Cameras may soon be installed on city street sweepers to catch drivers who refuse to move their cars during alternate-side parking rules under a bill that the City Council is urging state lawmakers to pass this session.
The NYC Council said on May 28 that it passed a home rule in support of state legislation that would put cameras on NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) sweeping trucks to crack down on violators who refuse to budge during scheduled street sweeping hours.
A home rule means the city council can officially request that state lawmakers pass a special law affecting NYC.
“This is a common-sense bill that will make our streets demonstrably cleaner,” said Brooklyn Council Member Lincoln Restler, chair of the Council Committee on Governmental Affairs and State and Federal Legislation. “We’re talking about cracking down on the worst offenders to ultimately facilitate greater compliance, which means fewer rats and better quality of life for all New Yorkers.”
The state bill is sponsored by Assembly Member Brian Cunningham and state Sen. Robert Jackson, who respectively represent parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan. Under the legislation, the city would be permitted to install cameras on the street sweepers and automatically issue summonses to violators caught parking on the streets during alternate-side rules.
The program would be similar to the Automated Camera Enforcement (ACE) program the MTA uses to ticket vehicles parked in bus lanes by outfitting MTA buses with camera equipment.
Each street sweeper, or broom, picks up nearly a ton of debris per shift — but according to NYC officials, it cannot do so if vehicles are parked on the curb and in their way.
“Too many selfish people view the chance of a $65 ticket as just the cost of parking in the city, without regard for the fact that it also costs us something far more valuable, the dignity of our neighborhoods,” said acting Sanitation Commissioner Javier Lojan. “This state legislation will give DSNY the tools we need to enforce the rules around cleanliness effectively.
Is it more ‘Big Brother’ in the Big Apple?
Although litter continues to be an eyesore in neighborhoods throughout the city, some New Yorkers still see the proposed legislation as a “money grab” from drivers.
“I personally have never gotten an alternate side of the street ticket as I move my car, but it’s one more money grab by the city, and it’s a war on drivers,” said Jimmy, a Queens resident.
Anna from Staten Island is concerned about more surveillance in the city.
“It’s more Big Brother in the city,” she said.
According to a press release from Restler’s office, 7% of cars received 30% of all alternate side parking violations in 2023.
The city council hopes the bill will get passed by both houses of the state legislature before the conclusion of their session on June 12.
But the bill has a long way to go, as it has yet to leave the committees of either the state senate or assembly.
