One Manhattan judge is no fan of Mayor de Blasio’s new traffic cams.
State Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey Wright is suing the city over a $115 ticket he got after one of the “gotcha” cams allegedly caught him driving in a bus lane.
Wright, brother of State Assemblyman Keith Wright and son of the late Criminal Court Judge Bruce “Turn ’Em Loose” Wright, is suing the Department of Finance to overturn the moving violation.
The 65-year-old Harlem resident says he was driving a 2005 Mazda MZ6, registered to his 94-year-old mom, northbound on First Avenue when he was caught by a camera at 23rd Street last Oct. 30 at 4:30 p.m., according to the suit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday.
He was ticketed for driving in a bus lane — but Wright says he has photos from the ground to prove he was just to the left of the designated lane.
The photos show two bus lanes on First Avenue with manhole covers visible in those spaces. Wright says his car, captured by the traffic cam, is to the left of the manholes, so he could not have been in a bus lane.
The city’s camera images, attached as exhibits to the lawsuit, are too blurry to make out where the Mazda is in relation to the lanes.
Wright also huffs that he wasn’t allowed to testify at a January hearing to protest the ticket — because the vehicle is registered to his mother and not him.
He claims that since his name is listed on the car’s title as a co-owner, he should have been allowed to testify.
In his suit, Wright trashes the traffic-court judge he faced, saying his fellow jurist “failed to perform his legal duty to properly review the evidence.”
The decision says the judge “entered a bus lane during restricted hours and did not make an immediate right-hand turn.”
The ruling adds, “The video evidence shows [Wright’s] vehicle entering and proceeding through the stated intersection in this offset bus lane, failing to make this right turn.”
A city Law Department spokeswoman said, “We will review the lawsuit upon receipt.”
Mayor de Blasio wants the state Legislature to green-light the installation of more of the controversial traffic cameras under a program started by his predecessor.
The judge’s brother, Assemblyman Wright, was also in the news recently on a traffic-related issue when his lawyer and a staff employee were pulled over for an alleged DWI bust on June 25.