What will the ascendance of new New York Governor Kathy Hochul mean for transportation safety in the state? According to a recent report by AMNY, transit safety groups are hopeful the answer will be good news for New Yorkers. Former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s resignation took effect earlier this week, with former Lieutenant Governor Hochul assuming the Governor’s office on […]
Personal Injury Law
Electric Scooters Come to the Bronx, with Safety Concerns in Tow
The launch of a new electric scooter sharing program in New York City has raised concerns about safety issues for motorists and pedestrians. According to a report by The Verge, scooter companies Bird, Lime, and VeroRide have installed one thousand scooters per company in the East Bronx as part of a pilot program to see how micromobility fares in […]
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 […]
Lawmakers Call for National Vision Zero to End Car Crash Deaths
Two lawmakers have introduced a resolution that would call for a “National Vision Zero” campaign, according to a recent report by StreetsBlog. Vision Zero is an effort to eliminate traffic fatalities. The resolution, introduced by Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Representative Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, calls on Congress and the Department of Transportation to “commit to working together […]
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 […]
NYC Construction Deaths Yield No-Tolerance Sweeps
New York City building inspectors are implementing “zero-tolerance sweeps” in the city’s job sites, according to a recent report by Construction Dive. The sweeps are in response to “three worker deaths in recent weeks, two of which were the result of falls,” according to the report, and have resulted in 322 sites shut down due to hazardous conditions. The […]
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 […]
Car Crash Legislation Stalls in New York Assembly
The New York Sate Assembly failed to pass street safety legislation before ending its legislative session last week. As StreetsBlog reports, even though the State Senate passed a bill empowering New York City to determine its own speed limits, the Assembly declined to hold a vote on the bill. State lawmakers could still call a special session […]
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 Local Councils May Give Millions to Child Sex Abuse Settlements
Of the approximately 82,500 child sex abuse claims filed against the Boy Scouts of America during its bankruptcy proceedings, almost 400 concern abuse that allegedly took place in New York, according to a recent report by the Buffalo News. There have also been 60 lawsuits filed in western New York, under the Child Victims Act, accusing “at least 38 […]
Study Finds Speeding Epidemic In New York City
A recent study by street safety advocacy group Transportation Alternatives has uncovered an epidemic of speeding in New York City, finding that 70% of drivers observed were driving faster than the speed limit. “Speeding drivers are a leading cause of death and injury on New York City streets,” the study notes, but because city officials “do not have control over speed […]
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 Bill Would Reduce Blood Alcohol Limit in New York
The New York state legislature is currently considering a bill that would reduce the legal blood alcohol limit in the state from .08 to 0.05. If the bill becomes law, New York would be the second state in the nation to reduce the legal blood alcohol limit to .05, after Utah. According to a report by the New […]
Traffic Violence in New York Continues in April
Twenty-five people were killed in road violence incidents in New York City last month, in what StreetsBlog describes as “the deadliest April since Mayor de Blasio took office in 2014,” during “the second deadliest year for road violence” during his administration. The statistics, outlined in data released by think take Transportation Alternatives, cast a grim pall over the city’s […]
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 […]
Boy Scouts Claimants Seek $103 Billion in Child Sex Abuse Claims
In a new development in the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy proceedings in Dover, Delaware, the committee representing child sex abuse victims has sought the court’s permission to “file its own reorganization plan” for the Boy Scouts. The Tort Claimants Committee argued in a motion filed last week that the reorganization plan proposed by the […]
How One City Eliminated Car Crash Deaths in Only Three Years
The city of Hoboken, New Jersey, has recorded zero traffic violence deaths for three years, an impressive feat which a recent report by Streetsblog recently attributed to the city’s commitment to its Vision Zero campaign. Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla launched the campaign in 2019, expanding its network of bicycle lanes by 38% in that year and 2020. Today Hoboken […]
New York Street Safety Activists Earn Car Crash Injury Investigation Win
A new bill passed by the New York City Council puts the city’s Department of Transportation in charge of “all vehicle crashes involving significant injury” rather than the New York Police Department. The new legislation, Intro 224-A, creates a “crash investigation and analysis unit” within the DOT which will also be tasked to recommend “safety-improving changes […]
Pedestrian Deaths from Car Crashes Increased in 2019 and 2020
American roads have grown more and more dangerous for pedestrians in recent years, according to a recent article by NPR, and statistics show they are especially deadly for minorities. Data gathered by the Governors Highway Safety Administration shows that “6,301 pedestrians were killed by vehicles on American streets” in 2019, an increase of 46% since 2010. The same time […]