the installation of cameras on street sweepers to enforce against alternate-side parking violations. Council Member Nurse has also been advocating for creation of a greenway segment through the blue belt portion of Conduit Boulevard, and for accessibility and public realm improvements around Broadway Junction, to which the MTA and the city committed earlier this year. Council Member Nurse does face an opponent in the general election.
Alexa Avilés, Council District 38, Brooklyn (Incumbent) – Alexa Avilés earned our support when she succeeded Carlos Menchaca in this highly diverse district covering Sunset Park and Red Hook. She's the prime sponsor of a widely supported bill that would require the Department of Transportation to redesign the city's truck routes to improve safety, increase visibility, and reduce vehicle miles traveled. She's been a vocal critic of the city's lack of a plan to deal with the proliferation of last-mile delivery facilities, an especially acute problem in the 38th District, as well as the traffic issues around the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in Red Hook. She's managed to move some long-delayed local traffic-calming projects forward, continues to push to improve street safety around schools in Sunset Park, and supports closing the local gaps in the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway. Council Member Avilés does face a general-election challenge.
Shahana Hanif, Council District 39, Brooklyn (Incumbent) – Another past StreetsPAC endorsee, Shahana Hanif emerged from a highly competitive 2021 Democratic Primary to succeed Brad Lander in the City Council. She has said repeatedly that her top concern is street safety, and she's been vocal about the need to address the issue holistically. She pushed the Department of Transportation to act quickly to extend the protected bike lane on 9th Street and to make safety improvements on Atlantic Avenue following fatalities earlier this year. She's been a strong supporter of public-plaza projects in Kensington and along Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, and has been outspoken about the need to make the city's transit network more accessible, from better Access-A-Ride service to faster installation of subway elevators throughout the system. Council Member Hanif does have an opponent in the general election.
Rita Joseph, Council District 40, Brooklyn (Incumbent) – Rita Joseph was elected to the City Council in 2021 after winning a very competitive Democratic primary with our backing. She's championed the creation of a dedicated bus lane for Flatbush Avenue's B41, which she rides regularly enough that she's on a first-name basis with the route's drivers. The first bill she passed into law requires the city to identify feasible locations for public bathrooms, an issue she's continued to prioritize with two additional bills that she introduced earlier this year. She also co-sponsored a resolution with Council Member Erik Bottcher requiring the Department of Education to ensure that all city schools instruct students in bike safety, which is mandated by state law but rarely adhered to. And in concert with colleagues Crystal Hudson and Shahana Hanif, she has advocated with the Parks Department to allow pedal-assist e-bikes in Prospect Park, which helped bring about a pilot effort that began this summer. Council Member Joseph does have an opponent in the general election.
Amber Adler, Council District 48, Brooklyn (Challenger) – Amber Adler, an activist and non-profit founder, is running for the southern Brooklyn Council seat held currently by Inna Vernikov. Ms. Adler, who became a member of Families for Safe Streets after getting t-boned by another driver several years ago, was unable to work for an extended period due to her injuries, and recovered only a fraction of her lost wages because the driver who struck her was underinsured. If elected, she'll advocate for traffic-calming redesigns on dangerous roads like Ocean Avenue, which is plagued by speeding and illegal u-turns, and for more protected bike lanes, so her two young sons can safely learn to ride. Overall, we found Ms. Adler very open to new ideas about street safety and transportation, and believe she could help sell residents of the car-centric 48th Council District on their benefits. Ms. Adler faces incumbent Council Member Inna Vernikov and a third-party candidate in the general election.
StreetsPAC's Testimony to City Council on Powered Mobility Device and Battery Safety
Last week, we testified at the New York City Council Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection's oversight hearing on lithium-ion battery, powered-bicycle, and powered-mobility device safety, outlining our support for several bills aimed at improving the safety of batteries and battery-powered vehicles and the way they're operated. We also renewed our call for creation of a fund that would provide safe, legal e-bikes to delivery workers.
Our full testimony follows below.
StreetsPAC's 2023 City Council General Election Voter Guide
Early voting for the November 7 general election gets underway on October 28, and we're proud to re-up our June endorsements of 13 candidates for New York City Council.
The 2023 election cycle is an unusual one, dividing the typical four-year City Council term into two two-year terms as a result of the city's decennial redistricting process. Unlike the 2021 election, in which roughly two-thirds of the Council races were for open seats, nearly all of the races feature sitting Council Members running for re-election.
As a result, our 2023 endorsees include a dozen incumbents and just one candidate challenging a sitting Council Member, and four of those incumbents are running unopposed in the general election.
