QUESTION
What are DOT's concerns regarding the proposed newsbox maintenance legislation?
1:53:05
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148 sec
The Department of Transportation (DOT) supports having standardized news racks placed appropriately on streets and sidewalks.
- DOT agrees on the need for guidelines on news rack types and placement.
- A concern is the difficulty in communicating with publishers for enforcement.
- DOT suggests online registration, email notifications, and electronic summonses to improve communication with publishers.
- This would allow quicker response and removal of improperly placed news racks.
Erik D. Bottcher
1:53:05
In your testimony, you said that you had previously supported news rack reforms and would be happy to discuss this bill further with the council.
1:53:16
Can you be a little more clear about your stance on this legislation.
Leon Heyward
1:53:22
So we do agree with you that having standards on the type of news rack that should be out there is very important.
1:53:34
Having guidelines where the news rack should be positioned in the corner in relation to other of infrastructure that are out there.
1:53:45
That's important.
1:53:46
We we agree with you a 100%.
1:53:50
1 of our concerns is the level of communication that it takes for us to reach out to the publisher, to actually allow us to then do some type of an enforcement effort.
1:54:07
You know, we wish that there could be online registration of publications.
1:54:13
We wish that we can do email notifications to make them aware of conditions that we see out there.
1:54:21
We wish that we can issue electronic summonses so that they can have to respond in a much more quicker take away.
1:54:33
So, you know, we that would then allow us to have a removals a lot quicker than we presently have as well.
1:54:42
So we are locked step in trying to have news racks that are standardized that are placed in the right place and that aren't tipping over and falling.
1:54:55
We totally agree with that.
1:54:58
And so we're not stopping you.
1:55:00
We're simply saying, what can we do more?
1:55:03
What we can do more is that we can have we feel more timely communication with the publishers so that they can respond to us and then we can then respond.
1:55:14
And and and with all of our enforcement efforts around other permits that we have around the city, that we go out and inspect and have to give out summonses, we have those type of communications.
1:55:30
So we can do that.
1:55:31
We feel we can have a greater impact.
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Council Member Erik D. Bottcher opens his questions on news rack regulations and commemorates Lori Felsher, victim of traffic violence
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Does the administration support involving the mayor's office of ethnic and community media in the rule promulgation process for the legislation?
