City Council Survey (District 46): Derek I Sacerdote

Political Party:

http://dereksacerdote4citycouncil.blogspot.com

Candidate Submitted Biography:

I am a lifelong Brooklyn resident with a commitment to individual rights, and a belief in small government. A public high school teacher since 1998, I believe in education as an empowering force for independence building. I am an avid cyclist and tropical fish hobbyist. In addition, I am constantly pursuing knowledge and experimenting with green, sustainable, and off-grid living.

City Council Survey (District 46): Derek I Sacerdote

Question 1:
What is the most important transportation need in your district? As a Council Member, how would you work to address this need?

There is only one subway station in the vicinity of the district, namely the Rockaway Parkway terminal of the L. I would advocate to de-regulate independent transportation industry to permit full competition of "gypsy" cabs and "dollar" vans. In particular, they provide rapid access to subway lines outside the district. These also offer more efficient service at better prices and serve as competition to the MTA. I would also fight regulations aimed at shutting down the pedicab industry, since neighborhoods with a single terminal of a subway would offer potential work to pedicab operators.

Most avenues in the district bottleneck as they enter central Brooklyn, creating tremendous traffic problems on Flatbush, Nostrand, Utica, Ralph and Rockaway Parkway. I would investigate changing the timing of lights at key intersections, such as E 80th and Ralph, as well as Remsen, Kings Highway and Ralph Avenue junction, so that they allow extended time at certain hours for high traffic streets.


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Question 2:
The intersection of E 53 Street and Flatbush Avenue is one of the most dangerous in your district, where 0 people died and 78 people were injured between 1995-2005 (NYS DOT). As a City Council member, what traffic enforcement policies or physical changes to the intersection infrastructure would you support to make this intersection safer for everyone who uses it (pedestrians, cyclists and drivers)?

I find the intersection treacherous as a bicycle rider because of the left turn arrow from Avenue U onto Flatbush. Many pedestrians are not aware of it, and begin walking when the Flatbush Avenue light turns red. One simple fix would be a sign advising pedestrians to yield to turning vehicles. The arrow also seems to be too brief during high traffic hours, which causes drivers to rush. Perhaps the period could be lengthened during high traffic hours.


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Question 3:
According to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles' most currently available data, in 2007 speeding was a contributing factor in over 3,000 motor vehicle crashes in New York City. Furthermore, the same data showed that the top human contributing factor to the 264 fatal crashes in New York City during 2007 was also speeding. Given these figures, what measures, if any, do you support to redress this problem? Finally, do you believe that New York City’s current speed limits are safe?

Your stated data does not specify the degree of speeding which has been implicated. I am certain that on most streets the 30 MPH limit is quite safe, and that on larger avenues 40-45 is reasonable. I believe that significant risk occurs when motorists drive 50 MPH or higher, especially on narrow or heavily trafficked roads. I support imposition of monetary penalties to drivers when accidents are found to have been the result of their excessive speed. This revenue can be divided among accident victims and insurance relief to Brooklyn residents forced to pay high premiums as a result of catastrophic damages caused by a relatively small segment of the driving public.


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Question 4:
The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's website reports: "In New York City, obesity is epidemic: more than half of adult New Yorkers are overweight (34%) or obese (22%). Data show that obesity begins early in life: nearly half of all elementary school children and Head Start children are not a healthy weight. In New York City, 1 in 5 kindergarten students, and 1 in 4 Head Start children, is obese." Do you believe that increasing walking and biking in New York City would improve public health? If yes, how would you work to increase walking and biking in your district?

I use a bicycle for my primary transportation, and I have done so for over 20 years, since being a member of a bicycle club in high school. Walking and biking would improve health tremendously. Bicycle riding and walking could be made an elective or independent study class in public school. Students should be offered an opt-out of a free school metrocard in exchange for a voucher to purchase a bicycle.
Walking and biking needs to be made more attractive and less treacherous. Parts of East 80th Street, Flatbush Avenue, and Flatlands Avenues, for example, leave no reasonable place for biking, since there is essentially no shoulder and significant bus traffic. The NYPD compounds the situation by handing out fines for bicycle riding on the relatively empty sidewalk ( I got one ). Many roads are so badly rutted in the shoulder area that bicycle riding is quite difficult. The city does a lousy job of road maintenance for all the fines it collects. When I worked in Manhattan I found that a hybrid bike-subway trip was the fastest means of travel but the clumsy process of using the gate then navigating passengers often made it too much trouble. A special car without poles or seats intended for bicycles might make the process more attractive.


