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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. By John F. Bailey. June 12, 2018 UPDATED BULLETIN, 3:45 PM E.D.T.:

According to a spokesperson for the County Board of Legislators, Jason Chervokas, the County Board of Legislators called a Special Meeting of the Board Friday afternoon to vote on a home rule request to the New York State Legislature, that would allow Westchester County to install red light cameras (which would take surveillance photographs of vehicles running red lights at intersections).

Chervokas told WPCNR the meeting was called Friday afternoon in order to get the home rule request considered during this session of the state legislature. He said possible implementation was a long way off, and that there would be discussion and consideration of what county intersections would be installed with red light cameras.

Chervokas, also issued this statement as of 3:45 P.M.

 “Just to explain, we’re just at the start of this process.  All Monday’s vote will do, if the state signs off, is give us the authority to pass our own law authorizing the cameras if we want to.  That means the whole regular legislative process before we actually vote on such a local law.”

Chervokas confirmed the County  Legislators voted 16-0 to send the home request request.

WPCNR sent a request to the Westchester County Department of Communications to confirm that the County Executive George Latimer requested the Board of Legislators to vote on the home rule request and when the request was made, or whether this was the Board of Legislators acting on their own.

Chairman of the Board of Legislators Benjamin Boykin’s office was asked by WPCNR when the request, in any was made, and why there was no public discussion of the red light camera initiative.

As of Tuesday morning there was no official press release from the County Executive or the County Board of Legislators explaining the action.

Benjamin Boykin, Chairman of the Board of Legislators AT AN SEIU 32BJ demonstration in March, A WPCNR FILE PHOTO

BULLETIN 3:45 PM: BENJAMIN BOYKIN, HAS NOW RESPONDED TO THE WPCNR REQUEST IN A NEWS RELEASE ON THE SURPRISE VOTE. THE COUNTY BOARD OF LEGISLATORS NOW CONFIRMS THAT YES, THEY HAVE VOTED TO ASK FOR HOME RULE REQUEST TO INSTALL RED LIGHT CAMERAS.

THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICE HAS NOT CONFIRMED WHETHER MR. LATIMER REQUESTED THE VOTE AND WHEN LATIMER REQUESTED IT IF HE DID REQUEST THE HOME RULE MESSAGE. HERE IS THE NEWS RELEASE WITH MR. BOYKIN’S STATEMENT.

At a special meeting on Monday, the Board of Legislators, by a 16-0 vote, approved a measure asking New York State to give the county permission to consider passing a local law that would allow red light cameras at county intersections. 

“The measure was passed in order to get it into the hands of state legislators quickly, because the state legislative session is ending.  But this does not mean that the county is on the verge of installing red light cameras,” explained Board Chair Ben Boykin (D-Harrison, Scarsdale, White Plains).

In fact, if the state approves the request, the Board would still need to draft and vote on a new local law authorizing the cameras, a process that would involve careful consideration.

“Before any program actually moves forward, the Board will examine all issues regarding any specific proposal for implementation in cooperation with the relevant county agencies and departments and with the County Executive’s office,” Boykin said.

 “That means looking at statistics on the impact of red light cameras on safety and on changing driver behavior, as well as looking at where any such cameras would go, before deciding if red light cameras are a good idea,” he added.

 The Board also would examine how systems might work so as not to inadvertently flag drivers, as well as what the implications are, both for costs and for revenue. In addition, careful consideration would be given to the lessons learned by the cities of Mount Vernon, New Rochelle and Yonkers, which already have their own red light cameras in place.

WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. From  Westchester County Legislator Catherine Parker. June 11, 2018:

On Monday, June 4^th, my colleagues at the Board of Legislators and I continued our meetings with Con Edison over the power outage experienced during the nor’easter in early March. I am sad to report that Con Ed once again left us feeling rather dissatisfied with several of their answers. Con Ed also started their discussion that day by disputing the fact that they had ample notice that a nor’easter was expected, and not just a regular winter storm. How is it that the average Westchester resident, courtesy of the Journal News (Potential nor’easter could deliver strong winds and rain Thursday and Friday – February 26) knew 3 days before the storm hit, but Con Edison was caught off guard? Their excuse for failing to have mutual aid on the ground ready to work as soon as the storm let up because they didn’t have enough time was infuriating.

I continued to press Con Ed and asked them about their billing methodology. Using an actual electric bill I identified that almost half of the $220 monthly bill was to cover maintenance on the system. Look at your Con Ed bill. Don’t you wonder what Con Ed is doing with that portion of your money? I know I do. Knowing how expensive this equipment must be, and how much of our money goes toward properly maintaining it, I had asked Con Ed at a prior meeting what the average lifespan of a transformer was. During the time that many of us had lost service, I had heard of out of state crews remarking on the aging equipment that they were sent to repair. I felt it was important to get a baseline. One member of the Con Ed team responded that transformers can go on “forever until they don’t.” Finding that response unacceptable, my staff (which included four interns from Mamaroneck High School) and I decided to do our own research. We reviewed Public Service Commission testimony and reports from prior storms, including the 402 page Comprehensive Management and Operations Audit of Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), which led Governor Cuomo to end LIPA and “create a new utility company on Long Island that puts ratepayers first.” In that report, we were able to identify many of the answers that Con Ed was not able to provide.

We will continue to pursue answers and ultimately solutions to get better electrical service in our community.  If we don’t, the precedent that was set on Long Island could be an option for Westchester County.

Click here to view my questioning of Con Ed:https://www.dropbox.com/s/l4m6x310u6ahlwh/Leg%20Parker%20Cow%20June%204.mp4?dl=0

If you want to watch the entire two hour meeting, click on this link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vakjzyo6sm9auh9/Jun%204%202018%200200%20PM%20Committee%20of%20the%20Whole%20Committee%20Meeting%20SD%20480.mp4?dl=0