STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella has come out against legislation that would remove parking spaces near intersections throughout New York City, including Staten Island.
On Wednesday, Fossella posted a video on social media denouncing Intro 1138, a bill proposed by the City Council that would universally remove parking spots near intersections to improve pedestrian visibility when crossing the road — a process known as “daylighting.”
Originally introduced by Councilmember Julie Won, a Democrat representing parts of Queens, the legislation would ban vehicles from parking within 20 feet of any intersection with a crosswalk.
In the video, Fossella states that the legislation and its supporters would “take parking away” from intersections all over the borough. And he ties the idea to the city’s existing bike lane and speed camera programs, which he says is emblematic of New York’s “anti-car culture.”
In the video, to demonstrate the distance that would be ceded under the proposal, Fossella measures out 20 feet from an intersection — a little more than one full car length of space.
A spokesperson for the borough president later clarified that, while Fossella approves of daylighting certain intersections on Staten Island, he opposes the bill’s “one-size-fits-all” approach.
Fossella also points out in the video that the city Department of Transportation is opposed to the changes this bill would mandate.
“Even the agency that pushes bike lanes that we don’t want or takes lanes away for driving — even that agency is opposed to this proposal,” according to the borough president.
When asked about the bill and Fossella’s comments, a spokesperson for the DOT pointed to a report the agency published in January that found no increase in pedestrian safety at intersections that have daylighting in place without physical barriers installed.
In addition, the spokesperson added that installing physical barriers at every intersection in the city would cost more than double the agency’s annual budget.
“Every New Yorker deserves safe streets, and under Vision Zero we are making historic progress to reduce traffic injuries and deaths across our city using data-driven life-saving tools like bike lanes,” the agency spokesperson said.
“We are extending this data-driven approach through our groundbreaking daylighting report which will help inform our implementation of projects to safeguard pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and all who share our streets.”
Earlier this year, elected officials supporting the bill called the DOT report “deeply flawed,” according to a report by City & State NY.
Legislative future
Currently, the universal daylighting bill is laid over in the City Council’s Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which means action on the bill has been postponed.
If the universal daylighting bill passes the City Council and is signed into law, DOT officials said they believe that roughly 10% of all free parking in New York City — approximately 300,000 spaces — would be eliminated, according to a report by StreetsBlog NYC.
Of the 26 sponsors of the daylighting bill, only one represents Staten Island in the City Council — Councilmember Frank Morano, a Republican representing Staten Island’s South Shore.
“Look, no one loves their cars more than Staten Islanders — I get that, I live it. But even in a car-loving district like mine, people want to be able to see when they’re turning, and they don’t want their kid or their neighbor getting hit at an intersection because a van was blocking the crosswalk,“ Morano said when asked about his support for universal daylighting.
“This bill is about visibility, safety, and a little common sense — not ideology. If we can improve sight lines, reduce flooding, and make the streets safer without upending our way of life, that’s a win.”
Morano also shared his belief that this program could’ve made a difference for his stepmother Liz Morano, who spoke with the Advance/SILive.com in April about how her life changed after being struck by a car while crossing Hylan Boulevard.
Earlier this year, Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed a similar measure, wanting to remove parking spaces and ban parking within 20 feet of all crosswalks near elementary schools in the five boroughs
While New York state law outlaws parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk, New York City has a special exemption that allows it to set its own parking rules. The city only bans parking in crosswalks, not near them.
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