NY Wiki: driving Archives

April 13, 2005

I was not speeding: traffic lawyers in NY, NJ

A roundup of ticket fixers in NY and NJ:

The National Motorists' Association NY referrals.
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NotSpeeding.com
fax (877) 742-2268
ph (877)965-3237
Fax them your ticket, they phone back with a free consultation.
--------
NYTraffic Lawyer
A former NYC Traffic Court Judge
NYC speeding tickets a specialty
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traffic-summons.com aka Michael Spevack
recommended at SQC
---------

Speedlaw.net
Casey W. Raskob: has personally lobbied for the 65 mph limit in Albany
and at numerous Traffic Safety Conferences in New York State and
elsewhere. With the National Motorist’s Association he has testified
before the New Jersey State Senate and NY/NJ Port Authority on
motorist’s issues. Self-description; recommended on NE Mini.

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February 13, 2005

Long Island roads

Long Island roads roadgeek page has pictures and shields.

February 04, 2005

Flushing directions

Q: Coming from the north (Westchester/CT/eastern Bronx), how best
to get to the Flushing mainstreet area (38th Ave & 138th Street) ?

A1: The exit from I-678 S (Whitestone) to 25a Northern Blvd
goes only west, towards Astoria. Take that and make a u-turn.

A2. Take i-678 exit 14 (Linden Pl). Stay on the service road to
the end (the third traffic light, I think). Make a left onto
College Point Blvd. Go about 7 blocks (you'll go under the
Northern Blvd overpass) and make a left onto 37 Ave. Go a few
blocks and make a right onto 138 St.

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January 02, 2005

Road route numbering

When Nassau County had its county route numbering system, at least
two routes must have been very confusing.

CR 25 was Old Country Road, a major road that intersects,
but was unrelated to NY 25.

CR 110 was Round Swamp Road, which was one LIE exit west of NY 110.

Did people often get thsoe confused? It's strange, since most of
the other duplicate route numbers were either county extensions of
state routes, or county maintained sections f a state touring route.

CR 25 and CR 110 were just unrelated roads that were close enough
to their state counterparts to be confusing. Were the route shields
prominently posted? Or, were they purely academic, like Suffolk
County CR 25 and CR 112?

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December 24, 2004

NY State Thruway

NY State Thruway toll road.

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October 03, 2004

Vanderbilt's privately built road, the Long Island Motor ParkwayMotor Parkway

The 1908 race was also the first time that 10 miles of Vanderbilt's privately built
road, the Long Island Motor Parkway, was used as part of the racecourse.
Vanderbilt had conceived of this private 45-mile highway, running from Flushing,
Queens to Lake Ronkonkoma, as a quick and easy route for plutocrats of the Gold
Coast era to get from New York City to their lavish Long Island estates.

And because the road was privately owned, Vanderbilt could skirt laws relating
to public road use. There was no posted speed limit, and the parkway's banked
curves encouraged high-speed driving.

Financing was provided by wealthy homeowners who sought to increase
their property values by touting access to a major roadway. Despite original
plans to keep the parkway private, it was soon opened to the public for a
$2 toll. The 11 handsome tollhouses served as year-round residences for
the toll collectors and their families. The only surviving tollhouse can be seen
at 230 Seventh Street in Garden City, where it now serves as Chamber of
Commerce offices.

[NYT]

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October 01, 2004

25A: Bucolic Sunday drive on Long Island

The notion of a bucolic Sunday drive on Long Island may bewilder anyone who
has suffered through a traffic-clogged crawl back to New York from the Hamptons.

But Long Island is funny that way. Just when you think you've got its number, it
will unsettle you, in a lovely way, by tossing unexpected gems in your path. And
nowhere is that truer than along the North Shore, where Route 25A and its
tiny spurs wend their way through winsome villages, canopies of trees, bedrocks
of history and sweeping, sandy vistas.

Route 25A itself stretches for 55 miles from Great Neck to Calverton.

DRIVING: Roundabout on Long Island
2004 September 10
By BETH GREENFIELD

THE notion of a bucolic Sunday drive on Long Island may bewilder anyone who has suffered through a
traffic-clogged crawl back to New York from the Hamptons. But Long Island is funny that way. Just
when you think you've got its number, it will unsettle you, in a lovely way, by tossing unexpected
gems in your path. And nowhere is that truer than along the North Shore, where Route 25A and its
tiny spurs wend their way through winsome villages, canopies of trees, bedrocks of history and
sweeping, sandy vistas.

Route 25A itself stretches for 55 miles from Great Neck to Calverton, where it merges with Route 25;
the section from Great Neck to Port Jefferson has been designated a New York State Heritage Trail. The
route has served as a conduit for leaders, from George Washington to Theodore Roosevelt, and as a
road to riches for barons, from the Astors to the Vanderbilts, who built opulent mansions nearby
during the Gatsbyesque Gold Coast period of the early 20th century. Today, it carries suburbanites
tucked into air-conditioned S.U.V.'s, and a western Nassau stretch is lined with chain stores. But stick
it out, and 25A will reward you with the charms of a country lane.

A doable stretch for a leisurely trip starts at Port Washington, 25 miles from Midtown Manhattan, and
ends at Kings Park and Gov. Alfred E. Smith/Sunken Meadow State Park, 50 miles east of the city.

The road is the northernmost east-west route in this part of the island, closest to Long Island Sound.
But because the shoreline juts up and down wildly, creating peninsulas that resemble dinosaur heads
on maps, you'll often have to take smaller side roads up north to the water, then go down and up
again to get to the next peek of shore. That only adds to the excitement of the drive: you meander
along, knowing that the water lies in wait, but each time it pops into view it's still a stunning, beautiful
surprise.

For a historical perspective, a good first stop is the secluded Sands Point Preserve in Port Washington.
It's an appealing tangle of wooded trails, but it's also home to Falaise, one of the few remaining Gold
Coast mansions, now run as a museum. Sands Point is a sleepy site, below the radar. The house,
accessible only in guided tours, was built in 1923 for Harry F. Guggenheim, who founded Newsday.
It's a massive French-eclectic structure with steeply pitched roofs and a round, medieval tower, its
insides frozen in time with collections of 16th-century paintings and furniture.

Another combination of nature and history awaits 13 miles to the northeast, off 25A in Oyster Bay,
which sits like a pearl in the crook of land that forms Oyster Bay Harbor. It's a classic American village
with a few twists: a strollable Main Street with a smattering of Italian delis, a harbor sprouting a forest
of thin white sailboat masts and a favorite son named Billy Joel.

But way before Billy Joel, Oyster Bay claimed Theodore Roosevelt. At Sagamore Hill you'll find Teddy's
rambling Queen Anne house perched atop a peaceful, breezy knoll. You can enter the house only
through a tour led by a National Parks Service ranger (which is fascinating if you have the time), but
you're free to roam the orchards and pastures of the sweeping grounds.

Also worth a stop is the ex-president's grave site, down the road in the 300-year-old Youngs
Memorial Cemetery. Next door is the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary, the first national Audubon
songbird sanctuary. It's a haven with a floor of fragrant wood chips and a ceiling of towering pine and
oak branches. Goldfinches and tufted titmice flutter in the trees, and winding paths beckon you to
stroll through sun-dappled forest.

Farther east you can find a more vigorous hike. Drive through the precious, blink-and-you'll-miss-it
village of Cold Spring Harbor and then due north to the Lloyd Neck peninsula and Caumsett State
Historic Park. Skim up across the isthmus that connects Lloyd Neck to the mainland and catch
breathtaking views of Cold Spring Harbor. The spectacular 1,500-acre park offers a bit of everything:
meadows; marshes; gardens by Frederick Law Olmsted; groves of tupelo and beech trees; a barn of
cows; trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding; and a rocky shoreline for swimming and fishing.

For more beachy pleasures, continue on to the neighboring peninsula of Eatons Neck. To get there,
head back down to 25A and journey through hip Huntington, quaint Northport and the exclusive
community of Asharoken, perched along a lengthy isthmus. When you hit Eatons Neck, you'll see the
entrance for a Coast Guard station. You will need to call ahead to gain access to the base, where you
can visit the second-oldest lighthouse on Long Island (the oldest is Montauk), built in 1799 after more
than 200 ships crashed against treacherous reefs. Though you can no longer go inside, the bright
white lighthouse is still amazing to see up close, especially as it sits, surreal and anachronistic, within
a small suburban cul-de-sac of Coast Guard housing.

Continue to the tip of the peninsula and you'll arrive at windswept Hobart Beach — the park for this
small community, a resort destination from the 1930's to 50's that lured luminaries like Eugene O'Neill
and Marlene Dietrich. The spit of sand is a fine place to catch a sunset before heading back to the city,
though a better spot is 15 miles east, at Sunken Meadow State Park.

The Jones Beach of the North Shore, Sunken Meadow has nature trails, golf courses and a curious
rooster-hen duo that roams the property. But the high point is, simply, the wide sandy beach, flanked
by the silvery sound and an expanse of boardwalk.

On a recent evening, David Bingham, a 76-year-old insurance salesman who lives in nearby East
Northport, was stretching on the boards, where he says he walks and runs every single day, even in
the snow. "You'd have to look the world over to find a more beautiful place than Long Island," he
declared, squinting into the slowly sinking sun.

