A Queens legislator wants to pay New Yorker💮s up to $1,000 to report hit-and-run drivers who flee deadly crashes.
Councilwoman Selvena Brooks-Powers introduced a bill at Thursday’s meeting that would authorize the mayor to set up a reward system to reward citizens for reporting information leading to the “apprehension, prosecution or conviction” of any driver who kills a pedestrian, cyclist or other driver in a “hit-and-run” incident. Most such cases typically go unsolved.
“We must do everything we can reduce traffic violence and make our streets safer,” said Brooks-Powers (D-Queens). “This legislation will bolster our city’s enforcement efforts and bring closure to victims’ families.”
The councilwoman’s district, which includes Far Rockaway and Edgemere, has been among the hardest hit in recent years by😼 traffic fatalities, including hit-and-run cases.
Eric McClure, executive director of the street-safety group StreetsPAC, said incentivizing the public to come forth with information “can only help” as “only a tiny fraction” of hit-and-run incidents result in arreꦕsts by police investigators.
“If a reward can lead to justice in more cases, that’s a good thing,” he said. “NYPD reports that tips to Crime Stoppers has helped solve thousands of serious crimes, so maybe a similar program can put a dent in unsolved hit-and-run crashes.”
Transportation Department Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez sponsored similar legislation i𒐪n 2017 when he was Manhattan councilman, but it stalled in a committee.
Brooks-Powers and co-sponsors for her bill are hopinꦬg for better luck with both a new mayor and City C✱ouncil.
Kate Smart, a spokeswoman for Mayor Eric Adams, said his office would review the bill, adding “New Yorkers deserve safe streets༒ free from traf๊fic violence.”