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New York City’s new class of city council members are preparing to assume office. In advance of the new term, local publication StreetsBlog recently asked the incoming lawmakers about their transportation policy priorities. Not every incoming councilperson responded, but those who did offered a glimpse of the future of New York City’s streets. Below are […]
Personal Injury Law
Critic Blasts Bike Lane Progress in Upper East Side
A new column in StreetsBlog criticizes the slow, inconsistent pace of bicycle lane development in Manhattan’s east side. As safe streets activist Liam Jeffries writes, New York City’s Department of Transportation has begun turning temporary bike lanes established last year on 61st Street and 62nd Street into permanent fixtures. The temporary lanes were installed as an “emergency […]
Staten Island Files Child Sex Abuse Lawsuit Against Boy Scouts, Church
A Staten Island man has sued the Greater New York Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the Staten Island Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in Westerleigh, Staten Island, and the Archdiocese of New York allegations a Scout leader sexually abused him in the late 1970s, when […]
Study: SUVS May Be Connected to Rising Pedestrian Deaths
A new study published in the journal Economics of Transportation finds that the rise of “light trucks”—SUVs, minivans, and pickup trucks—in the US may be correlated with increases in pedestrian deaths from traffic crashes. According to a report by StreetsBlog, the study found that “as the number of SUVs on the street tripled from 2000 to 2019, pedestrian […]
Child Sex Abuse Survivors Sue New York Boy Scouts Council, Churches
A pair of child sex abuses against the Boy Scouts have been filed under the Child Victims Act in New York’s Chautauqua County, according to a recent report by the Observer. The Child Victims Act is a law allowing survivors of sexual abuse sue their abusers even in cases where the statute of limitation has passed. […]
New NYC Bill Would Increase Penalties for E-Bike Hit-and-Runs
New York State Senator Liz Krueger, who represents the Upper East Side of Manhattan, has introduced a bill that would “make it a felony for electric-vehicle riders to crash into someone and leave the scene,” according to a report by Steetsblog. The bill joins another proposal by State Senator Brad Hoylman of the Upper West Side which would […]
Women Are Afraid of Walking in Cities Because of Sexual Assault, Study Shows
A new study examining the gendered nature of urban design, published by Leading Cities, found that the risk of sexual assault disproportionately prevents women from walking around their cities. According to the study, 30% of women respondents said they either “always” or “very frequently” avoid walking around their cities because of fear, instead choosing other modes of transportation. […]
Boy Scouts and Child Sex Abuse Victims Agree on $850 Million Fund
A long-sought agreement between the Boy Scouts of America and attorneys representing tens of thousands of survivors of child sex abuse would create an $850 million compensation fund for the victims. According to a report on the agreement by the Associated Press, this agreement “would mark one of the largest sums in U.S. history involving cases of sexual abuse.” The restructuring […]
Ex-Boy Scouts Sue Staten Island Council, NY Archdiocese for Sex Abuse
A lawsuit recently filed in Staten Island, New York by 28 former Boy Scouts alleges that the Boy Scouts’ Staten Island Council and the Archdiocese of New York recruited boys to join the organization, where they were sexually abused. According to a report by the Staten Island Advance, the lawsuit alleges the abuse against the young Boy Scouts […]
Boy Scouts Propose New Settlement with Child Sex Abuse Victims
Last week the Boy Scouts of America announced in a proposal filed with its bankruptcy court in Delaware that it hopes to reach a settlement agreement in the near future with attorneys representing child sex abuse victims who have filed claims against the group. According to the New York Post, the Boy Scouts proposed placing assets worth $250 […]
NYC Devotes $39 Million to End Car Crashes on McGuinness Boulevard
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has committed to carving out nearly $40 million from the city’s budget to redesign Brooklyn’s McGuinness Boulevard, site of eleven pedestrian deaths and three cyclist deaths since 1995. According to StreetsBlog, a single 1.25-mile stretch of McGuinness Boulevard, from the Pulaski Bridge to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, has been […]
Boy Scouts Discloses Local Council Assets In Child Sex Abuse Case
The Boy Scouts of America’s local councils possess a total of roughly $3.3 billion in combined net assets, according to court filings described in a recent report by NBC. The disclosure followed arguments by attorneys representing victims of child sex abuse in the Boy Scouts that without information on the local councils’ assets, they would be unable […]
New York Safe Streets Activists Propose New Road Safety Legislation