The New York Times

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July 10, 2004

Jon Cooper To Harass Rapid Drivers

See also NYS Speeding Ticket fixers
Jon Cooper Looks To Harass Rapid Drivers
SUFFOLK COUNTY

Legislator pushes for county-wide ban of radar and laser detectors, jamming devices

By Brian Ferry
bferry@longislandernews.com

If you like to drive fast, and you rely on a radar detector or jamming device to
keep you from writing checks for speeding tickets each month, then Jon Cooper
will be happy to serve you.

Cooper (D�Lloyd Harbor), the Suffolk County Legislator who brought to Suffolk
County a ban on the highly controversial weight-loss drug ephedra and a law
requiring the use of a hands-free device to operate a cellular phone while driving
an automobile, is looking to make the streets safer for drivers across the county.

At a press conference held on June 30 at the Suffolk County Police Departments
Second Precinct, located on Park Avenue in Huntington, Cooper announced that
he has introduced legislation that would prohibit the purchase, sale, and use of
radar detectors and laser detectors in all vehicles in Suffolk County. New York
State currently prohibits the use of radar detectors in commercial vehicles over
10,000 pounds and any vehicles over 18,000 pounds. Cooper wishes to extend
this ban to all motor vehicles, including passenger cars. Cooper�s resolution
would also ban radar and laser jamming devices, which work to �jam� radar and
laser guns that police officers use to detect the speed of a vehicle.

Robert Moore, Chief of Department for the Suffolk County Police, explained that
police officers may not even realize that there is an automobile utilizing these
devices.

It depends on the sophistication of the device. The detector tells you that there
is a unit out there and the police officer would not know that the person has the
device out there, Moore said, adding that with a jammer, the officer would know
that his or her gun is being interfered with, but would not know which vehicle is
doing so.

Such a ban on radar and laser detectors and jammers would be the first of its
type in the nation. The use of these devices by motorists to ignore speed limits
endangers other drivers and hinders the ability of police to enforce traffic laws
and maintain safe driving conditions.

�The only reason for a motorist to use a radar detector or jammer is to break the
law, plain and simple, Cooper said at the press conference. People who
recklessly use these devices put thousands of innocent lives at risk every day
and this has to stop.

Cooper and Moore both explained in different instances that these devices are
readily available at many locations, including retail stores such as Best Buy and
on the Internet. Moore said that just last week, the department was able to find
850 sites that sell Mobile Infrared Transmitters, or MIRTs. They are the devices
that emergency vehicles use to signal the change in a red traffic light that allows
them to pass quickly through traffic.

And they're brand new, Moore said. 'Access to these things is not all that hard.'

Violations of this law would be punishable by a fine of up to $250 per violation.

'Suffolk County has the dubious distinction of having the highest auto fatality rate
in New York State', said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer.

'Any efforts by people to thwart the enforcement of traffic regulations that would
endanger the citizens of Suffolk County is something we cannot tolerate.'

A public hearing on Cooper�s resolution will take place on August 10 at the next
meeting of the County Legislature in Hauppauge.

The bottom line, as always, is [the question] 'Why are the police doing this � [or]
'Why is government doing it ?' Moore said. 'Are we doing it because it is fun to
harass the public' No. We're doing it because the actions we're trying to prevent
could end people's lives.'

Long Islander News

Posted by dc at 04:14 PM | Comments (0)

June 28, 2004

Walk, Bike, LI

Not all cyclists find their hometowns cycle-friendly. "Since I live in a downtown, I
walk for my daily errands," said Neal Lewis, 42, of Massapequa, a lawyer who is
the executive director of Long Island Neighborhood Network, an environmental
protection group. "For other things - grocery, laundry - I take the car. Taking a
bike to the deli, drugstore and other stores is not very convenient. There is
usually no place to lock the bike."

Mr. Lewis lives in an apartment over a delicatessen in a two-story brick building,
part of a block of shops. "I was looking for something pedestrian-friendly," Mr.
Lewis said, "a walkable quarter-mile where I could take care of a good portion of
my errands."

A more pedestrian- and bike-friendly environment may be in the Island's future.
The goal of the Long Island Non-Motorized Transportation Study, sponsored by
the Metropolitan Transportation Council and the State Department of
Transportation, is to "identify a long-range regional bike and pedestrian plan for
all of Long Island with a 25-year time horizon," said David Glass, the project
manager.

A survey was begun six months ago on the study's Web site,
Walk Bike LI, which lists questions about safety and opportunities for
pedestrians and cyclists. So far, it has received more than 750 responses, Mr.
Glass said.

The study is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2004. Mr. Glass said that
proposals might include enhancing pedestrian and bicycle access to Long Island
Rail Road stations by improving traffic signals, sidewalks and crosswalks;
developing ways to teach motorists to respect pedestrians and cyclists; working
with Long Island Bus to equip buses with bicycle racks; and working with the
Nassau County Health Department to encourage more elementary students to
walk to school.

Last month, Governor Pataki announced $2.7 million in financing for local
pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements in eight communities across Long
Island: the Villages of Westhampton Beach, Port Washington and Port Jefferson;
the Towns of North Hempstead, Southampton, Brookhaven and Huntington; and
the City of Long Beach.

Long Island has not been the safest place for cycling or walking. According to
National Highway Transportation Safety Administration figures for 2002, the most
recent available, Nassau ranked 14th in pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities out of
1,249 counties nationwide, and Suffolk ranked 37th.

Joe De Palma, 48, of Lake Ronkonkoma, a bicycle advocate and a member of the
technical advisory committee of the Non-Motorized Transportation Study, takes a
cautious attitude when he is behind the handlebars. "I never ride on a Friday,'' he
said. "Everyone's in a rush to get home. The roads are just horrendous."

Mr. Fligstein, the development consultant, said that Northport, his hometown, is
bicycle-friendly because the police enforce the 30 m.p.h. speed limit. "Northport
is really a smart growth community, which is why I have chosen to call it my
home,'' he said. "I even found my home in Northport while I was out biking."

Larry, a physicist, was being wooed by Brookhaven National Laboratory; he is
now the head of Brookhaven's nuclear theory group. The couple had lived in
California, Texas, Minnesota and Illinois, and in each new hometown Mrs.
McLerran wanted to be able to walk. Long Island was a challenge.

"I didn't want to come here," she recalled. "Long Island seemed like the last
place I'd be happy, primarily because it's suburban sprawl."

Bellport, Sayville and Port Jefferson made the McLerrans' short list. "But the last
grocery store in Port Jefferson is now a Gap," Mrs. McLerran said. "Sayville might
have done it, but by the time I found a house, I had already lost my heart to
Bellport. It's a village with a lot to offer. We even have sidewalks here." They
live off South Country Road just a few blocks from the center of the village.

Mrs. McLerran, the editor of the Bellport Civic Association's newsletter, describes
her walks as full of social potential. She used to drive but now relies solely on
her feet. "When the weather is good I am deliberately inefficient, and I will make
many runs downtown," she said. "I think I get my essentials done as efficiently
and have a lot more fun doing it."

Posted by dc at 11:52 PM | Comments (0)

May 16, 2004

'Get out of ticket' cards for local VIPs

Each year, police union officials in New York City and in Suffolk and Nassau
counties dole out small plastic cards to political party leaders and other
politically connected VIPs, often with their job titles printed on them.

In Suffolk, for instance, county Democratic Chairman Richard Schaffer gets
stacks of the cards from the Police Benevolent Association. So do Republican
Party Chairwoman Patricia Acampora and Independence Party chief Frank
McKay.

Local police unions have varying explanations of the purpose of the cards. The
PBA chief in Nassau views them merely as "public relations" tools benefiting the
officeholders who pass them out, while the union in New York City encourages
officers to avoid ticketing cardholders. But Schaffer said as far as he knows the
cards have only one purpose: to inoculate the holders against traffic tickets.

THAT'S THE TICKET

Card-carrying benefits
Call it a PR tool or a get-out-of-jail-free card: Each year, local PBAs hand out
stacks to the well-connected

BY J. JIONI PALMER, STAFF WRITER

2004 May 04

Each year, police union officials in New York City and in Suffolk and Nassau
counties dole out small plastic cards to political party leaders and other politically
connected VIPs, often with their job titles printed on them.

"It's one of those unspoken understandings," said Schaffer, who said he doesn't
carry a card and paid a $75 fine last year after receiving a ticket for running a
red light. "I think that the history has been that if you show it to the police officer
then they would give you the courtesy of not writing a ticket - that's my
interpretation."

While Suffolk Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said he is confident his
officers will issue tickets when the situation warrants, he said it is likely that
having the card gives the bearer a better chance of avoiding a ticket. "I'm not
going to say that's not possible or it doesn't happen, it probably does," he said.

Al O'Leary, communications director for the New York City PBA, said the union
urges members to honor the card and not ticket carriers as long as they are not
a danger to others.

"This union encourages its members not to write a ticket over a card," O'Leary
said.

But Monroe Freedman, a distinguished professor of legal ethics at Hofstra
University, described the cards as "a serious abuse of official power."

"It gives special privileges to certain people that others are not going to receive
and that's wrong," Freedman said.

According to interviews with several current and retired police officers in Nassau
and Suffolk, police unions pass out thousands of cards each year - to county
legislators, city council members, police officers' relatives, attorneys and
members of the news media.

There's even a brief drill that holders of PBA cards are instructed to follow when
they are stopped: Hand over the card along with your driver's license, and
casually mention the name of the person who issued you the card, according to
the officers.

