Don’t want speed cameras, Staten Islanders?
Well, you’re getting them.
You hate red-light cameras?
Too bad.
But when Staten Islanders actually want more traffic enforcement from the city, we’re left out in the cold.
That’s what we’re seeing when it comes to noise cameras.
The City Council passed legislation 2023, the “Stop Spreading the Noise” law, mandating that at least five noise cameras would be placed in each borough by Sept. 30 of this year.
The cameras are meant to ticket vehicles that break the city’s noise level of 85 decibels.
Noise is a major quality-of-life problem in every borough, including on Staten Island. And being a vehicle culture here, noise from cars comes in near the top of the list of irritants.
That includes loud stock engines as well as engines that have been legally or illegally modified in order to make them louder.
I can literally hear revving engines as I write this, like there’s a drag race going on. And not the RuPaul kind. Like “American Graffiti” or a Bruce Springsteen song.
I frankly don’t get the appeal of crazy-loud car engines. The same way I don’t get the appeal of blasting your music out of your car for the world to hear, the bass thumping so loudly that my windows actually shake in their frames.
And this just isn’t because I’m old and grumpy. I felt this way when I was young and grumpy too. Grow up and have some consideration for other people. Pretend you live in society and not alone on an island. Nobody needs to hear you roaring down the block.
So, noise cameras seemed like they might actually be a good idea. They might not eliminate the problem entirely, but they might provide at least some kind of deterrent.
The rollout concluded last Tuesday and guess what? Staten Island didn’t get any noise cameras.
Not one. We’re the only one of the five boroughs that didn’t get a noise camera.
What, you couldn’t take one or two cameras from the other boroughs so the Island could at least have a couple?
A total of 12 cameras were placed in the other boroughs, even though the legislation called for a total of 25.
The city is breaking its own law all over the place.
The city Department of Environmental Protection, the agency given the dubious honor of being the tip of the spear for this program, said that there haven’t been many requests for the cameras to be deployed here.
Since when did that matter whenever the powers-that-be in the city or state have wanted to foist something on Staten Island against the will of Islanders? Congestion pricing. Battery sites. City of Yes. Bike lanes. Speed bumps.
Hello?
For once, some Staten Islanders want the city to actually apply its dreaded one-size-fits-all policymaking here. Treat us like the other boroughs. Do the same enforcement here that you’re doing elsewhere. Give us those noise cameras.
But no.
Not only that, but the agency said that the noise camera program will not grow beyond the dozen cameras currently deployed because, get this, there’s not enough funding.
Each noise camera costs around $40,000, according to the DEP.
Whoa.
In the context of a $115.9 billion city budget, that’s not even a grain of sand on a beach. You’re telling me the city couldn’t find that money somewhere?
A boilerplate statement from Mayor Eric Adams read in part: “DEP identifies camera locations based on background noise levels, traffic patterns, and other environmental factors. This data-driven approach helps us address noise pollution and ensure that every neighborhood benefits from a quieter, more peaceful environment.”
Right.
Except on Staten Island.