Could this time be different? Could city officials respond to the killing of a child by a driver by unleashing a bounty of street safety efforts that could include road diets, protected bike lanes, car-free streets and, perhaps most important, no longer exempting city drivers from state rules barring parking within 20 feet of a corner?
Or will we just end up with maybe a parking space or two removed for daylighting, or just a small plaza replacing a street drivers didn't need anyway, as we got after 3-month-old Apolline Mong-Guillemin was killed in Fort Greene?
Well, thousands of parents want the city to do better. As Streetsblog's David Meyer reported on Sunday, scores of parents continue to sign an "open letter" demanding road safety that began circulating hours after Kamari Hughes, 7, was killed on Thursday. By Saturday afternoon, it had 3,800 signatures. By Sunday evening, it had more than 4,700.
In addition to those parents' efforts, the Parent, Teacher, Student Organization at the Brooklyn Prospect Charter School has started planning a "network-wide march" for safety on Saturday, Nov. 4, starting at 80 Willoughby St. in Downtown Brooklyn at noon. The march is still being planned, but it's going to require all of us.
In other news:
- Speaking of protests, the big story this weekend was how streets (and Grand Central) were repurposed as space for people to express their First Amendment right to support the Palestinian people (NY Post, times two, NY Times, Gothamist), rallies that included the NYPD's chilling use of drones to identify protesters (NY Post).
- We've been writing for weeks about the demise of the failed Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program, so we were pleased that amNY and Hell Gate joined the party.
- Brooklyn writer Sonja Anderson put traffic and road safety in one of its many contexts, bemoaning how much online shopping New Yorkers do, despite how easy it is to get everything one needs in close proximity. Too bad Anderson couldn't squeeze in a reference to our friend Komanoff's proposed e-commerce fee, state Sen. Andrew Gounardes's online delivery fee, or Assembly Member Bobby Carroll's delivery fee (NY Times)
- A driver struck and killed a man on a Bronx street on Saturday. (NYDN)
- And two motorcyclists were also killed. (amNY)
- Speaking of the ever-present carnage on New York City roads, the Post got a hold of the video of crossing guard Krystyna Naprawa being killed by a truck driver as she did her job — protecting kids — at the dangerous corner of Atlantic Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard earlier this month. The video suggests that the driver of the truck simply did not care. All he got, though, was a ticket for failing to yield to a pedestrian and failure to use due care.
- The NYPD put out a press release about an officer arrested for defacing a plate ... but then didn't answer our questions about it. An outlet called The Bronx Daily at least printed the press release, but no other outlet covered this outrage.
- A tech firm wants to put lipstick on the pig of those massive 5G towers that everyone hates. (NY Post)
- The car-friendly Times Metropolitan Diary finally led with a Staten Island guy who used multiple forms or public transportation to get a slice of Junior's cheesecake.
- New York's return-to-office rate is similar to other cities'. (Crain's)
- The must-read off the street safety beat was Hell Gate's piece about the enduring — and inexplicable — appeal of non-writer Fran Lebowitz.
- And, finally, here's how they do summer streets in L.A.:
When LA shuts down its freeway for pedestrians…this is what happens! 💕 @ Arroyo Fest pic.twitter.com/kkvKZ16lAL
— Hayley Smith (@whereishayley) October 29, 2023