Several Newsday staffers have the cards, though the paper's conflict of interest
policy prohibits newsroom employees from "using their position for preferential
treatment or personal gain," said Howard Schneider, Newsday's editor. Merely
accepting a card violates that policy and Schneider said those who have them will
be asked to discard them or return them.

"Being a reporter or photographer is a public trust and we take that seriously,"
Schneider said.

Catherine Mathis, a spokeswoman for The New York Times, said the paper
expects staff members to pay for the ticket if police stop them.

"Reporters ought not be seeking privilege with any institution they cover," she
said.

A spokesman for the New York Post would only say the paper "is given a number
of these cards and they are given to reporters for use in the course of their
work."

A spokesman for the New York Sun did not respond to requests for comment,
and one for the Daily News could not be reached.

Officials of the Suffolk Police Benevolent Association, Suffolk Superior Officers
Association and the Detectives Association did not return calls for comment.

McKay, who serves as both the state and Suffolk Independence leader, said he's
flattered by the PBA's "gesture" and freely doles out his stack of cards to "worthy
people" who will probably never use them.

"I gave some to a pastor and a deacon in a church," he said. "I think it is a show
of respect for people who are active in the community."

Acampora, in contrast, said she does not use or give out the cards.

Suffolk PBA President Jeff Frayler has said in the past that it is union policy to
discourage Suffolk police officers from issuing traffic tickets to fellow officers,
regardless of jurisdiction, and their relatives, out of professional courtesy.

Nassau PBA president Gary DelaRaba said his union has issued PBA cards
continuously since 1928. He said he wasn't sure how many cards were printed
each year or how many different titles they carry.

He said the cards are "a public relations tool" for people to show off. But in no
way are they "get-out-of-jail-free" cards.

"Anybody who has one of mine I expect to follow the law," DelaRaba said. "If you
have a card signed by me, you can identify yourself as a friend of mine if you
run out of gas or get in an accident. But don't think you're going to use that card
to get yourself out of any crimes."

Suffolk Legis. Michael Caracciolo (R-Baiting Hollow), a retired Nassau County
police officer and former union official, said he was surprised at the proliferating
number of PBA cards for privileged people.

Caracciolo said he didn't give drivers bearing PBA cards any special breaks when
he was a patrolman and doubts officers in Suffolk do now.

"In Suffolk, it is not a given - they are very strident in their enforcement of the
law," he said.

Dormer issued a memo reiterating the department's policy of equal enforcement
of traffic laws after a Newsday story last month about the PBA's hands-off stance
toward ticketing police officers or their relatives. Dormer told a graduating class
of new police officers last month that applying the law equally and fairly is the
essence of policing.

"This is what gives you the moral authority on the streets, when you deal with
citizens so you can get respect," he told the 158 rookie cops at their
commencement ceremony at the police academy in Brentwood.

"If anybody, whether inside or outside the police department, tells you not to
enforce certain laws or to give an exemption to certain groups of people, they
are wrong," Dormer said.

Persuasive plastic

Police union cards, which some drivers attempt to use for leniency during traffic
stops, typically are given to officers' family members. Special versions also are
made for the politically connected; these have the recipient's title printed on the
plastic. A sampling of some cards, with the issuer and the

recipient:

Suffolk Police Benevolent Association (For state Independence Party chairman)

Suffolk Police Benevolent Association County (For Democratic Committee chair)

Nassau Superior Of.cers Association (For unspecified recipient)

Nassau Police Benevolent Association (For county legislator)

New York City Patrolmen's Benevolent Association (For attorney)

NOTE: Nassau Police Benevolent Association, Suffolk Detectives Association and
Suffolk Superior Officers Association also issue cards.

Traffic-stop etiquette

Office holders and others may receive stacks of cards, which they hand out at
their discretion. Experts then advise the individual bearer to heed the following
guidelines, though there are no guarantees of leniency.

Sign on back of card exactly as name appears on driver's license. Name of the
person who issued the card also should be written.

After being pulled over, politely acknowledge the violation.

Hand the card to the officer with your driver's license, casually mentioning the
name of the person who handed out the card.

- J. Jioni Palmer

Posted by dc at 11:17 AM | Comments (0)

April 27, 2004

I can drive 65

Speed Limit Raised on Some Roadways
By AL BAKER, 2004 April 27

The New York Times

ALBANY, April 26 - Gov. George E. Pataki announced on Monday that the speed
limit would be increased to 65 miles per hour along 134 more miles of New York
State highways, mostly in upstate counties.

Since 1995, the limit has been raised to 65 m.p.h along nearly 1,369 miles of
roadway statewide. The latest changes will take effect as soon as the new limits
are posted.

Allowing drivers to go faster is part of a larger strategy to improve travel times,
enable businesses to ship products more quickly between cities and "enhance
overall transportation mobility and reliability,'' the governor said in a news
release.

The largest stretch of highway to be affected is a 29-mile span of Interstate 684,
between Interstates 84 and 287 in Putnam and Westchester Counties. But many
smaller sections are also getting the increased speed limits. For instance, 24
miles of State Route 17 in Orange County and 26 miles of that same road in
Broome and Delaware Counties will now permit speeds of 65 m.p.h.

Elliot G. Sander, director of the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and
Management at New York University, said that raising the limit would help to
create a more uniform and user-friendly highway system.

Previously: 65 could be the law.

Posted by dc at 01:23 AM | Comments (0)

April 05, 2004

Red light cameras

ON THE ROADS: Lawmakers need to give green light on cameras
Plan your next event with Caterer Search
John Valenti

2004 March 21

It was almost three years ago that Assemb. Patricia Eddington stood at an
intersection in Medford dubbed "Crash Corner" and declared war on
red-light-running drivers in Suffolk County.

Dangerous, she called drivers who act as if green means go, yellow means go
faster and red means nothing. Dangerous, she called the growing trend of drivers
running red lights.

She called for the installation of cameras at dangerous intersections - red-light
cameras - to take license plate photographs of vehicles that entered those
intersections after the light had turned red. She called for an automated system
to ticket those vehicle owners.

This was three years ago, come August. Still, drivers wait for something to be
done to stop red-light runners.

The bill proposed by Eddington (D-Medford) - a bill that would change state law
and allow red-light cameras to be installed in Suffolk - passed the Assembly only
to be sent back for amendment. A similar bill proposed by state Sen. Caesar
Trunzo (R-Islip) passed the Senate, only to be sent back, too.

The political wheel has turned slower than the wheels of red-light runners.
Sometimes not only is justice blind, but so are its lawmakers.

So the Senate and Assembly argue wording, while victims of red-light runners get
added to the list of casualties: a mother and a daughter, killed by an alleged
red-light runner on William Floyd Parkway; a 16-year-old girl, killed by an alleged
red-light runner on Route 58 in Riverhead.

These are just two fatal accidents in the past year that come to mind. There are
more.

"Things move very slowly in Albany," Eddington said last week. "Sometimes, they
only move when there is a great groundswell of constituent concern. Red-light
running is a big issue. I think we have a problem with running red lights on Long
Island."

As a spokesman for Trunzo said: "The real tragedy is that this can be addressed.
This is a problem with a solution."

But the solution has been sidetracked to date by concerns of "Big Brother."

Some state politicians have argued red-light cameras will infringe upon our rights
as Americans. There are concerns about civil liberties.

There are fears that red-light cameras will be used to take photographs of
drivers. There are fears about racial profiling. The fact is all this is wrong.
Red-light cameras photograph license plates - not drivers. The program has been
used on a "test" basis in New York City since 1994 - and red-light violations are
down 50 percent.

The fact is that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimates that each
year 200,000 motorists are injured and about 1,000 are killed nationwide by
red-light runners. The fact is that most safety experts consider running a red light
the single-most egregious driving violation - other than DWI.

"We oppose the use of photo radar to enforce speed limits," AAA Automobile Club
of New York governmental affairs expert John Corlett said. "But, we make a
distinction between photo radar and red-light cameras - because with red-light
running the balance starts to shift against due process. Red-light running is
clear-cut dangerous conduct. No question. And, it's out of control. Something
needs to be done."

A recent AAA study, in fact, found that 67 percent of AAA members in the
metropolitan area - a membership, Corlett said, considered "conservative" -
favored the use of red-light cameras for enforcement.

"People want this program," Corlett said.

Under current state law, only cities with a population of at least 1 million can
implement a red-light camera system. This is the main reason it has only been
used in New York City. Installed on an experimental basis in 1994, the program
was due to expire in 1999. It was extended into 2004 - and figures to be
extended again.

The ticket issued using red-light cameras would carry about a $100 fine. But it
would not be a moving violation - and no points would be assessed to a driver's
license. Specific language in the law would prohibit insurance companies from
increasing premiums to the vehicle registrant.

It has been almost three years since Pat Eddington stood at that intersection in
Medford, Patchogue-Holbrook Road and Greenbelt Parkway. Almost three years
since she stood there with a mother of three who was almost killed when the
driver of a sport utility vehicle allegedly ran a red light and struck her minivan.

Still, the debate ambles on - while people continue to be injured or killed by
red-light runners all across Long Island.

"It's very frustrating," Eddington said. "Very."

Posted by dc at 12:32 AM | Comments (0)

March 12, 2004

New York Mini

New York Mini owners' group.

Posted by dc at 04:41 AM | Comments (0)

January 11, 2004

Pataki vs Drivers, 2

These proposals are among a five-point road safety plan announced by Gov. George Pataki in his State of the State address yesterday.

