No one should die on a New York City street without some accountability — but accountability is exactly what city officials are apparently trying to avoid in the death last week of Armando Gonzalez.
According to the Department of Transportation's statement, Gonzalez, 67, was riding his stand-up e-scooter westbound on Beverley Road on Aug. 13 at around 2:20 p.m. when he "struck a defect in the roadway, causing him to be thrown to the pavement and sustain trauma to the head."
He died on Aug. 21, the agency finally said on Monday, six days later. We immediately sent reporter Dave Colon to the spot where Gonzalez suffered his fatal head wound and discovered this:
It doesn't look like much, but that divot is big when you're on an e-scooter.Dave Colon
The neutral wording of the Department of Transportation's statement is somewhat infuriating: Gonzalez "struck a defect in the roadway." Is it not the agency's main task to ensure the safety of road users, specifically the most vulnerable among them? Why hasn't the "defect" been fixed yet, given that it caused the death of a man more than a week ago?
The agency's answer was less than satisfactory: According to DOT spokesperson Mona Bruno, the defect in the roadway was caused by the utility company, National Grid — which the agency determined after an inspection of the site 15 days after the crash and seven days after Gonzalez's death.
"We notified the utility company to make the repairs," Bruno said.
Oddly, DOT tweeted about potholes after we asked our questions yesterday afternoon:
The 1, 2 and 3 trains were off-scheduled for eight hours thanks to a 127-year-old water main burst and flooded Times Square-42nd Street station. Officials took two hours to turn off the water, but the MTA did a good job restoring service. (The City, Gothamist)
Seemingly permanent fencing protects Fort Greene Park from dirty park-going New Yorkers. (Curbed)
Paging 2013 — Uber is automatically dispatching taxis for e-hail trips, amNY reports.
London's mayor has given up on a plan to create a "zero emissions zone" in the center of the city, but is sticking by his proposed "ultra low emission zone." (Financial Times)
Con Ed is making the green energy transition as difficult as possible. (The City)
The Daily News led a story about the death of one moped rider with a victim-blaming quote from the grieving family of another dead moped rider. The more recent victim, James Ferguson, "struck a parked and unoccupied vehicle" while attempting to make a turn, according to police. It's not clear if the car was legally parked.
An MTA worker was attacked by a passenger he woke up to get off the train. (Daily News)
And finally, a question from our Streetsblog USA colleague Kea Wilson:
So, a lot of credible climate experts say that we need to either walk, bike or take transit for 40% of the miles we travel by 2040 to avert the worst of climate change. Curious: what do you estimate your percentage is right now? No judgment.
David was Streetsblog's do-it-all New York City beat reporter from 2015 to 2019. He returned as deputy editor in 2023 after a three-year stint at the New York Post.
"I really would think that our mayor would be a little bit more active and speak with us, because he hasn't really made any time with riders. We're not the enemy. We just want better bus service."
Justin Sherwood and his lawyer will pocket $152,000 to settle his federal civil rights suit against the city and several officers who harassed him following his 311 calls.