This Week: City Council Probes NYPD Crash Investigations

Even with new laws on the books designed to hold dangerous motorists accountable, NYPD still, by and large, allows drivers who maim or kill other people to get right back behind the wheel with little or no repercussions. Stories abound of police failing to follow up with crash witnesses, neglecting to use the legal tools at their disposal, and generally ignoring the seriousness of traffic violence as a widespread hazard. Public awareness of the problem heightened this winter as the family of slain cyclist Mathieu Lefevre pursued information from NYPD about the crash that killed their son, revealing mishandling of key evidence and bizarre inconsistencies in the investigative file.

On Wednesday the City Council Public Safety Committee and Transportation Committee are holding a joint oversight hearing looking into NYPD crash investigations and traffic enforcement. If you would like to testify at the hearing, you can send an e-mail to TA's Juan Martinez by this evening, with the subject line “Feb. 15.”

• Monday: Join the East Village Community Coalition and Local Spokes for a workshop to envision the East Village as a better neighborhood for cycling. 6:00 p.m.
• Wednesday: Peter Vallone and James Vacca hold a joint oversight hearing on NYPD crash investigations and traffic enforcement, titled “Proceeding with Caution – An Examination of NYPD’s accident response and enforcement of traffic rules relating to cars, bikes, and trucks." 10 a.m.
• Also Wednesday: A one-block extension of the 2nd Street bike lane, the permanent design of Forsyth Plaza, and a speed bump on Orchard are on the agenda of the Manhattan CB 3 Transportation Committee. 6:30 p.m.
• More Wednesday: The Museum of the City of New York hosts a panel about NYC DOT's innovative reallocation of city street space, featuring "Gridlock" Sam Schwartz, NYC DOT deputy commissioner Bruce Schaller, and the RPA's Jeff Zupan. Reservations required. 6:30 p.m.
• Thursday: NYC DOT takes its bike-share presentation to Chinatown for public information sessions in Mandarin and Cantonese. The Mandarin presentation starts at 3 p.m., and the Cantonese one starts at 4.
• Also Thursday: The public workshop to help design Fowler Square in Fort Greene is an important one for local residents to attend. Community Board 2 has voted for the plaza, but a small yet vocal contingent of opponents disrupted a plaza workshop last year. 6 p.m.
• And More on Thursday: Join Assembly Member Marcos Crespo and Transportation Alternatives' Rider Rebellion for a town hall discussion about how to improve transit in the Bronx. 6:30 p.m

Keep an eye on the calendar for updated listings. Got an event we should know about? Drop us a line.