The plan, subject to legislative approval and heralded by motorist's groups and prosecutors in Brooklyn, Queens and Nassau County, calls for:

--Eliminating the requirement that prosecutors must prove criminal negligence when prosecuting a driver who has seriously injured or killed someone.

--Increasing penalties for drivers who cause serious injury or death.

--Tougher penalties for drivers who leave the scene of a fatal accident.

--Cracking down on unlicensed drivers.

--Revoking the licenses of drivers who kill or injure others.

Plans Toughens Bad Driver Penalties

By Joie Tyrrell
Staff Writer

2004 January 08

Prosecutors could have more power in court to deal with deadly drivers and tougher penalties may be in store for motorists who continue to break the law.

These proposals are among a five-point road safety plan announced by Gov. George Pataki in his State of the State address yesterday.

The plan, subject to legislative approval and heralded by motorist's groups and prosecutors in Brooklyn, Queens and Nassau County, calls for:

--Eliminating the requirement that prosecutors must prove criminal negligence when prosecuting a driver who has seriously injured or killed someone.

--Increasing penalties for drivers who cause serious injury or death.

--Tougher penalties for drivers who leave the scene of a fatal accident.

--Cracking down on unlicensed drivers.

--Revoking the licenses of drivers who kill or injure others.

"This is a good thing," said Robert Sinclair Jr., a spokesman for the American Automobile Association's Garden City-based Automobile Club of New York. "In essence you are going after the segment of the driving population that is most responsible for crashes of all types, particularly fatal crashes."

Under the plan, prosecutors would no longer need to prove criminal negligence in cases where a driver's license was suspended or revoked; was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol; was fleeing a police officer and has a history of traffic infractions.

"The bottom line is drunk drivers who have benefited from loopholes in the law will no longer have that benefit," said Jerry Schmetterer, a spokesman for Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes.

The legislation proposes providing consecutive sentences when a driver kills or seriously injures multiple victims as opposed to the current law that does not provide for tougher sentences in those instances.

Pataki's plan also would raise the offense level of crimes in which a driver kills or seriously injures another person. Hit-and-run drivers would face greater penalties, making it a crime that carries a sentence of up to 7 years in prison, compared to existing law that punishes offenders with a sentence of up to 4 years in prison. And under the proposal, the driver's license would be automatically suspended when the accident results in serious injury or death.

Unlicensed drivers could face tougher penalties as well, as the plan closes a loophole in existing law that allows drivers who have never had a license or who have had their license suspended many times to avoid punishment.

The measure calls for the mandatory revocation of licenses for drivers who kill or seriously injure another person. Under existing law, the revocation is discretionary.

Those charged with unlicensed driving will be fingerprinted.

"Reports from law enforcement officials indicate that a large number of drivers whose licenses have been suspended or revoked falsify DMV records to avoid penalties and attempt to obtain a new license under another name," according to the governor's office. "Under current law, such drivers may escape detection because these individuals are not fingerprinted."

Sinclair said that the Automobile Club has been pushing for tougher laws for unlicensed drivers for at least a decade. An AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study in 2000 found that one in five fatal crashes involved a driver who was unlicensed or whose license had been suspended, canceled or revoked.

"What the governor is doing is lumping unlicensed drivers and hard-core drunk drivers into the high-risk driver category and targeting these people," Sinclair said. "When you go after this target population with some strong prosecution and penalties, you are sending a message. We're hoping this legislation will serve as that warning message to those recidivist hard-core unlicensed drivers."

Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon said he supported the measures.

"These changes will enhance my office's ability to prosecute and convict drivers whose actions cause death and serious injury on our roads," Dillon said, adding that increased penalties also will "afford judges the means to sentence defendants more appropriately."

Richard Brown, the district attorney in Queens, also supported the proposals.

"We certainly have more than our share of these kind of tragedies and it is difficult to explain to families that the law doesn't always allow for us to prosecute," Brown said. "We are prepared to work with the governor and the Legislature to go head and reform the law. But at the same time you have to be careful that you don't turn every traffic accident into a criminal proceeding."

Staff writer Pete Bowles contributed to this story.

Posted by dc at 12:57 AM | Comments (0)

January 10, 2004

Pataki vs Drivers, 1

Prosecutors could have more power in court to deal with deadly drivers and tougher
penalties may be in store for motorists who continue to break the law.

Getting Tough on Drivers
Greater penalties sought for offenses

By Joie Tyrrell
STAFF WRITER

2008 January 08

Prosecutors could have more power in court to deal with deadly drivers and
tougher penalties may be in store for motorists who continue to break the law.

These proposals are among a five-point road safety plan announced by Gov.
George Pataki in his State of the State address yesterday.

The plan, subject to legislative approval and heralded by motorist's groups and
prosecutors in Brooklyn, Queens and Nassau County, calls for:

Eliminating the requirement that prosecutors must prove criminal negligence
when prosecuting a driver who has seriously injured or killed someone.

Increasing penalties for drivers who cause serious injury or death.

Tougher penalties for drivers who leave the scene of a fatal accident.

Cracking down on unlicensed drivers.

Revoking the licenses of drivers who kill or injure others.

"This is a good thing," said Robert Sinclair Jr., a spokesman for the American
Automobile Association's Garden City-based Automobile Club of New York. "In
essence you are going after the segment of the driving population that is most
responsible for crashes of all types, particularly fatal crashes."

Under the plan, prosecutors would no longer need to prove criminal negligence in
cases where a driver's license was suspended or revoked; was under the
influence of drugs and/or alcohol; was fleeing a police officer; and has a history
of traffic infractions.

"The bottom line is drunk drivers who have benefited from loopholes in the law
will no longer have that benefit," said Jerry Schmetterer, a spokesman for
Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes.

The legislation proposes providing consecutive sentences when a driver kills or
seriously injures multiple victims as opposed to the current law that does not
provide for tougher sentences in those instances.

Pataki's plan also would raise the offense level of crimes in which a driver kills or
seriously injures another person.

Hit-and-run drivers would face greater penalties, making it a crime that carries a
sentence of up to 7 years in prison, compared with existing law that punishes
offenders with a sentence of up to 4 years in prison. Under the proposal, the
driver's license would be automatically suspended when the accident results in
serious injury or death.

Unlicensed drivers could face tougher penalties as well, as the plan closes a
loophole in existing law that allows drivers who have never had a license or who
have had their license suspended many times to avoid punishment.

The measure calls for the mandatory revocation of licenses for drivers who kill or
seriously injure another person. Under existing law, the revocation is
discretionary.

Those charged with unlicensed driving will be fingerprinted.

"Reports from law enforcement officials indicate that a large number of drivers
whose licenses have been suspended or revoked falsify DMV records to avoid
penalties and attempt to obtain a new license under another name," according to
the governor's office. "Under current law, such drivers may escape detection
because these individuals are not fingerprinted."

Sinclair said that the Automobile Club has been pushing for tougher laws for
unlicensed drivers for at least a decade. An AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
study in 2000 found that one in five fatal crashes involved a driver who was
unlicensed or whose license had been suspended, canceled or revoked.

"What the governor is doing is lumping unlicensed drivers and hard-core drunk
drivers into the high-risk driver category and targeting these people," Sinclair
said. "When you go after this target population with some strong prosecution and
penalties, you are sending a message. We're hoping this legislation will serve as
that warning message to those recidivist hard-core unlicensed drivers."

Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon said he supported the measures.

"These changes will enhance my office's ability to prosecute and convict drivers
whose actions cause death and serious injury on our roads," Dillon said, adding
that increased penalties also will "afford judges the means to sentence
defendants more appropriately."

Richard Brown, the district attorney in Queens, also supported the proposals.

"We certainly have more than our share of these kind of tragedies and it is
difficult to explain to families that the law doesn't always allow for us to
prosecute," Brown said. "We are prepared to work with the governor and the
Legislature to go ahead and reform the law. But at the same time you have to be
careful that you don't turn every traffic accident into a criminal proceeding."

Staff writer Pete Bowles contributed to this story.

Posted by dc at 12:54 AM | Comments (1)

December 01, 2003

Street Racing

The crackdown on street racing along Old Dock Road in Yaphank
was a response to complaints from nearby businesses that hundreds of
young people regularly gathered there to race Kevin Krieg, 36, whose
family business, S-K Speed Racing Equipment in Lindenhurst, said he
and his shop do not condone street racing, blamed the illegal
racing on the decline of the drag-racing tracks he used to frequent,
such as National Speedway in Center Moriches. The Island's last
remaining track, the Long Island Dragway in Westhampton, is due
to close within months so a senior condominium complex can be built.

Cops Issue 54 Tickets in Illegal Street Race

By Indrani Sen, Staff Writer

2003 December 01 10:06 PM EST

The scene that police officers came upon at 2:15 Sunday morning on an
industrial strip in Yaphank wasn't straight out of Hollywood. The young men and
women racing souped-up street cars weren't quite as extravagantly stylish as
their counterparts in movies such as "The Fast and the Furious." And there was a
noticeable dearth of supermodels.

But otherwise, all the elements of an action film were there -- unfathomably fast
cars growling alongside each other as the starting flag came down; an elaborate
system to prevent detection of the illegal street race, including last-minute
phone chains and police-frequency scanners; and even a breathless and
dangerous police chase that scattered passers-by.

