"Staten Island Beautification Squad" blocks dozens of speed cameras using fake flowers
NEW YORK — Several speed cameras across Staten Island have been blocked by fake flowers to keep those cameras from catching speeders.
Videos and pictures of these blocking blossoms have gotten attention on social media, with many praising the creative but illegal obstruction.
"Somebody's going around to all these speed cameras and putting flowers on them. Bro, I'm buying you a beer," one person said in a video posted on Instagram.
Affixed with duct tape and zip ties, a note is also left at the bottom, saying "Brought to you by the Staten Island Beautification Squad."
The city Department of Transportation says it's taken down as many as 14 of these obstructions across the island.
DOT calls floral obstructions "unacceptable"
"While I don't encourage it, I can totally understand the frustration," Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said.
He said the speed cameras were originally introduced to put around school zones but adds that they've spread just about everywhere else and operate 24/7.
"At the core of it, it's not just about protecting kids around schools. It's morphed into something dramatically different. And people, I think, are just getting fed up with being told, 'Hey, we've got to do this and that to protect you' when in fact, all it is is about money," Fossella said.
But the DOT didn't "say it with flowers," bluntly writing in a statement: "Speeding kills. Tampering with speed cameras is unacceptable and puts lives at risk. We are actively working with the NYPD and the perpetrators will be held accountable for jeopardizing public safety."
A Staten Island resident named Faith was one of many pedestrians on busy Richmond Road, walking with kids, and called the obstructions "dangerous." She said she finds that fining speedy drivers thanks to the cameras has been the best move to slow them down.
"Especially on this block there's a lot of car crashes and everything, so yeah, I feel a little bit unsafe," Faith said.
