Statement from Transportation Alternatives after Driver Hits and Kills Pedestrian Crossing Castleton Avenue on Staten Island

114 New Yorkers have been killed or seriously injured on Staten Island this year.

City Council District 49 ranks in the bottom 10 City Council districts for sidewalk space.

STATEN ISLAND — On Thursday evening, a pickup truck driver struck three pedestrians crossing Castleton Avenue, killing 66-year-old Staten Island resident Nilsa Cruz, and sending two other women to the hospital.

Castleton Avenue’s broad width encourages speeding, and the corridor lacks basic safety infrastructure such as daylighting, turn calming, and leading pedestrian intervals. This avenue is known to be dangerous: in 2023, an SUV driver seriously injured a pedestrian a block away from Thursday’s crash, at Castleton and Alaska Street, and in the same year, a sedan driver seriously injured an e-scooter rider at nearby Castleton and Taylor Street.

Transportation Alternatives’ Staten Island Committee will soon be launching a “Calm Castleton” campaign, calling for a road diet and the installation of Vision Zero safety improvements like leading pedestrian intervals, daylighting at intersections, and a protected bike lane on Castleton Avenue from downtown Staten Island to Port Richmond Avenue.

Statement from Rose Uscianowski, Staten Island and South Brooklyn Organizer at Transportation Alternatives:
“Around the time I began working at Transportation Alternatives, I was haunted by the tragic and far-too-early death of Alex Cordero, a 17-old-child who was killed by a tow truck driver while riding his bike with friends on Castleton Avenue on a beautiful summer day.

“Castleton Avenue is a running and biking route I use often. I regularly see evidence of crashes and reckless driving: dented crash barriers, donut tire tracks on the pavement, and car bumpers and broken glass strewn across the street.

“Hearing of another tragic and preventable death on Castleton Avenue so close to where Alex was killed underscores why the street needs immediate safety improvements. Castleton Avenue is a speedway lacking basic Vision Zero safety investments like adequate signalized crossings, leading pedestrian intervals, daylighting, or standardized lane widths. With these basic investments and dedicated spaces for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers, crossing the street or riding your bike with friends on Castleton Avenue doesn’t need to be a life or death decision.”

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Families for Safe Streets members — crash survivors or loved ones of crash victims — are available for interviews upon request.