Suffolk police issued 54 traffic tickets, mostly for speeding and equipment
violations, on about 35 "tricked-out" cars, impounded three vehicles, and
arrested one man who they say sped through a Newsday distribution center full
of workers as he fled. Arthur Wray, 18, of Central Islip, was charged with
second-degree reckless endangerment.

The crackdown on street racing along Old Dock Road was a response to
complaints from nearby businesses that hundreds of young people regularly
gathered there to race, as well as to the deaths in July of Jerold Loudoux, 22, of
Manorville and John Lagadinos, 23, of Lake Ronkonkoma, who were racing
motorcycles on the road, said Insp. Mark White.

Fifth Precinct officers, assisted by Highway Patrol units, had a few tricks of their
own, White said. Knowing the racing rings monitor police scanners, dispatchers
did not put the call out over police radio. Instead, they used the mobile
computers to coordinate the response.

The mother of one of the motorcyclists who died in July, Debra Loudoux, said
she was glad to see the stepped-up enforcement and hopes it deters young
people from racing there in the future.

"Once it goes on for awhile, they think that's the place to go and that it's OK, but
it's not," said Loudoux of Manorville. "I feel that should have been watching the
area better."

But racing devotees insisted that the sport is safe when properly practiced.
"They usually go to somewhere with as little traffic as possible, as little people as
possible," said Adam, 21, of West Islip, who did not want his last name used.
Among the real racers, he said, "it's frowned upon for people to go on highways
because it's dangerous."

Kevin Krieg, 36, whose family business, S-K Speed Racing Equipment in
Lindenhurst, has been a well-known name in Long Island's high-performance car
scene for four decades, said despite the changes in racing over the years, the
bottom line is the same.

"When you go on a roller coaster and you go over the first hump, how do you
feel that split second?" he said. "That's what drag racing does."

Krieg, who said he and his shop do not condone street racing, blamed the illegal
racing on the decline of the drag-racing tracks he used to frequent, such as
National Speedway in Center Moriches. The Island's last remaining track, the
Long Island Dragway in Westhampton, is due to close within months so a senior
condominium complex can be built.

"You're never going to get rid of the kids' need and want to go fast," he said, "so
what you've got to do is channel it properly."

Adam said he and his friends race mainly for the fun of it and not for the
winner's pool, which tends to be a few hundred dollars. His interest in racing
came from his father, he said, though his taste in cars has diverged. The older
generation tends toward the American muscle cars, whereas many younger
racers are "hot-rodding" smaller imported cars such as Honda Civics and Nissan
Altimas by opening up their exhaust systems and intakes, fitting them with
racing tires and adding canisters of nitrous oxide to boost the horsepower.

"You could buy a new Camaro, and with the money you spend on that, you'd
have to do a lot more work to a Honda to make it even compare," Adam said.
"It makes the challenge of beating one even more fun."

John Reina, 40, whose produce delivery business, Suffolk Banana, is on Old
Dock Road, said he understands the fun of it -- he used to race himself. But the
two wooden crosses on his front lawn that commemorate where the young
motorcyclists were killed in July have given him a different perspective.

"I feel bad that there's not a place for the kids to go, but I don't think this is the
place for them to do it," Reina said. "I don't want them dying anywhere, but I
especially don't want them dying on my lawn."

Posted by dc at 10:45 PM | Comments (3)

November 23, 2003

New Urban Long Island

Long Island developers and planners have not yet considered building sidewalks
where none exist now, but several proposals for new developments would create
old-fashioned village centers complete with sidewalks. Assemblyman Steven
Englebright is backing a $250 million development that would convert a series of
strip malls in East Setauket into a village center. In Brentwood, Gerald Wolkoff
has proposed a $4 billion complex of apartments, town houses, restaurants and
shops on a 460-acre site that would be called Heartland Town Square.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

November 23, 2003

Wide Island
By VIVIAN S. TOY

When Robert Moses unveiled Long Island's parkways and Levittown advertised its
reasonably priced cookie-cutter homes, New Yorkers couldn't uproot themselves
from the city fast enough to claim their own patch of grass and breathe in all that
fresh suburban air.

But now a recent study suggests that the two-car garages that go with that
suburban dream may actually be hazardous to your health.

The study, which surveyed 200,000 men and women living in 448 counties across
the country, found that people living in communities marked by sprawling
development walked less in their daily routine and weighed more than people
who live in more compact urban areas. Suburbanites, the study found, are also
more likely to become obese and suffer from high blood pressure.

Health and nutrition experts on Long Island say this study, the first to directly link
obesity with the way communities are designed, simply reinforces what they have
been saying for years - that Long Islanders need to work on increasing their level
of physical activity.

Some planners and developers have heartily embraced the study's results,
saying that it supports their efforts to redevelop downtown areas and create
more pedestrian-friendly communities. But others view the results with heavy
skepticism and criticize the study as anti-suburban and anti-development. Even if
you can't walk a block or so to pick up a quart of milk in Long Island, they argue,
the suburbs provide more parks and open space than cities do and therefore
more opportunities for exercise and physical activity.

Debbie Brown, a recent transplant to Dix Hills from Brooklyn, let out a big laugh
when she was told about the study as she waited for her order at the
drive-through window at a Dunkin' Donuts in Hempstead. "Oh, I believe it," she
said. "My exercise agenda is horrible, and I don't walk anywhere."

A woman who was two cars behind Ms. Brown agreed. "People don't even walk
around the corner out here, and nothing is convenient without a car," she said.
"It's just a different way of living."

She said that she and her husband refused to buy a car for 12 full months after
they moved from New York City to Rockville Centre in 2001. But now that they
have succumbed, she said, she was too embarrassed to give her name "because
I'm so excited to have discovered this drive-through."

Reid Ewing, the lead author of the study and a professor at the National Center
for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland, said that researchers have found
that the amount of physical activity people got during their leisure time did not
vary much between cities and suburbs. "The difference isn't in their leisure but in
how they spend the rest of their time," he said. "In an urban environment, you
move more for transportation purposes. Instead of walking out of the house and
into your car, you're walking to lunch or the subway, and you're climbing up and
down those subway stairs."

The study used data from surveys compiled by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. It found that in Manhattan - the most compact urban area in the
nation - an average adult weighs 161.1 pounds, while the average adult weighs
165.8 pounds in Nassau County and 166.4 in Suffolk County. The expected
probability of obesity also increased from west to east, with 11.5 percent
probability in New York City, 17 percent in Nassau and 17.8 percent in Suffolk.

Patrick Duggan, the executive director of Sustainable Long Island, a group that
promotes pedestrian-friendly development, thinks he knows why. "We have such
limited walkability in Long Island communities," he said. "We just live such
sedentary lives that it's not a big jump to make the correlation between sprawl
and obesity."

Mr. Duggan said his group hoped to study the way the design of specific Long
Island communities affects health and obesity. "We just have not thought about
the health implications when thinking about the design of our communities," he
said. "I think the study is significant enough that planners and policy makers
need to take notice, and we need to think about how if you're driving all the time,
you're not contributing to your health in a meaningful way."

Lee E. Koppelman, the executive director of the Long Island Regional Planning
Board, said that he was very skeptical of the study's findings because he
contends that the difference of five pounds between city dwellers and
suburbanites was negligible. "I know when I weigh myself at home, I'm 169, but
at my internist's it's 177," he said. "So to me statistically, five pounds is a dead
heat. The importance of the study is that obesity is a national problem, and
people in New York aren't off the hook. They're just as much at risk as people in
the suburbs."

He has a point. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions nationally, and federal
health officials are saying that it may soon overtake smoking as the nation's
biggest health threat. A recent national survey found that almost 65 percent of
the adult population in the United States was overweight and almost one adult in
three was obese. State Health Department figures show that while less than 10
percent of the population was obese in 1985, the figure had grown to 20 to 24
percent by 2001.

Obesity is measured by a person's body mass index, which is weight in relation to
height. Anyone with an index figure of 25 or higher is considered overweight;
anyone with a figure of 30 or higher is considered obese. (To calculate your body
mass index, visit http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/bmi-adult.htm.)

While it may be true that Long Islanders are completely dependent on their cars
to perform even the simplest errand, Dr. Koppelman said, "we probably play
more golf and tennis and make use of hiking trails more than people in the city."
Besides, he added, "even in the city everybody goes places by bus, subway or
taxi, and the only people walking significant distances are the tourists gawking at
buildings."

Even if Long Island residents wanted to go for a walk in their neighborhoods,
many would find it difficult because most areas were built without sidewalks. Long
Island led the way in the 1950's when suburban communities across the country
revised their zoning codes to make sidewalks optional.

"People didn't want them because sidewalks and smokestacks were the symbols
of what people fled from in the cities," Dr. Koppelman said. And homeowners
didn't want people walking on what they considered their private property.

Dan Burden, a national planning consultant and the executive director of
Walkable Communities Inc., has surveyed dozens of neighborhoods on Long
Island and said measuring "walkability" on a scale of 1 to 10, Long Island rates a
low 3. "It's extremely difficult to find a place where you're not running the whole
challenge of 'can I get there from here safely without having to drive?' " he said.

Some areas of the country that developed without sidewalks are now trying to
add them. For example, Columbus, Ohio, where Mr. Burden grew up and which
has sidewalks along only 40 percent of its streets, has spent more than $4 million
in the last three years to build sidewalks near schools so that children can walk
there more easily.

