In Her Own Words: ‘Nobody Is Envying Us Today, Zohran’
Mary Beth Kelly is one of the founders of Families for Safe Streets, the safety advocacy organization comprised of victims of road violence. Her membership in this somber club was stamped on a horrific day in 2006 when her husband Carl Henry Nacht was run down by a tow-truck driver on the West Side Highway. She’s not a paid lobbyist, but a widow whose decades of advocacy and personal loss are incorruptible. The power of her words over the years have led to lasting change in our city. But last night, at the Transportation Alternatives’ die-in at City Hall, she directed her frustration at Mayor Mamdani. We are reprinting her comments in full.
I am so sorry that we are gathered here because of the deaths that have taken place over the course of one week, three cyclists and one pedestrian. Yes, City Hall, there’s blood in our streets. I am sorry if that sounds strong, but we have to be strong about this. I have been doing this kind of effort for safe streets for the last 20 years, when my husband, Dr. Carl Henry Nacht, was killed, it was a beautiful evening like this when we went out on our bikes for a ride to get some dinner and enjoy ourselves when a tow truck took a fast turn into our intersection, missed me but killed him.
I thought a lot today about these four people who have died, and I think about them being left on the street to die. Hit and runs — and we have no one apprehended in this city where you’ve got cameras just about everywhere. No apprehension.
I think about these young people: Mamadou [Diallo], Paulina [Tec Choc], Angelo [Camera], Destiny [Murrell]. Think about that —the hopes and dreams riding on a girl named Destiny. At least I was with my husband, and I watched as he tried, with his remaining strength, to push himself up off the pavement until he lapsed into a coma and died three days later from his injuries.
Where’s the plan here? We are seven months into a new administration, Zohran — and I hope it’s OK that I use your first name because we’ve met several times and I canvassed like hell for you, because you, I believe, are the mayor we’ve been waiting for, who can make the changes in hearts and minds and on our streets that we so badly need.
I never dreamed that it would take 20 years, and I’d still be standing here asking for the same things. We’ve come a long way: We’ve lowered the speed limit, but not far enough. Took us four years in Albany to pass Sammy’s law, and now it’s pretty stalled, with only a few places are getting their 20 or 15 miles an hour in their neighborhoods.
This carnage has to stop, and we need a master plan, a vision from a visionary mayor who wants our streets to be the envy of the world. Nobody is envying us today, Zohran. I’m sorry, but they’re not. They’re saying, “Oh yeah, ha ha. They can’t do it either.”
And don’t make this about e-bikes, the favorite topic now. I’m sorry. It’s not about e-bikes, and you know what, Zohran, it’s not about wearing a helmet. I wear my helmet every day. It doesn’t matter if I’m hit by a truck. If you’re a child that’s hit at 30 miles an hour, you will die.
So I ask this community. I ask this city. I ask its leadership. I ask its appointed and elected. Mike Flynn, I’m talking to you. We need universal daylighting. We need a lowered speed limit. We need a network of bike lanes. I’m 76 years old. I ride my bike in the city every day. I don’t want to have to feel more and more frightened. I want to feel a little bit relaxed when I go out on my bike, that this city is taking care of me because our elected officials have the political courage to make this happen and become the envy of the world.
We’re having a die in today because we are trying to do what we can to honor and remember those people who unwillingly gave up their lives because we do not have a city that is safe enough for people to just walk and bike in. This is about life, liberty, and the pursuit of joy.
[Streetsblog reached out to City Hall for comment and will update this story when we hear back.]
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