Statement from Transportation Alternatives after Traffic Violence Kills Eight New Yorkers, Including Three Pedestrians, a Cyclist, and a Child, over Labor Day Weekend
Traffic violence has killed 179 New Yorkers this year – the deadliest year to date under Vision Zero.
13 children have been killed so far in 2024, more than by this date in nine of the past ten years.
This is the 17th bike rider killed in 2024, more than were killed at this point in seven of the last ten years
NEW YORK — Over Labor Day weekend, traffic violence killed eight New Yorkers traveling around the five boroughs.
An impaired van driver hit and killed a bike rider in Williamsburg.
An SUV driver hit and killed a pedestrian in Bed-Stuy.
An SUV driver hit and killed a pedestrian in Highbridge.
A driver hit and killed a pedestrian in Pelham Bay.
A 15 year old and a 19 year old were killed while riding a moped in Whitestone.
A hit-and-run driver killed a motorcycle rider in Glendale.
A driver was killed during a police chase in Queens Village.
Both the cyclist killed in Williamsburg and the pedestrian killed in Bed-Stuy were hit on streets that have repeatedly proven to be dangerous.
46-year-old Luis Mendez was biking when an impaired driver hit him as well as two other vehicles along Union Avenue in South Williamsburg. Union Avenue has no protected bike lanes, despite 80 cyclist injuries along the corridor between Flushing and Metropolitan in just the last five years. Where Luis was killed, there are no bike lanes at all. Luis Mendez was the 7th person to be killed biking in Brooklyn so far this year, as many as were killed by this point in 2020, 2021, and 2022 combined.
Luis was killed just two blocks from Broadway and Lorimer Street, where another cyclist, John Paolicelli, was killed just six months ago.
The 63-year-old male pedestrian was standing at the intersection of Broadway and Myrtle Avenue when a driver hit and killed him. The intersection of Myrtle Avenue, Jefferson Street, and Broadway has had the highest number of reported cyclist and pedestrian injuries due to car crashes over the last five consecutive years in Bushwick.
Statement from Philip Miatkowski, Senior Director of Research and Policy at Transportation Alternatives:
“Traffic violence killed eight New Yorkers over Labor Day weekend — a devastating and preventable toll. We send our deepest condolences to the loved ones of those killed this weekend.”
“Whether they were riding bikes, crossing the street, or riding in a car, Mayor Adams and our city’s leaders had an obligation to keep them safe but failed them. Now, 2024 is on track to be the deadliest year since Vision Zero began in 2014.”
“New York City has the tools to keep people safe, including meeting the legal mandates of the NYC Streets Plan. When our leaders ignore dangerous streets, they turn deadly. Instead of falling further behind, Mayor Adams needs to put people first on our streets, and stop playing politics with street safety. We can’t afford to wait any longer.”
