Curran weighs opt-in idea for bringing back school speed cameras

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran on Monday endorsed the return of school speed cameras, but only near ones that back their existence, breathing new life into a short-lived program that was repealed four years ago after a sustained community outcry.

Curran, a Democrat, said she would support an “opt-in program” for schools and encouraged residents who support their operation to contact their districts, local lawmakers and parent-teacher organizations. Earlier Monday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo reinstated a speed camera program near New York City schools through an executive order that had no bearing on Nassau.

Nassau’s speed camera program began in 2014, with the approval of the State Legislature. The program was expected to generate $30 million in revenue to help balance the county’s budget, and the cameras produced more than 400,000 tickets and $24 million in new revenue from Sept. 2 through Nov. 21, 2014. The county legislature repealed the program in December 2014.

“The bottom line is: If school districts want to opt-in, if school districts, parents, etc., see this as important to student safety, I’m ready to go to Albany and ask our legislators to approve an opt-in program,” Curran, a Democrat, said in an interview Monday.

Curran said she is waiting for feedback from representatives of local school districts.

In December prior to taking office, Curran initially declined to rule out bringing back the cameras. "We have to look at all options both old and new," Curran said. "Everything must be on the table." But days later, she told Newsday: “I have no plan to bring them back."

Curran did not provide details on how much revenue the idea could generate for Nassau, which is struggling to meet financial projections this year. The Nassau Interim Finance Authority last month detailed $81 million in revenue risks to the current year's $3 billion budget.

“First, I want to see if there’s any interest, then we can get into the weeds about the details. Absent any interest, I think that’s premature,” Curran said.

Frank Moroney, a spokesman for the legislature’s majority caucus, said, “Republican legislators remain opposed to bringing back the speed camera program.” But Legis. Denise Ford, chairwoman of the county's public safety committee and a Democrat who caucuses with Republicans, said she supported the opt-in approach.

“I’m in favor of that,” Ford, of Long Beach, said. “I think that this is a good opportunity for the schools to enhance safety around their perimeter."

NIFA spokesman David Chauvin declined to comment, but noted: “We view this as an issue of public safety, not a financial one.”

Mineola Superintendent Michael Nagler, president of the Nassau County Council of School Superintendents, said, "A lot of us were upset at that way it rolled out the last time, so I think the opt-in is a practical solution." He noted that Curran, a former Baldwin school board member, likely "realizes that it’s different in every community, and having the community weigh in is a good thing.”

He said he was “optimistic" that cameras would be installed "at schools that have a high rate of speeding and or traffic issues, to help children be safe as they arrive and leave schools.”

Jericho Superintendent Henry Grishman said speed cameras are appropriate for some schools near heavily trafficked roads, but not near ones in quiet, residential enclaves. Grishman suggested that the Nassau County Police Department and individual districts work together to assess the need for speed cameras on a case-by-case basis.

“I think as you drive by some elementary schools, middle and high schools, they’re on a heavily traveled street, which says to me that kids are potentially in greater danger getting in and out of cars,” Grishman said. “In those situations, I think speed cameras make a lot of sense.” Conversely, he added, “Schools that are located within a neighborhood without a main street or thoroughfare don’t need a speed camera to control traffic.”

With Celeste Hadrick

By Scott Eidler

scott.eidler@newsday.com@ScottEidler

Scott Eidler is a deputy editor for the towns department at Newsday. Scott has worked at Newsday since 2012 and previously covered municipal government and education.