In-person early voting begins this Saturday, which is also the deadline to register if you are not already a registered voter. You can check your registration status, find your early-voting and election-day polling locations, and see other important election-related information at vote.nyc. We've included links to district maps for each of the candidates we're endorsing.
Early voting will continue daily through Sunday, November 5, with varying hours, in advance of Election Day, which is Tuesday, November 7, when polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. You can confirm your early-voting and Election Day voting sites, which may be different, and check early-voting hours using the polling site locator: findmypollsite.vote.nyc.
We urge you to join us in supporting our endorsees for the New York City Council. Read on to learn more about each of them and important aspects of their records on street safety and transportation. Candidates are listed below in ascending order by district number.
Ride and Rally to Demand Action on Cyclist Deaths
Please join us and our fellow advocates for safe biking on Wednesday, October 11, to demand action to end cyclist deaths.
2023 is on pace to be the second most deadly year for people on bikes in New York City's recorded history. But it doesn't have to be this way. We know how to make streets safer for biking, but in order to achieve Vision Zero, city leaders need the political backbone to put plans into action.
The Adams administration cannot ignore the NYC Streets Plan's legal mandates to build safe streets, including the addition of 50 miles of protected bike lanes this year.
Details for the ride and rally are below. Please RSVP to let us know you're coming.
StreetsPAC's Testimony to City Council on Hard Infrastructure
Earlier this week, we testified at the New York City Council Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure's oversight hearing on hard infrastructure, outlining our support for legislation that would require the Adams administration to develop a project plan and timetable for the installation of public restrooms across the city. Our full testimony follows below.
StreetsPAC's Testimony to City Council on the NYC Streets Plan
We submitted testimony earlier this week to the New York City Council's Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for the Committee's oversight hearing regarding an update on the New York City Streets Plan, expressing our concern over the pace of implementation of protected bus lanes and bike lanes required by the plan. We also offered support for three bills on the hearing agenda. Our full testimony follows below.
StreetsPAC's Testimony to City Council on Congestion Pricing
We testified at yesterday's New York City Council Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure oversight hearing on congestion pricing, urging the Council to push City Hall to make upgrades to bus service and biking infrastructure in advance of the launch of central business district tolling next year. We also called on the Council to pass pending bills that will help smooth the implementation of congestion pricing, and to take a stand against tolling exemptions that aren't already in the law. Our full testimony follows below.
StreetsPAC's Testimony to City Council on Ghost Cars
We testified at today's New York City Council Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and Committee on Public Safety joint oversight hearing on enforcement of defaced, fraudulent and expired license plates, focusing on the significant concern posed by drivers operating "ghost cars," motor vehicles with fraudulent license plates. Our full testimony follows below.
It's Primary Day! Here's our City Council Voting Guide.
Good morning! It's Primary Day in New York City, and polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. If you're registered to vote with a political-party affiliation, you are eligible to vote today in your party's primary.
Once again, we've spent the past few months evaluating responses to our in-depth candidate questionnaire, analyzing policy platforms, and conducting personal interviews with dozens of candidates. We've endorsed 13 candidates for New York City Council, just five of whom have primaries today. You can learn more about each of the candidates on the ballot today below, as well as important aspects of their street-safety and transportation records.To find your polling location, see a sample ballot, and check your voter-registration status, please visit vote.nyc.
Today's primary will very likely continue a trend of low-turnout elections. While we'd always prefer to see robust voter participation, low turnout means that your vote for a candidate who supports safe, complete and livable streets, and reliable, efficient and affordable public transit, will be all the more valuable, critically so in a close race. Please vote!Candidates are listed below in ascending order by district number, with links to each candidate's website and a map of the Council district.
StreetsPAC's Testimony to City Council on Electric Vehicle Infrastructure
We submitted testimony on Friday to the New York City Council's Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure pertaining to their oversight hearing on Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, raising concerns that while the transition to electric vehicles will be generally beneficial, it also presents safety challenges, given the relative weight and acceleration of battery-powered cars and trucks, does nothing to reduce congestion, and could reverse progress in diversifying uses of the curbside. We also put in a plug for putting electric micro-mobility devices on equal footing with other clean-powered vehicles. Our full testimony follows below.
Primary Election Tuesday – Help StreetsPAC Endorsees Get Out The Vote
Early voting in advance of Tuesday's primary election continues this weekend, and the five candidates we've endorsed for City Council who face challenges could use your help in getting out the vote.
The StreetsPAC-endorsed candidates who will appear on primary ballots are Jennifer Gutiérrez in Brooklyn, Carlina Rivera and Christopher Marte in Manhattan, and Julie Won and Shekar Krishnan in Queens.