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Question 5:
Road pricing, including such measures as non-stop tolling, fees based on vehicle miles travelled or entry into a highly congested zone, has been the source of much discussion in New York City and other major metropolitan areas. London famously uses a congestion charge to fund its transit system, Oregon recently piloted a program to replace the gas tax with a fee for miles driven and Seattle recently studied how road pricing could be introduced on a regional basis. Seattle's study, “Traffic Choices Study" (http://psrc.org/projects/trafficchoices/index.htm), found that introducing new tolls on major corridors during peak traffic hours influenced drivers’ behavior and projected that a region-wide road pricing scheme could significantly reduce vehicular traffic congestion. Do you think that introducing a road pricing strategy would change New Yorkers’ travel choices? Do you think that this would be an effective way for the City to reduce backups on high-traffic roadways like the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, the Gowanus Expressway or the Long Island Expressway? Finally, do you believe there are additional benefits in the surrounding neighborhoods which could be realized from the reduction of vehicular congestion on these routes?

No. Though I believe that congestion and pollution are significant problems, I don't believe that further restricting or taxing New Yorkers is fair or appropriate. Part of the congestion comes from the fact that restrictive parking regulations and insanely high parking taxes lead people to drive simply to move their cars in accordance with street cleaning rules or to find a parking space. When I lived in Crown Heights, moving my car for street cleaning rules was so difficult that I wound up driving my car to work when I had intended to bicycle.
More punishment is not the answer. If public transportation was reliable and efficient, people would see it as an attractive alternative to driving. At present, many do not.


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Question 6:
Do you believe that reducing residential parking requirements as set forth within NYC zoning regulations would affect neighborhood traffic congestion, and if so, in what way?

It really depends on the individual, and on the neighborhood. In some instances, the availability of parking in a driveway leads people to drive more, since they have no fear of losing a parking space. As stated, in my case when I did not have a driveway I actually drove more often because of the fact that moving a car in accordance with parking rules was more difficult than driving and parking at work. In Park Slope, for example, residential parking is limited and traffic is fairly light. In Canarsie, most homes have driveways, and traffic is still fairly light, except for at two or three major bottlenecks, but roads in Canarsie are significantly wider and population is less dense than in Park Slope.
Eliminating cleaning regulations in areas where it is not needed would be extremely effective in reducing congestion caused by unnecessary driving.


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Question 7:
The NYC Department of Transportation's Public Plaza Program, Pedestrian Street Program and Summer Streets events are intended to diversify the use of public space and provide more places for New Yorkers to recreate and socialize. Do you support the temporary or permanent repurposing of street space for pedestrians and cyclists?

I think it needs to be done in a careful way. As a cyclist, I certainly appreciate car-free and bus-free streets, but before any street is "repurposed" we must be respectful of the history of the street as an auto route and the implications on commerce and driving commute that would arise from eliminating vehicular traffic. Some provision must be made for businesses to get deliveries and for the non-walking non-cycling public to reach it.
From the biking perspective, such routes are only useful if they are continuous and lead anywhere. Changing any rule impacts someone, but I believe that the lowest impact "repurposing" would likely be places like the roadways of major parks like Prospect and Central, and perhaps sidestreets which parallel major auto routes, with exemptions made for block residents.


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Question 8:
The City recently released plans for Bus Rapid Transit and expressed interest in bringing a bike share program to New York City. Do you think these new projects would enhance the city's transportation network? Please explain.

I believe any improvement in public transit which addressed SPEED would increase ridership, especially if the speed record could be maintained.
A bike share program is definitely worth a try, although given my experience I wonder how frequently the shared fleet would need to be replenished. I believe the city could easily obtain bicycles from people ready to discard them, especially if the city offers a small purchase price for functioning bicycles. Many individuals are capable of refurbishing bicycles, and the city could post jobs in bicycle repair and hire based on competitive bidding. However some analysis of the attrition rate must be performed in order to determine whether or not the program is cost effective.


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Submitted by derek on Sun, 07/19/2009 - 23:57.
Submitted by derek on Sat, 07/18/2009 - 22:38.
Submitted by derek on Sun, 07/19/2009 - 23:57.