NYC Hits 600 Red Light Camera Intersections, State Max

New York City has reached the ceiling. With cameras now installed at 450 additional intersections, red light enforcement covers 600 locations across the five boroughs, the maximum the state allows, according to a report from 6sqft.

The city says the cameras are doing what they were meant to do. At camera locations, red-light running has fallen by more than 80 percent, according to figures cited in the report. Injuries from rear-end collisions are down 60 percent, and injuries from T-bone crashes, the kind that tend to happen when a driver blows through an intersection at speed, have dropped 70 percent.

The expansion traces back to Albany. In 2024, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill widening red light camera programs across the state, and it allowed New York City to install cameras at 600 intersections by 2027. The previous cap was 150. The city now has all 600 up and running.

The city’s Department of Transportation decides where the cameras go by studying data on T-bone crashes and injuries caused by drivers running red lights, rather than spreading them evenly across the map.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani framed the milestone as a matter of proven tools. “Safer streets aren’t a guessing game—we know the tools proven to keep New Yorkers safe. Red light cameras help us get home safely by holding dangerous drivers accountable and preventing crashes before they happen,” he said. He added: “With all 600 intersections up and running, we are stopping dangerous behavior before tragedy can strike and making our streets safer for everyone who walks, bikes, drives or takes the bus.”

The enforcement numbers offer a window into who gets ticketed. According to the city, 95 percent of vehicles caught running red lights in 2025 received no more than one or two violations, which suggests the program is catching occasional offenders far more often than chronic ones. About 39 percent of violations go to vehicles registered outside New York City.

The penalty is modest: drivers who run a red light can receive a $50 fine. Even so, the program has proven a significant source of money. As 6sqft previously reported, it generated $20 million in net revenue in 2024.

With the state cap now reached, any further growth would require another act of the Legislature. For now, the city’s focus shifts from building out the network to what the data says about it, and whether the safety gains seen at camera locations hold as drivers grow accustomed to a denser web of enforcement.