Long Island developers and planners have not yet considered building sidewalks
where none exist now, but several proposals for new developments would create
old-fashioned village centers complete with sidewalks. Assemblyman Steven
Englebright is backing a $250 million development that would convert a series of
strip malls in East Setauket into a village center. In Brentwood, Gerald Wolkoff
has proposed a $4 billion complex of apartments, town houses, restaurants and
shops on a 460-acre site that would be called Heartland Town Square.

"This would give people a different lifestyle than they're used to in the suburbs,"
Mr. Wolkoff said. "It would be like when I was a kid in Brooklyn, and I could walk
to the store or to a friend's house, and it's an added bonus that it would help cut
down on obesity."

Although the new study did not examine childhood obesity, it noted that C.D.C.
figures show that 15 percent of the nation's children 6 to 19 are overweight. It
also noted that a recent poll conducted by the Surface Transportation Policy
Project in Washington found that while 71 percent of 800 parents of school-age
children walked or biked to school when they were young, only 18 percent of
their children do the same.

"So even children aren't getting as much physical activity in the course of their
everyday lives as children used to," said Dr. Ewing, the study's lead author.

State law requires school districts to provide buses for high school students who
live three miles or farther from school, and the distance drops to two miles for
younger students. But many districts on Long Island provide buses for shorter
distances.

Levittown, for example, now provides transportation for any child who lives half a
mile or more from school. Thirty years ago, about 50 percent of the district's
students walked to school, but only 20 percent walk to school now. Herman A.
Sirois, the district superintendent, said the increased busing came mainly
because of concerns about traffic safety. "Our streets were not built for four-car
families," he said, noting that the original Levittown homes all had one-car
garages. "Who could afford two cars in the 1950's and who needed it when most
moms stayed at home? But society has changed, and the response to the
increased traffic has been to bus our children to school."

In fact, according to census data, the number of cars available for personal use
to Long Island households has increased from 522,132 in 1960 to 916,686 in
2000. And the number of households with two or more cars at their disposal rose
from 29.4 percent in 1960 to 65.2 percent in 2000.

But, Dr. Sirois said, walking to school - or not walking - had little effect on weight.
"Our kids aren't getting fatter because they're not walking to school any more,''
he said. "It's because television advertises junk food, and the kids decide they've
got to have junk food."

He added that with the growth in soccer leagues and other organized sports
leagues outside of school, children have many more opportunities to get exercise
than they used to. True enough, said Josephine Connolly, a professor of family
medicine at Stony Brook University who specializes in physical health and
nutrition. "But kids spend so much time riding in a car to get to activities, and a
lot of the time at the activity is often spent sitting around, and many of the
venues tend to sell junk food," she said. "It's so different from just playing
outside in the neighborhood, and there are no vending machines in my
backyard."

At the Center for Weight Management for the North Shore-Long Island Jewish
Health System, experts are t trying to inject more physical activity into sedentary
suburban lives. Eileen Rosendahl, the center's clinical supervisor, said that
patients have often been unable to lose weight despite a series of diets and a
host of gyms. "What has a more long-term effect is simply integrating more
movement into their daily lives, and that involves learning new life strategies,"
she said.

One strategy is to have patients wear pedometers to measure the distance they
walk every day. For most people, that's about 3,000 steps a day, or about a mile
and a half. To help people lose weight, physiologists at the center may set a daily
goal of 10,000 steps and devise ways to reach that goal.

That might include parking farther from the supermarket entrance and watching
less television, which has a natural tendency to get people up and about.

Those strategies are similar to those used by Weight Watchers. Maggie Jerchau,
who led Weight Watchers meetings on Long Island for 12 years before
transferring to Manhattan three years ago, said that people in the suburbs often
don't realize how little physical activity they get.

Ms. Jerchau started wearing a pedometer nine years ago and has found that
when she works from her home in Wantagh, she tends to clock only 2,300 steps
a day. But when she goes into Manhattan, the number climbs to 10,000. "We're
all very busy people, especially moms on Long Island who are running around all
day getting their kids everywhere they have to go," she said. "But what I try to
tell people is you shouldn't confuse busy with active, and if you're just getting in
and out of the car, you're not being active."

The health departments of Nassau and Suffolk Counties are working to help
tackle obesity. Nassau plans to conduct a telephone survey to assess the
behavioral patterns of residents next year, and Suffolk already provides an
extensive health-education program to local schools.

More than a third of Suffolk's 72 school districts have signed up for the county
program. The curriculum on physical activity starts in kindergarten, where
children are urged to set a goal for physical activities each day; suggestions
include walking to school and playing tag. By the fifth grade, students are asked
to map out 30 minutes of physical activity and 30 minutes of exercise daily.

"The program focuses on teaching children skills they can use to develop healthy
lifestyles for the rest of their lives," said Lori Benincasa, Suffolk County's director
of health education.

State law requires only two semesters of health education during middle and high
school, but the county's program provides lessons from kindergarten through the
12th grade.

Robert Wieboldt, the executive director of the Long Island Builders Association,
said he agreed with efforts to make Long Island more pedestrian friendly, but
changing Long Island's well-ingrained car culture, he said, will not be easy.

"Out here people look askance at people who walk,'' he said. "In the city or even
other suburbs it's the norm, but here when somebody sees somebody walking,
unless you're wearing expensive jogging clothes, they think you got a D.W.I."

Posted by dc at 04:45 PM | Comments (7)

New Urban Long Island

------------------------------------------------------------------------

November 23, 2003

Wide Island
By VIVIAN S. TOY

But now a recent study suggests that the two-car garages that go with that
suburban dream may actually be hazardous to your health.

A woman who was two cars behind Ms. Brown agreed. "People don't even walk
around the corner out here, and nothing is convenient without a car," she said.
"It's just a different way of living."

Long Island developers and planners have not yet considered building sidewalks
where none exist now, but several proposals for new developments would create
old-fashioned village centers complete with sidewalks. Assemblyman Steven
Englebright is backing a $250 million development that would convert a series of
strip malls in East Setauket into a village center. In Brentwood, Gerald Wolkoff
has proposed a $4 billion complex of apartments, town houses, restaurants and
shops on a 460-acre site that would be called Heartland Town Square.

"So even children aren't getting as much physical activity in the course of their
everyday lives as children used to," said Dr. Ewing, the study's lead author.

That might include parking farther from the supermarket entrance and watching
less television, which has a natural tendency to get people up and about.

"The program focuses on teaching children skills they can use to develop healthy
lifestyles for the rest of their lives," said Lori Benincasa, Suffolk County's director
of health education.

State law requires only two semesters of health education during middle and high
school, but the county's program provides lessons from kindergarten through the
12th grade.

Posted by dc at 04:45 PM | Comments (7)

November 05, 2003

Parking, Flushing

Posted by dc at 10:30 PM | Comments (0)

October 31, 2003

Suffolk backroads

From Eastbound Rest Area of the LIE between exits 66 & 65, begin. !

Mill Road.

114

Swamp road

Promised Land

Posted by dc at 10:08 PM | Comments (0)

October 26, 2003

Expressways

Jeff Saltzman

Posted by dc at 08:14 PM | Comments (0)

October 25, 2003

Huntington Drives

Roads in Huntington:
Snake Hill Rd; and
Sweet Hollow Rd

Posted by dc at 03:02 AM | Comments (0)

October 17, 2003

Fall foliage tour

Hudson Valley foliage.

First Two Weeks in October:

Borderline - This area is a thin strip between the Hudson Valley proper and the
Connecticut state line. Generally, this includes the higher elevations between the
Hudson River and the state of Connecticut. The main road is NY 22.

Shawangunk Mountains - This includes the mountains themselves and a small
portion of the surrounding area. Main roads are I-84, US 6, NY 17, NY 208 and
NY 94.

Second and Third Weeks in October:

Mid-Hudson Valley - This includes the Hudson River, and eastern valley, from
Peekskill northward. Main roads are US 9, Taconic State Parkway and NY 82.

The State Parks - This includes both the Bear Mountain State Park and Harriman
State Park, and the immediate surrounding area. Main roads are I-87 and US
9W.

Last Two Weeks in October:

Lower Hudson - This includes the Hudson River, and valley, south of Peekskill.
Main roads are US 9W, US 9, Taconic State Parkway and I-684.

For precise foliage information call the New York State Division of Tourism at
(800)CALL-NYS.

Posted by dc at 02:30 AM | Comments (0)

October 16, 2003

Taconic State Parkway

Taconic State Parkway is a nice drive.

Posted by dc at 02:31 AM | Comments (1)

October 15, 2003

Road pics

Gribblenation.

Posted by dc at 02:44 AM | Comments (0)

October 08, 2003

NY BMW Club

NY BMW Club's autocross at Nassau Coliseum.

Posted by dc at 06:40 PM | Comments (0)

September 19, 2003

Winter driving

Winter driving school at Mount Tremblant, Quebec, reported in Canadian Driver.

See also Mecaglisse and previously, Bridgestone Colorado winter driving school.

And Team O'Neil's winter safety school in New Hampshire.

Posted by dc at 06:00 PM | Comments (0)

September 14, 2003

I can't drive 65 on LIE ?

Update: 2004 April 27: 65 is the las now.

Speed Limit May Rise on LIE, Other Roads

By John Valenti, STAFF WRITER

2003 September 15

You are still not able to drive 65 mph on the Long Island Expressway. Not legally,
anyway.

But that may change. Gov. George Pataki signed into law last week legislation
that allows the state Department of Transportation to decide which stretches of
highway should have a 55-mph speed limit - and which should be 65 mph.

