Enough is Enough: 3 Year-Old's Death Could Have Been Prevented

Families for Safe Streets co-founder Amy Cohen responds to a crash in which 3-year-old Emur Shavkator was struck and killed by a van driver in a crosswalk in Bath Beach, Brooklyn

A three-year-old boy identified as Emur Shavkator was struck and killed by a van driver at the corner of Bay 25th Street and Benson Avenue in Bath Beach, Brooklyn on Thursday afternoon. Emur was riding a scooter in a crosswalk and had the right of way, according to early reports. 

Statement of Amy Cohen, co-founder of Families for Safe Streets: 

“This tragic crash could have been prevented. And perhaps it would have been, if the safety improvements requested by City Council Member Mark Treyger for the very location where Emur was struck had not been denied. 

It’s time to say enough is enough. For too long, New York City’s Vision Zero policy has relied upon individuals begging for safety on a street-by-street, intersection-by-intersection basis. And although we’ve seen progress in years past, the death toll on our streets has taken an alarming swing upwards in 2019. If we’re going to get serious about eliminating traffic deaths, we need a new approach. We need a Vision Zero policy that makes safe streets a matter of course. 

That’s why we’re counting on the City Council and Mayor de Blasio to pass the Vision Zero Street Design Standard bill, which would require the city to provide a public checklist of known life-saving measures whenever streets are redesigned. The bill has an unprecedented super-majority of 43 council members signed on as co-sponsors. There’s no reason it shouldn’t be law already. It must be enacted immediately. 

The entire Families for Safe Streets community sends its deepest sympathy to Emur’s family. This Sunday at 6:30 p.m. we will join Council Member Treyger to stand vigil at the site of the crash. All are welcome.”