Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
NYPD

Streetfilms Shorties: NYPD Traffic Agents Wave Drivers Into People

1:48 PM EST on December 9, 2011

Last month we noted that Ray Kelly's NYPD made a highly visible show of bike enforcement in Prospect Park in response to a pair of crashes where cyclists injured pedestrians. Normally, police don't react so decisively to locations with high crash rates, but in Prospect Park, the 78th quickly handed out more tickets to cyclists at one spot than they do to speeding motorists in the whole precinct in an average month.

If only NYPD targeted the most dangerous intersections with similar vigor. Streetfilms' Clarence Eckerson and Streetsblog publisher Mark Gorton went out to Canal and Lafayette, which saw 13 crashes in the month of August alone, to see how traffic is being policed. Here's what they found.

Ben Fried
Ben Fried started as a Streetsblog reporter in 2008 and led the site as editor-in-chief from 2010 to 2018. He lives in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, with his wife.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Canal Street

Friday’s Headlines: Canal Street Follies Edition

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine isn't happy. Plus otherness.

April 26, 2024
Daylighting

Daylight Again: Bronx Community Board Backs Parking Ban at Intersections

The Boogie Down is down with daylighting!

April 26, 2024
Prospect Lefferts Gardens

Community Board Wants Protected Bike Lane on Empire Blvd.

Brooklyn Community Board 9 wants city to upgrade Empire Boulevard's frequently blocked bike lane, which serves as a gateway to Prospect Park.

April 26, 2024
Streetsblog USAPodcast

The Brake: Why We Can’t End Violence on Transit With More Police

Are more cops the answer to violence against transit workers, or is it only driving societal tensions that make attacks more frequent?

April 26, 2024
Carnage

Report: Road Violence Hits Record in First Quarter of 2024

Sixty people died in the first three months of the year, 50 percent more than the first quarter of 2018, which was the safest opening three months of any Vision Zero year.

April 25, 2024
See all posts