The law, sponsored by state Sen. Caesar Trunzo (R-Brentwood), also makes
65-mph zones around the state permanent. Those zones were scheduled to
expire Dec. 1, 2005.

"What this means is that the state Department of Transportation now has the
authority to increase the speed limit on state roads without having to go for
legislation," said Trunzo, former chairman of the state Transportation Committee.

"That doesn't mean the department will raise the speed limit here on Long Island.
But it means it could."

Proponents of a 65-mph speed limit note that, while the number of fatal accidents
fell dramatically after the maximum national speed limit went from 65 mph to 55
mph in 1974, the number of fatalities continued to decline even after the national
55-mph law was eliminated in the National Highway System Designation Act of
1995.

The speed limit on Interstates 81 and 87 - both north of New York City - was
increased to 65 mph in August 1995. In 1997, a study by the New York State
Thruway Authority found the Thruway had recorded its lowest death rate in 44
years. Almost five years after the maximum limits were increased, the number
of accidents per 100 million miles traveled decreased 4 percent on 65-mph
highways in the state. The fatal accident rate had decreased 29 percent, the
injury accident rate by about 5 percent.

A recent poll conducted by the AAA Automobile Club of New York found 90
percent of its members supported an increase from 55 mph to 65 mph.

The Department of Transportation said speed-limit changes on Long Island would
be made only after a review of traffic volume; the road's design, width and
condition; land use; and whether the area is urban, suburban or rural. Police said
officers will enforce the speed limit set by the DOT.

"Some have said if we make the speed limit 65 mph here, people will do 90,"
Trunzo said. "But we've found most people drive around 65 - and all this does is
allow that to be determined by the DOT."

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lispee133455563sep15,0,4431201.story?coll=ny-linews-utility

Posted by dc at 11:47 PM | Comments (0)

September 11, 2003

Dangerous county roads

This summer Suffolk County Department of Public Works commissioner
Charles Bartha and a host of other local officials went hat-in-hand before the
ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep.
James Oberstar (D-Minn.), to seek funding to institute transportation solutions on
Long Island. And Bartha said then it would take about $1 billion to fix deficiencies
on Nicolls Road, North Ocean Avenue, Pinelawn Road, Fifth Avenue, Portion
Road, Bay Shore Road, North Road, Old Country Road and Montauk Highway.
The study alone to find solutions for William Floyd Parkway would cost about
$700,000, Suffolk Department of Public Works Chief Engineer Bill Shannon said
yesterday.

"I wish I could wave a magic wand and make these problems go away," he said.
"But, I can't."

Local roads - the tree-lined streets through your suburban neighborhood - do not
carry the traffic volumes most county roads carry. Major state roads - highways
such as the Long Island Expressway, the Southern State Parkway, the Northern
State Parkway - are safer because of their nature: limited access, unidirectional,
limited conflict points. But county roads are caught in between. A lot of them -
Fifth Avenue, Ocean Avenue, Commack Road, Route 111, William Floyd Parkway
- carry a lot of traffic and are bordered by residential neighborhoods, malls and
schools.

Once Again, Deadly Crash Happens on a County Road
John Valenti

2003 September 10

Another mother, another daughter killed. Another son left fighting for his life.
Another aftermath of another tragic car accident. Another testament to life - and
death - on our roads on Long Island.

This time it happened on William Floyd Parkway in Shirley. This time it involved a
Saturday night, a red light and an intersection local residents said is a known
danger. This time.

Fact is, it could have happened almost anywhere - on almost any road with an
intersection on Long Island - since you can ask someone to stop at a red light but
you can't make them. And Suffolk police said one driver, Evelyn Asendorf, 59, of
Mastic, ran a red light on William Floyd and struck a car driven by Roseann
Brooks, 45, of Shirley, as she crossed with the green on Robinwood Road. The
collision killed Brooks and her daughter Jennifer, 17. It left her son, Bruce Jr.,
15, in critical condition at Stony Brook University Hospital. All of which might be
fate.

Except it is little surprise that such an accident occurred on a county road,
instead of a state road or a local one. A recent Newsday investigation of the most
dangerous roads on Long Island found that the 10 deadliest roads in Suffolk
County between 1999-2001 - the roads with highest fatality rates per 100 million
miles driven - were all county roads. William Floyd Parkway is 15th on that list
with 12 fatalities in that time, though statistics for the southern 5.22 miles
between Montauk Highway and the entrance to Smith Point County Park, where
seven died in that time, would move it into the top 5.

A dubious honor, to say the least.

So what makes these roads so dangerous - and deadly? And who is to blame?

First glance would suggest the county. But, fact is, it might be all of us. Because
the evolution of Long Island has turned roads designed as local thoroughfares
into major arterials, where traffic volume and traffic speed often exceeds design.
And engineers can never design out driver error. Like running a red light. Though
with more money - and with more foresight from communities into land use -
those engineers could design out a lot of hazards.

"We would like to be able to design the safest road possible," said Richard
LaValle, chief deputy commissioner for public works in Suffolk County. "But what
does possible mean? You have economics. It is extremely expensive to do that.
Impacts to the community can be extensive. You have aesthetics. Communities
want an area to look good.

"People want Main Street," he said. "But the fact is we're limited by our options."

Just this summer Suffolk County Department of Public Works commissioner
Charles Bartha and a host of other local officials went hat-in-hand before the
ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rep.
James Oberstar (D-Minn.), to seek funding to institute transportation solutions on
Long Island. And Bartha said then it would take about $1 billion to fix deficiencies
on Nicolls Road, North Ocean Avenue, Pinelawn Road, Fifth Avenue, Portion
Road, Bay Shore Road, North Road, Old Country Road and Montauk Highway.
The study alone to find solutions for William Floyd Parkway would cost about
$700,000, Suffolk Department of Public Works Chief Engineer Bill Shannon said
yesterday.

"I wish I could wave a magic wand and make these problems go away," he said.
"But, I can't."

Local roads - the tree-lined streets through your suburban neighborhood - do not
carry the traffic volumes most county roads carry. Major state roads - highways
such as the Long Island Expressway, the Southern State Parkway, the Northern
State Parkway - are safer because of their nature: limited access, unidirectional,
limited conflict points. But county roads are caught in between. A lot of them -
Fifth Avenue, Ocean Avenue, Commack Road, Route 111, William Floyd Parkway
- carry a lot of traffic and are bordered by residential neighborhoods, malls and
schools.

Many of them, Shannon said, are "obsolete." But, because of the limitations,
LaValle said, "We're reduced to dealing with the problems on an
intersection-by-intersection basis." The entire design and new construction
budget for Suffolk this year is less than $20 million. It sounds like a lot. It isn't.

The speed limit is 55 mph on William Floyd Parkway, where the latest fatal
accident occurred. A Home Depot is being built not far from the crash site. It is
the lone major arterial into the area. There are cross streets and intersections.
There is cross traffic.

Years ago, after a study of William Floyd Parkway, the county built sidewalks for
pedestrian traffic, installed pedestrian signals, closed median openings and
reduced access to side streets. The Town of Brookhaven installed lighting. All for
safety.

But no one wants the county to build another Sunrise Highway into Shirley-Mastic
Beach. Despite the fact that what the state did in making Sunrise Highway a
limited-access highway in Suffolk County made the road safer than it once was.

So, what we're left with is pot luck: Dangerous roads. Dangerous conditions.
Dangerous accidents.

And another mother and daughter dead. Another son, left in a coma. And the
rest of us wondering what we can do to see it doesn't happen again.

www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/columnists/ny-liroad103448194sep10,0,2995149.column?coll=ny-li-columnists

Posted by dc at 11:35 PM | Comments (0)

September 10, 2003

Shirley's dangerous William Floyd Parkway

From 1999 to 2001, there have been seven fatal accidents on the 5.2-mile stretch
of the six-lane William Floyd Parkway south of Sunrise Highway compared with
five fatal accidents on the lesser traveled 10.5-mile portion north of Sunrise.

Residents said drivers pick up speed on the roadway as it changes from 45 mph to
55 mph. The speed limit rises about a half-mile before Robinwood Road, the scene
of Saturday's accident.

A Deadly Stretch of Road
Shirley mom, daughter killed in crash; son, friend critical

By Joie Tyrrell, Staff Writer

2003 September 08, 8:14 PM EDT

When Lydia Mohn leaves her Shirley home, she's always cautious when she gets
to the six-lane William Floyd Parkway.

She uses the same intersection at Robinwood Road where a mother and
daughter were killed Saturday night after police said a motorist ran a red light
and struck their car.

"It's my main way to get out and I'm scared to death," said Mohn, who had
traveled that road just 10 minutes prior to the accident. "You don't know if people
are going to stop."

As the tight-knit community mourned the loss of Roseann Brooks and her
17-year-old daughter, residents Monday questioned the safety of the William
Floyd Parkway. The death rate on its more heavily traveled southern five miles is
higher than the rate on the lightly traveled northern and central sections,
according to a Newsday analysis of Suffolk County records.

The fatality rate is also many times higher than the rates on some of Long
Island's busiest highways: the LIE and the Northern and Southern State
Parkways, according to the analysis.

From 1999 to 2001, there have been seven fatal accidents on the 5.2-mile
stretch of the road south of Sunrise Highway compared with five fatal accidents
on the lesser traveled 10.5-mile portion north of Sunrise.

Residents said drivers pick up speed on the roadway as it changes from 45 mph
to 55 mph. The speed limit rises about a half-mile before Robinwood Road, the
scene of Saturday's accident.