Earlier this month a group of safe-streets lobbying groups in New York released the Crash Victims Rights and Safety Act, a collection of eight pieces of legislation “that will better support victims of traffic violence and make streets safer across New York State at a moment when traffic fatalities and speeding are both on the rise,” according […]
Insurance Company Would Pay $650 Million in Boy Scouts Sexual Abuse Claims
The Associated Press reported last week on a new development in the Boy Scouts of America’s bankruptcy proceedings: The Hartford, an insurance company, has said it will pay a sum of $650 million into a settlement trust for child sexual abuse victims who have filed claims against the Boy Scouts. The Hartford will in turn be released […]
New Abuse Lawsuit Filed Against Former Catholic Bishop in Albany
A recently filed lawsuit alleges that Howard Hubbard, a retired Catholic bishop in Albany, molested “an 11-year-old boy at a carnival more than 40 years ago,” according to the New York Post, which notes that this is the seventh lawsuit alleging that the former clergyman committed abuse. The new lawsuit, filed anonymously, alleges that when the […]
Another Sexual Abuse Allegation Against Staten Island Priest
A lawsuit recently filed in Staten Island alleges that former priest Ralph LaBelle sexually abused a boy after providing him with beer and hockey tickets, according to the Staten Island Advance. The lawsuit, one of several alleging that LaBelle molested parishioners, also names the Archdiocese of New York and St. Clare’s Roman Catholic Church in Great […]
NYC Bill Would Transfer Car Crash Investigation from NYPD to DOT
A new bill in the New York City Council would remove the New York Police Department’s authority to investigate car crashes, vesting that power instead with the city’s Department of Transportation. According to StreetsBlog, the bill is supported by City Council Speaker Corey Johnson but opposed by Mayor Bill de Blasio. In a statement to the publication, […]
New Research Finds Toxic Air in NYC Subways
New research has found that the New York City subway system contains toxic air quality, according to a new report in City and State. The research, published by NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine, took measurements of the air quality in 71 subway stations across the city, as well as in Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and Boston, during […]
Hospital Bedsore Risk Increases During Pandemic
Experts have expressed concerns that pressure injuries, also known as bedsores, have risen with the spike in hospitalizations during the Covid-19 pandemic. As such, according to a new report in USA Today, “hospitals are putting extra focus” on preventing bedsores, which more than 2.5 million people suffer from each year, according to a the National Pressure Injury Advisory […]
New York Alleges Child Sex Abuse Coverup by Buffalo Diocese
A lawsuit filed last month by New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, as well as three bishops associated with the Diocese, participated in the coverup of child sex abuse by its priests. According to the New York Times, the lawsuit represents the state’s first legal action against the […]
Under New York’s “Look-Back” Child Sex Abuse Survivors Can File Lawsuits After Statute of Limitation
On August 14, 2019, a New York state law took effect allowing adult survivors of child sex abuse to file lawsuits against their alleged abuser despite an expired statute of limitations. This look-back window was extended by Governor Andrew Cuomo earlier this yearin light of the Covid-19 pandemic, allowing victims an additional year to file such […]
Do NYC’s Bike Lanes Do Enough To Protect Cyclists?
A deadly crash in Queens has sparked heated discussions about bicycle safety in New York City. As Gothamist reports, a 35-year-old delivery worker driving a motorized scooter, Alfredo Cabrera Liconia, “was killed by the driver of a Bud Light truck” last Thursday. Video of the incident shows Liconia’s Scooter “trapped under the wheels of the semi-truck, […]
Construction Workers At Higher Risk of COVID-19, Study Finds
A new study published online in JAMA Network Open finds that construction workers may be at high risk of Covid-19 infection. Conducted by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and the Santa Fe Institute, the study asked whether construction work is associated with increased community transmission of Covid-19 as well as disproportionate fatalities in US construction workers. […]
Which Car Models Have the Most Accidents?
A recent study by the virtual insurance agent Insurify identified the ten car models associated with the most motor vehicle accidents. To arrive at its findings, Insurify looked at its database of “over 2.5 million car insurance applications.” When drivers apply for quotes via the website, according to its description, they enter information including their car’s […]
Does Daylight Savings Time Increase Medical Errors?
A new study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine finds that the springtime transition to Daylight Savings Time may result in an increase in medical errors made by healthcare orders. The study was published in August 2020 by a group of authors including Branu Prakash Kolla of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology at the Mayo Clinic; […]