If you're able to give even an hour or two of your time this weekend or Monday or Tuesday, it could truly help make a difference in what's shaping up to be a low-turnout primary. Just click on the links below to find out more about volunteer opportunities.
Volunteer for Jennifer Gutiérrez
Volunteer for Christopher Marte
In-person early-voting sites are open today and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Tuesday, polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. You can confirm whether or not your district has a primary and find your early-voting and Primary Day voting sites (which may not be the same) using the polling site locator: findmypollsite.vote.nyc.
You can also confirm your registration status and find other important election-related information at vote.nyc. We've included links to district maps for each of our endorsed candidates below.
We urge you to join us in supporting these excellent candidates for the New York City Council. Read on to learn more about all our endorsees and important aspects of their records on street safety and transportation. Candidates are listed in ascending order by district number.
2023 NYC Primary
2023 City Council Endorsees: Manhattan | Queens | Brooklyn
StreetsPAC Endorses 13 Candidates for New York City Council
We are proud today to announce our endorsement of 13 candidates for New York City Council.
The 2023 election cycle is an unusual one, dividing the typical four-year City Council term into two two-year terms due to the city's decennial redistricting process. Given that all 51 current Council Members are incumbents, the field of candidates is less than half of what it was in 2021, when roughly two-thirds of the Council races were for open seats.
As a result, our 2023 endorsees include twelve incumbents and just one candidate challenging a sitting Council Member, and only five of them have primary opponents. We do anticipate making a number of additional endorsements in advance of November's general election, when it appears that all but a handful of races will be contested.
In-person early voting for the primary begins this Saturday, June 17, which is also the deadline to register if you are not already a registered voter. You can check your registration status, find your early-voting and election-day polling locations, and see other important election-related information at vote.nyc. We've included links to district maps for each of the candidates we're endorsing.
Early voting will continue daily through Sunday, June 25, with varying hours, in advance of Primary Day, which is Tuesday, June 27, when polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. You can confirm your early-voting and Primary Day voting sites, which may be different, and check early-voting hours using the polling site locator: findmypollsite.vote.nyc.
We urge you to join us in supporting these excellent candidates for the New York City Council. Read on to learn more about our endorsees and important aspects of their records on street safety and transportation. Candidates are listed below in ascending order by district number.
Join Us Thursday Morning to Bike to City Hall!
Bike to Work with StreetsPAC and the City Council's Progressive Caucus
Please join us this Thursday, May 25th, for our annual Bike to Work event with the City Council's Progressive Caucus, along with our great partners Transportation Alternatives, Bike New York, Get Women Cycling, and Citi Bike, and an exciting new addition this year, the City Council's Black, Latino and Asian Caucus!
We'll be congregating at the south end of Foley Square [Map], near the fountain, for a rally at 10:00 a.m., with feeder rides rolling out from Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. Here are the feeder ride details.
Brooklyn Ride
Brooklyn Borough Hall, facing Columbus Park [Map]
Meet: 9:00 a.m.
Ride: 9:30 a.m.Manhattan Ride
Union Square Park, north side, facing 17th Street Citi Bike station [Map]
Meet: 9:00 a.m.
Ride: 9:30 a.m.Queens Ride
Queens Boulevard and 46th Street, Sunnyside, plaza beneath the 46th Street–Bliss Street subway station [Map]
Meet: 8:15 a.m.
Ride: 8:45 a.m.Citi Bike has generously offered to supply a limited number of bikes at each of these locations for those folks won't be riding their own, so please let us know when you RSVP here if you would like to reserve a Citi Bike. Please RSVP by noon on Wednesday.
Thursday's weather forecast looks glorious, so please come on out and celebrate the continued growth of cycling in New York City, and lend your voice to the important call for further expansion of the city's safe, connected bike infrastructure.
StreetsPAC's Testimony to City Council on FY2024 Transportation Budget
We testified yesterday at the New York City Council's Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure preliminary hearing on the city's Fiscal Year 2024 transportation budget. With the budget covering such a wide scope, we chose to focus on a few areas of pressing need. Our full testimony follows below.
StreetsPAC's Testimony to City Council on Commercial Waste Zone Implementation
We testified today at the New York City Council's Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management and Committee on Small Business joint oversight hearing on preparing for the implementation of Commercial Waste Zones, and in support of two related bills that would create a Commercial Waste Zones working group and require the Department of Sanitation to develop a plan for accepting commercial waste at city-operated marine-transfer stations, respectively. The creation of a Commercial Waste Zone system has significant implications for making streets safer. Our full testimony follows below.
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