"They should make it all one speed limit," Mohn said. "It's ridiculous that it
changes."

Suffolk County officials tested the traffic lights in the area Monday and said they
were working properly. Richard LaValle, chief deputy commissioner of public
works for Suffolk County, said the county is looking into timing the signals along
William Floyd to control the speed of traffic.

The county has made improvements along the southern section of William Floyd
in recent years, including restricting turning at Stuart Road. "In general, we do
everything we can to keep the road as safe as possible," LaValle said.
"Unfortunately, we can't account for all the actions of the drivers. Some accidents
you might not be able to ever prevent."

Legis. Peter O'Leary (R-Moriches) said his office received calls from residents
Monday complaining about the parkway and he has requested a study of the
road. New homes have been built and a new King Kullen supermarket and Home
Depot are under construction alongside the Parkway.

In the seven years that tow-truck operator Keith Whitman has worked the
William Floyd Parkway, his business has jumped at least 40 percent. "There are
at least one or two every week south of Sunrise Highway," said Whitman, owner
of Wood's Towing and Auto Repair in Shirley. "The town is growing so much and
there is so much going on, I don't think the town can handle the traffic."

O'Leary said police have stepped up patrols and could soon add Smart Signs --
which alert motorists to their speed.

For drivers, such as Donna Mazzone, of Mastic Beach, the roadway is like a
gamble every time she drives it. "The speed limit is 55 and they do 65 and 70,"
she said.

Staff writer Robert Fresco contributed to this story.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lifata0909,0,4936042.story?coll=ny-linews-headlines

Posted by dc at 04:45 AM | Comments (0)

June 15, 2003

Portion Road

Portion Road is not a highway. Yet.

Posted by dc at 10:48 PM | Comments (0)

June 05, 2003

Halesite: NY 110 flooding

Incidents of flooding like this one earlier this year have become problematic and
routine on the stretch of Route 110 in Halesite. But some are questioning DOT�s
proposal for reconstruction, which includes roundabouts and other alterations.
Long-Islander File Photo

HALESITE: New Look For Route 110?

While addressing flooding, DOT floats ideas to spiff up New York Avenue

By Peter Gannon

State transportation officials, acting mainly in response to the chronic flooding
problem on the Halesite portion of New York Avenue, have begun meeting with
the public and local civic leaders regarding a proposed reconstruction and
drainage project for the state-controlled road. But besides addressing the
flooding issue, planners with the DOT seem ready to implement a number of
new traffic-alteration ideas that, while designed to clear up problems, have local
merchants concerned.

According to Peter Knutson, of Knutson Marine, some of the ideas proposed by
the DOT � like the implementation of roundabouts in place of traditional light
signals � would severely hamper his ability to conduct business. Knutson
estimates that the circles, as they were shown to him at a preliminary meeting
last month, would prevent roughly 50 percent of the boats he normally
transports down New York Avenue from getting through.

"I think a lot of it is ridiculous," said Knutson of the plan. "I do think something
needs to be done, but the way they're going about it � they need to be talking
more to the community."

Officials with the DOT however, insist the plans are designed to alleviate some
very real traffic problems, and are at this point too preliminary to discuss in
detail. But they did admit that at least some of the planning is based on an
appearance factor.

"The primary reason for the project is the drainage issue, although there are
some [traffic] movements that concern us," said Chris Williams, with the DOT's
planning department. "But a lot of the reconstruction ideas we are looking at are
based on smart growth principals�there's an appearance factor involved."

Tops on the DOT list of dangerous intersections are where both Abbot Drive and
Grist Mill Lane intersect with New York Ave., according to Williams. Residents on
those streets have reportedly expressed concerns, and officials with the
department have acknowledged that problems exist. Abbot Drive was mentioned
as the worst situation, as its intersection with New York Avenue is controlled by a
stop sign � but is right in the middle of a light signal controlling New York
Avenue, Park Avenue and Mill Dam Road.

"[The Abbot Dr. intersection] is one that doesn't operate typically," said Williams.
"We're looking at the overall crossing patterns�with the [proposed]
reconfigurations, Abbot wouldn't have the same complications.�

But there are some that question whether DOT�s plans for circles or other traffic
alterations are based strictly on the issue of safety. Kevin Coneys, of Coneys
Marine, admitted that he has seen some accidents in the area from his location
on New York Avenue, but stopped short of saying they were caused by poorly
designed intersections.

"I've seen some cars get banged around here in my 30 years, but no more than
in some other places, like in town�I think the main issue here is not the circle,
it's how do we get rid of the water?"

At the DOT's first public meeting last month at Huntington Library � where they
sought feedback from the community regarding ideas for reconstruction �
discussion did gravitate away from the main drainage issue to the idea of
roundabouts, acknowledged Williams. It was too early to tell what the consensus
was at that meeting, he said � as officials are still tabulating recommendations
� although he estimated that it was split right down the middle as far as those in
favor and those opposed to the new traffic-alteration ideas.

One thing planners do seem more sure of is how to attack the recurrent flooding
problem. Officials at the DOT have determined there are two main causes: first,
that the elevation of the roadway in some places is not that much different from
the level of the harbor at high tide. In response to this, said Williams, the DOT
would raise the low points of New York Avenue to prevent water from flowing
freely onto the street during heavy rains. The second problem identified is that
the drainage pipes are too small to handle the amount of water that accumulates
on the road during those rainfalls. The proposed solution would be to replace
those drainage pipes with larger ones.

Another part of the plan, although its purpose is geared more toward water
filtration, is for a detention pond to be located on the former Naval Reserve
property, which would serve to collect natural run-off.

"This part is more of a water-quality improvement than a drainage solution,"
said Williams, who added that it would only serve to collect about the first
half-inch of water from a storm. Most water already flows into the existing
streambed, and engineers would simply channel the run-off through that basin,
he said.

Another issue raised by business owners, besides the possible long-term effects
of the project, is the possibility of the road being closed while repairs are made,
which Knutson said would hurt many of the smaller merchants along New York
Avenue. Coneys agreed with Knutson's contention that some of the larger
interstate boat-transport trucks would have difficulty getting through any
roundabouts, although he focused more on the possible road closing as an
immediate effect on their operation.

"We've survived through some other big projects, but the road was never
closed. If they are going to raise it, I don't see how they are going to do it
without closing it� It might end up looking nice, but it will come at some
expense," said Coneys.

Williams added again that plans are still in their early developmental stages, and
that planners are still welcoming input from the community. The DOT is working
with engineers from the Town of Huntington to help develop strategies for the
project, and is planning on sitting down with local civic leaders to discuss the
issues. The project, if implemented, wouldn't start until 2006 at the earliest, said
Williams.
� 2003 Long Islander Newspapers, Inc.

Posted by dc at 02:30 PM | Comments (0)

May 08, 2003

Red light cameras coming to LI ?

Getting Caught: LI Legislators Want to Emulate Use of City Red-Light Camera
By Robert Fresco, Newsday Staff Writer

2003 May 09

If you drive in New York City and are careless about traffic lights, sooner or
later you are likely to get an unwelcome letter in your mailbox.

The letter will describe the time, date and place your car ran through a red
light. The fine is $55, unless you can prove the charge is incorrect.

How do city officials find out about the offenses? By installing cameras at
dozens of intersections and taking pictures of license plates as cars run the
lights. A computer matches the plates with the vehicle registrations and the
owners get letters from the city.

Nassau and Suffolk officials would love to expand the program into the suburbs
to help beef up traffic enforcement, but their plans are being stymied by the
state Legislature.

New York City began its program 10 years ago -- the first municipality in the
nation to do so. There are now 50 cameras, and city officials often shift their
locations around so drivers won't learn which lights are "safe" to run.

Cameras are also installed in dozens of other municipalities across the nation,
and federal highway officials say they are a key factor in saving lives. L

NY Wiki

New York Wiki

April 13, 2005

I was not speeding: traffic lawyers in NY, NJ

February 13, 2005

Long Island roads

February 04, 2005

Flushing directions

January 02, 2005

Road route numbering

December 24, 2004

NY State Thruway

October 03, 2004

Vanderbilt's privately built road, the Long Island Motor ParkwayMotor Parkway

October 01, 2004

25A: Bucolic Sunday drive on Long Island

July 10, 2004

Jon Cooper To Harass Rapid Drivers

June 28, 2004

Walk, Bike, LI

May 16, 2004

'Get out of ticket' cards for local VIPs

April 27, 2004

I can drive 65

April 05, 2004

Red light cameras

March 12, 2004

New York Mini

January 11, 2004

Pataki vs Drivers, 2

January 10, 2004

Pataki vs Drivers, 1

December 01, 2003

Street Racing

November 23, 2003

New Urban Long Island

New Urban Long Island

November 05, 2003

Parking, Flushing

October 31, 2003

Suffolk backroads

October 26, 2003

Expressways

October 25, 2003

Huntington Drives

October 17, 2003

Fall foliage tour

October 16, 2003

Taconic State Parkway

October 15, 2003

Road pics

October 08, 2003

NY BMW Club

September 19, 2003

Winter driving

September 14, 2003

I can't drive 65 on LIE ?

September 11, 2003

Dangerous county roads

September 10, 2003

Shirley's dangerous William Floyd Parkway

June 15, 2003

Portion Road

June 05, 2003

Halesite: NY 110 flooding

May 08, 2003

Red light cameras coming to LI ?