It’s hard not support a proposal that could generate millions of dollars in tax revenues for the county.
A local business wants to install giant 48-foot-wide billboards along the Long Island Expressway near the Roosevelt Field Mall. The hope is that this would make up for the estimated $30 million that the county is losing by turning off the school zone speed cameras.
Although, the proposal appears harmless, we think the concerns raised by Nassau County Legislator Judy Jacobs, D-Woodbury, deserve consideration.
Jacobs told WCBS 880 radio that the plan is dangerous.
“Bad enough people are texting,” she said. “Bad enough [drivers are] distracted. And this is a distraction they’re going to have to read.”
She has a point. The electronic billboards are far different than the traditional print billboard.
The message changes and animation is sometimes used to catch people’s attention. In addition the billboards look ugly, at least to some drivers.
The very thing that makes them valuable, makes them dangerous.
Republican Nassau County Legislator Richard Nicolello warns that the billboards “could disrupt people’s quality of life, so we have deep reservations about this.”
So far we haven’t seen reliable estimates on how much the boards might raise in tax revenue.
Unless the county decides to expand the permission to the entire length of the LIE, we doubt that the revenue would justify the change in rules.
If the change is approved, how can the county say the boards will be banned along other parts of the LIE?
The proposal could come up for a vote this spring.
