Statement from Transportation Alternatives After Driver Hits and Kills Pedestrian in Hit-and-Run Crash on Fulton Street, a Priority Street for Biking Criminal Summons

Recently the NYPD began giving out criminal summonses to bike riders for low-level infractions. Drivers still only receive traffic tickets for these same infractions.

Fulton Street is a Vision Zero priority corridor and one of the top 10 most dangerous streets for pedestrians in all of Brooklyn. Since 2022, there have been 56 fatalities or serious injuries along Fulton – about one every tenth of a mile.

BROOKLYN, NY — Over the weekend, a hit-and-run driver hit and killed a pedestrian on Fulton Street in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. This is now the second-deadliest year to date for Brooklyn pedestrians during all of Vision Zero, with 31% more fatalities than average.

Recently, the NYPD changed decades-long policy, and began giving out criminal summonses to bike riders for low-level traffic violations. Drivers still only receive traffic tickets for these same violations. Fulton Street was singled out, among four other streets in Brooklyn, for priority enforcement of this new policy. Over the weekend, a man was hit and killed on Fulton Street by the driver of a Ford Explorer.

Transportation Alternatives has been fighting for Clinton Hill Safe Streets since 2021, when Baby Apolline was killed just a few blocks from this crash. The campaign is demanding pedestrian islands, curb extensions, dedicated loading zones, two-way protected bike lanes, and raised crosswalks throughout the neighborhood.

Statement from Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Ben Furnas:

“We are heartbroken and angry to hear that a New Yorker was hit and killed by a driver over the weekend. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and entire community.

“Instead of giving out criminal summonses for bicycling, the administration needs to focus on actually making New York City’s streets safe. The NYPD has singled out Fulton Street for increased enforcement and is prioritizing criminal summonses on the corridor, but the City has done little to make the street safer for pedestrians. We’ve been calling for safe streets infrastructure throughout Clinton Hill for years, but instead of the proactive changes we deserve, the City is focused on criminalizing biking on one of the neighborhood’s most dangerous streets. 

“This weekend’s traffic violence should be a call to action — and our elected leaders must focus on infrastructure solutions and policy solutions including Stop Super Speeders in Albany. Criminalizing biking makes no one safer. Building safe streets infrastructure and preventing reckless speeding makes everyone safer.” 

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