Sure, the presidential election comes down to today, and the choice really matters, but forgive us if we peer through our narrow parochial lens and wish we saw a presidential candidate — ever — address the nation's road violence epidemic.
Roughly twice as many people are killed in car crashes in this country than are murdered, but to hear our candidates discuss violence, it's as if every single American is the victim of a violent crime while a preventable form of violence is just the fair price of the freedom to move around in 5,000-pound vehicles.
Closer to home, of course, we have pols who talk about Vision Zero, but the "zero" part stays on the horizon. So far this year, more than 97 pedestrians have been killed in crashes — far above the average of the past few years. And the past few days have been particularly bloody:
- A hit-and-run Toyota driver killed a man in Harlem late on Sunday. (NYDN)
- A man fleeing police late on Saturday killed a cyclist in Harlem. (NY Post)
- Another 66-year-old killed by an SUV driver in Canarsie while crossing the street
- A motorcyclist fatally struck by a driver in Maspeth
- A pedestrian critically injured in Astoria by a hit-and-run driver
- Two cyclists struck by a driver who fell asleep at the wheel in Clinton Hill
- A driver critically injured in a single-vehicle crash in Coney Island
- An e-scooter rider critically injured in a single-vehicle crash in Central Park. (Upper East Site)
Most of those didn't have links because the NYPD didn't put out information on them. That was the case in the killing of 13-year-old Nyell McCorey by a driver on the Upper West Side. As we reported, she died on Friday from injuries sustained in that Oct. 24 crash, but police never even put out basic information about the death of the beloved student at M.S. 421.
Her father poured his heart out on Instagram, posting baby pictures:
In other news:
- We mentioned yesterday that a driver fleeing police killed a cyclist in Harlem over the weekend, but last month in Inwood, more NYPD squad cars sowed havoc on children-filled streets, Gothamist reported. Funny thing is, those Manhattan cops are apparently going to be retrained, the outlet reported, while cops in the 114th Precinct in Astoria speed merrily along.
- The Daily News and Hell Gate had more on the coming A-train shutdown in the Rockaways. And, of course, Andrew Cuomo thinks he can do better, the Times reported.
- Henry Grabar wrote in Slate about the demise of outdoor dining (like we did, if you missed our coverage yesterday).
- Uber is out to squeeze drivers even more. (NY Post)
- A road raging Queens driver shot two people. (NYDN)
- And, finally, set your calendars for Wednesday when the Department of Transportation will present to a central Brooklyn community board a plan for protected and painted bike lanes. Get all the information about the online 6:30 p.m. meeting by clicking here.
