Res 1196-2019

By Council Member Cabrera Whereas, On July 26, 2019, one year old twins Luna and Phoenix Rodriguez died of heatstroke after being left for eight hours in a hot car in the Bronx by their father who forgot they were still strapped into their car seats; and Whereas, According to data from advocacy group KidsandCars.org, 53 children have died from vehicular heatstroke in 2019; and Whereas, According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, heatstroke is the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle-related deaths in children under the age of 15; and Whereas, The temperature inside a parked car can reach 125 degrees Fahrenheit in minutes; and Whereas, Children left in cars can die from heatstroke when the outside air temperature is as low as 57 degrees Fahrenheit; and Whereas, A child's internal body temperature reaches 100 degrees Fahrenheit or more after about an hour in a car parked in the sun and after about two hours in a car parked in the shade; and Whereas, The car in which the Rodriguez twins died had tinted windows; and Whereas, Tinted windows can reduce and interfere with a driver's visibility and cause accidents, especially in poor light conditions; and Whereas, Installing tinted windows strengthens the glass and makes the window more difficult to break if it needs to be broken to get to someone trapped in the vehicle or for someone trapped inside the vehicle to get out; and Whereas, Tinted windows impede a person's ability to see into the car; and Whereas, If the car's rear side windows were not tinted, a passerby may have seen the Rodriguez twins in the car and alerted the authorities; and Whereas, New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL) section 375(12-a) currently requires a car's windshield and front side windows to allow at least 70 percent of light from the outside to pass through the window and requires rear side windows to allow at least 70 percent of light from the outside to pass through the window if the vehicle is classified as a station wagon, sedan, hardtop, coupe, hatchback, or convertible; and Whereas, In August 2019, Assembly Member N. Nick Perry introduced A. 8484, which would amend the VTL to require a car's rear side windows to allow at least 50 percent of light from the outside to pass through the window if the vehicle is classified as a station wagon, sedan, hardtop, coupe, hatchback, or convertible; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, A. 8484, to increase the amount of light that must pass through a car's side windows. LS #11829 11/26/19 JSA