Last month New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced an agreement to improve accessibility in 95% of subway stations in New York City that currently lack elevators or ramps. According to a press release by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the agreement is part of a class-action settlement between the MTA and accessibility advocates. While it is […]
Public Transportation Accidents
NYPD Announces Increased Traffic Enforcement; Critics Skeptical
The New York Police Department announced it will increase enforcement of traffic violations this week, as at least a million young New Yorkers return to school. The crackdown will primarily target drivers who “fail to yield to pedestrian and cyclists,” according to a report by the New York Daily News. The announcement follows two years of rising traffic violence fatalities, with […]
Long-Awaited Safety Measures Come to Brooklyn Avenue
The New York City Department of Transportation announced last week that it would implement safety measures along a segment of Brooklyn’s Wythe Avenue where a cyclist was struck and killed last year, and where other pedestrians and cyclists have been injured over the years. The DOT said specifically that it would erect physical barriers separating the bike lane from the traffic […]
Incoming Queens Lawmakers Call for Safe Transit
The incoming New York City Council members for the borough of Queens recently told StreetsBlog about the issues they plan to prioritize when they assume office. Below are summaries of each incoming lawmaker’s response, save for one soon-to-belawmaker who didn’t respond. Their full answers are available via StreetsBlog. In District 19, which includes Bayside and North […]
Incoming Brooklyn Lawmakers Push for Safe, Clean Transit
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 […]
New York’s New Governor Raises Focus on Transportation Issues
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
New York City Council Candidate Proposes Bronx Street Safety Initiatives
New York City Council candidate John Sanchez recently laid out his plan for making the streets of The Bronx safer for cyclists and pedestrians. In an essay on StreetsBlog NYC, Sanchez described the key elements of his plan, which include protected bike lanes, curtailing parking, and better street design. “As a lifelong resident of The Bronx, I want my neighborhood […]
NYC Cyclist Fatalities Predominantly Low-Income, Analysis Shows
Many of the cyclists killed by motor vehicles in 2020 were low-income essential workers, according to a recent analysis by StreetsBlog. There were 243 victims of vehicle-related deaths last year, 26 of whom were cyclists. As StreetsBlog notes, 2020 was “the second deadliest [year] for traffic violence during Mayor de Blasio’s seven years in office.” The analysis argues that […]
Why Is New York City One of the Worst Places To Drive?
A new study by WalletHub, a financial advice and information website, ranked the hundred biggest cities in the United States according to 31 metrics of “driver-friendliness.” The study identified the best and worst cities to drive in according to “key indicators” like gas prices, hours of traffic congestion per auto commuter, number of auto repair shops, number […]
Is “Carmageddon” Coming For NYC?
A new analysis by City & State suggests that New York City might be at risk of “Carmageddon,” a phenomenon in which residents returning to work after the pandemic forsake public transportation for private cars, risking increased congestion, traffic deaths, and poor air quality in the city. According to the report, 80% of commutes into Manhattan were on […]
New York Lawmakers to Revisit Scaffold Law
New York lawmakers are revisiting the state’s century-old scaffolding law that requires construction companies to cover the full cost of all workplace injuries. According to The New York Daily News, the recent conversation about reforming New York’s construction safety laws comes at the behest of the Trump administration and the construction industry, which are looking for ways […]
Five Years After Metro-North Derailment, An Overdue Reckoning with Rail’s Safety
Recent train and subway accidents have led to renewed attention to the 2013 Metro-North derailment that killed four and injured dozens. After an investigation by LoHud.com showed that the Metro-North Railroad still had not installed the required safety equipment to prevent another crash, Connecticut Senator Blumenthal and New York Senator Chuck Schumer called for the railroad to speed up its efforts. On December 1, […]
Dodging Responsibility, MTA Tries to Make Homeless Man With No Assets Pay for Verdict
The Metropolitan Transit Authority, responsible for running New York City’s subways and buses, is attempting to dodge responsibility and pin a $30-million award on a homeless man. In 2012, Naeem Davis, described as “homeless” and “a drifter” by the New York Post, pushed Ki Suck Han in front of a subway train. Arguing that he was […]
Train Accidents Are More Common Than You Think
On March 24, a train accident occurred in Mentz, NY resulting in the death of a passenger in the vehicle. The accident occurred at the North Main Street railroad station when a work van drove around the flashing lights and horizontal bars that signaled a train coming; one person was ejected from the vehicle and died. The […]
MTA Driver Killed, Three Injured, after Stolen Truck Collides with Bus in the City
William Pena, 49, a 17-year veteran of the MTA and a father of a 14-year-old daughter, was killed in February 2014 after a stolen box truck driven by Domonic Whilby, 22, crashed into the bus he was driving in Greenwich Village. According to police, Pena was thrown from the driver’s seat and landed under the […]
Summary Judgment Affirmed for NYC Transit in Personal Injury Action
On May 1st, the Second Department affirmed a summary judgment ruling in favor of a defendant NYC bus in a personal injury case involving a fall. The plaintiff had sued for personal injury after falling inside the bus when the driver stopped short. The defendant, New York City Transit Authority, was granted summary judgment by […]
New York Personal Injury Attorney Report: School Bus Driver Involved in Queens Hit and Run
A Queens school bus driver was apprehended shortly after colliding with an MTA bus in Corona yesterday afternoon, according to a Daily News report. Fortunately no children were on the school bus at the time. However, sixteen people in total were injured. A driver involved in a car, bus or trucking accident that hits another […]
Second Department Affirms Setting Aside Jury Verdict in Long Island Motor Vehicle Suit
A Second Department ruling last month affirmed a Suffolk County court’s decision to set aside a jury verdict finding that a defendant bus driver was not negligent in the operation of his vehicle. The jury initially found that the driver, who had been traveling along the shoulder of Montauk Highway and passing cars traveling on […]
Jury Awards Woman $20M+ in Damages after Queens Bus Accident
In August, a Queens jury awarded damages in excess of 20 million dollars to a woman struck by an MTA bus in Long Island City. The plaintiff, a housekeeper, was awarded summary judgment after a surveillance video established that the pedestrian had the right of way. The bus did not yield and struck the plaintiff. […]
Seven Hurt in Brooklyn School Bus Accident
A traffic accident involving a Brooklyn school bus and another vehicle left seven injured on Monday. Among those hurt in the crash were three children. No serious injuries were reported among the three children. Although, according to witnesses, the other driver ran a stop sign, police have not, as yet, filed criminal charges in the […]
