Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Testimony of Councilman Simcha Felder Before the Mayor Regarding Introductions 40-a and 631

Good afternoon Mayor Bloomberg, my colleagues on the Council.  I am here to register my strong opposition to Introductions 40-a and 631, regarding the enforcement of anti-idling laws in New York City.  Although the intentions of these bills—cleaner air and healthier schools—are laudable, I am here say that it is my sincere belief that the results to that end will be negligible, and the real result will be unfair tickets for parents dropping off and picking up their children from school.  We should be doing more to support our parents, not finding new ways to fine them, especially in this troubling economy.

I understand that EPA studies have proven that idling for more than ten seconds is worse for both the environment and your car than shutting down the engine and restarting again.  Unfortunately, I believe it is fair to say that most people do not know this.  We should be finding ways to put more resources towards educating people about this rather than putting stopwatches in the hands of enforcement agents to issue these sixty-second tickets.

Thank you, Mayor Bloomberg.  I respectfully encourage you not to sign this bill.

(YWN Desk – NYC)