Hevesi Sounds Sirens on LIE / Comptroller's car in apparent violation of NYC law
Newsday
By Robert Polner

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Democratic mayoral candidate Alan Hevesi was eased through a Long Island Expressway traffic jam with an emergency siren sounding and lights flashing yesterday-in apparent violation of the law.

Hevesi wasn't on city business, he was headed to a midday interview on the mayoral race in a chauffeur-driven city car, his office confirmed.

It's against the state's vehicle and traffic laws for a city car to operate with flashing lights and sirens in a non-emergency.

"We have no comment," comptroller spokeswoman Cathie Levine said flatly and repeatedly when asked about the incident.

It was 2:50 p.m. when Hevesi's car made a noisy, flashy appearance on the LIE east of the Woodhaven Boulevard exit in Queens.

As the dark, city-owned sedan sped along, Hevesi sat calmly in the front passenger seat, separated by lightly tinted windows from the stalled traffic.

On both sides of the expressway, construction crews were widening and rehabilitating the heavily used highway. Hevesi's car crossed lanes and forced other vehicles out of its path, including one driven by a Newsday reporter.

Hevesi, of Forest Hills, was heading to a 3 p.m. interview with WNBC-TV's Gabe Pressman on Republican businessman Michael Bloomberg's launch of his mayoral campaign.

Hevesi issued a traffic-safety study last month, urging the Giuliani administration to install hundreds of surveillance cameras to cut down on drivers ignoring red lights and other motor-vehicle laws.

John Kaehny, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, a nonprofit group, said that illegal use of lights and sirens is fairly common among city politicians.

"It's arrogant and inappropriate--and it poses a safety problem," he said.

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