Comrie, Holden, Koo Laud De Blasio Plan To Replace Broken Placard System
State Sen. Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans, Cambria Heights, Jamaica, Hollis, Rosedale, Laurelton, Kew Gardens, Queens Village ) and City Council Members Robert Holden (D-Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Ridgewood, Woodhaven, Woodside) and Peter Koo (D-Bayside, College Point, Flushing, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Fresh Meadows, Whitestone) yesterday lauded Mayor Bill de Blasio‘s announced plans to roll out new technology, stiff penalties & dedicated enforcement that will help to eliminate fake placards, and a strict three-strike revocation policy for placard misuse
The roll out includes the first steps towards a digital parking management system to replace physical placards by 2021. This new plan builds on the Mayor’s 2017 placard crackdown, which led to a 93% increase in summonses for illegal parking in 2018 from the 2016 baseline. The Mayor aims to phase out the use of physical city-issued placards throughout the city in 2021 and eliminate the use of fraudulent placards.
“The illegitimate use of parking placards is a critical component of our city’s chronic traffic congestion problem,” said Comrie. “I applaud the Mayor for his efforts to crack down on these unlawful, unfair, and unsafe practices.”
“With so many vehicles and limited places to park in this city, we cannot allow people to take advantage of the law by using placards to park wherever they please,” said Holden. “I would like to thank Speaker Corey Johnson and my fellow council members for tackling placard abuse with targeted bills, and the mayor for taking this matter seriously and acting to ensure that city government works together to address an issue that has been plaguing our constituents for some time.”
“Placard abuse is a growing problem on our city streets in which many now believe their placards are a right they are entitled to, rather than a privilege to be used under very specific restrictions,” said Koo.
“Such misuse not only clogs our streets with illegally parked vehicles, but it also creates resentment and distrust of those authorities allowed to use the placards. I’ve introduced legislation with my colleagues in the Council that looks to clearly define, regulate and enforce placard abuse, and I’m happy that the mayor too is working to curb what is tantamount to a culture of corruption,” he added.
Katz To Host Annual Black History Month Celebration
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and the African American Heritage Committee will host their annual Black History Month Celebration next week, replete with cultural performances, academic scholarship awards, honors for civic-minded community members and more.
“Black history is American history, and Black History Month is an important recognition of countless groundbreaking achievements and impacts made across every imaginable field and industry,” said Katz. “Black History Month is also a time to reflect on the idea that we are all human beings deserving of dignity, respect, equal opportunities and fair treatment.”
The celebration, to be held inside the Helen Marshall Cultural Center at Queens Borough Hall, will feature a number of cultural performances, including a dance routine by members of the Edge School of the Arts in Laurelton. Performers from Get Empowered! will close the program with a pair of Afro-Brazilian dances, the capoeira and samba.
Borough President Katz will also present more than a dozen high school seniors with college scholarships of $1,000 each. More than 150 Queens students applied for a scholarship through the African American Heritage Scholarship Competition, with the entrants being judged on their academic and civic achievement and the quality of their written submissions as to what Black History Month means to them. The winning students will be selected by the African American Heritage Committee in the coming weeks.
The keynote address will be given by Primetime Emmy Award-nominated actor and Queens native Obba Babatundé, who is also one of eight individuals who will be presented with awards recognizing their accomplishments in their respective fields. The winners include:
- Obba Babatundé – Lifetime Achievement Award
- Peter Edwards – Sports Award
- Cynthia Horner – Journalism Award
- Meredith Marshall – Business Award
- Mark McMillan, Esq. – Civic Award
- Donna Edge Rachell – Arts & Culture Award
- April Simpson – Borough President’s Award
- Dennis Walcott – Education Award
The event is slated for 6 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 26 at Queens Borough Hall (Helen Marshall Cultural Center), 120-55 Queens Boulevard in Kew Gardens.
Koo, Stavisky, CB7 To Call On DOT To Finish Northern Blvd Street Repaving
City Counciol Member Peter Koo (D) and State Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Central Queens) today will join with Community Board 7 to call on the city’s Department of Transportation to finish repainting the lines on Northern Boulevard.
Construction was completed months ago, but street markings are still missing, creating a dangerous thoroughfare where multiple lanes of traffic have no clear markings to direct the flow of traffic.
The lawmakers and CB7 members will publicly make the call for the fixes at 3:30 p.m., today, Feb. 22 at Northern Boulevard and Main Street, Daniel Carter Beard Mall in Flushing.
