Statement After Driver of Private Sanitation Truck Kills Pedestrian at Intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues in Brooklyn

Intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues Is In The Top One Percent of Most Dangerous Intersections in Brooklyn; Pedestrians Killed Here In 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2019

Ten People Have Been Killed In The Past Year On Atlantic Avenue Alone

There Have Been 46 Fatalities in 2022 — 53 Percent More Than This Point in 2021, The Deadliest Year Under Vision Zero

Statement from Executive Director Danny Harris:

“This afternoon, the driver of a private sanitation truck struck and killed a 62-year-old while he was crossing the street at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Flatbush Avenue. We send our deepest condolences to the victim’s family.”

“Atlantic and Flatbush is in the top one percent of most dangerous intersections in Brooklyn. This is not just an infuriating tragedy; it is a statistical inevitability in a city where the redesign of streets for safety has been delayed, defunded, and deprioritized. What happened today was predictable and preventable, if only city officials had cared enough to act. Ten people killed on the same street in one year is evidence of unconscionable levels of negligence. City officials have known for years how dangerous Atlantic Avenue is but have not taken the steps needed to save lives.” 

“We urge Mayor Adams and NYC DOT Commissioner Rodriguez to prioritize this intersection for significant safety improvements as part of their plan to build 1,000 safer intersections. New York State lawmakers must also pass the entire Crash Victim Rights and Safety Act this year to equip us with more tools to keep New Yorkers safe.”
“Traffic violence is a crisis in our city, and we need leaders to act with bold action now to prevent any more bloodshed on our streets.” 

Additional information on background:

In late 2021, Transportation Alternatives presented a redesign plan for the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Flatbush Avenue as part of the NYC 25x25 vision  to provide tailored solutions for the most dangerous and inefficient intersections in each borough.

On Atlantic Avenue, Transportation Alternatives found evidence of a massive misallocation of street space, with deadly consequences: 

• Atlantic Avenue is 117 feet wide and over 80 percent of that space is dedicated to moving or storing vehicles, leaving 18 percent for pedestrians, and no dedicated space for buses or bicycles.

• The car and parking lanes stretch 94 feet, which could fit a nine-lane highway.

• Nearly 70 percent of households within walking distance of Atlantic Avenue do not own a car.

• The Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center subway station is one of the busiest in New York, with 44,000 daily riders — 98 percent of whom walk to the station, where sidewalks are sometimes only five feet wide and 94 wide feet streets are treacherous to cross.

In NYC DOT’s most recent Borough Pedestrian Safety Action Plan, Flatbush Avenue was the most dangerous street in Brooklyn, based on the number of people killed and injured there. Flatbush Avenue notably held the same number one position four years prior. Atlantic and Avenues are part of the nine percent of street miles that are responsible for 51 percent of pedestrians killed and severely injured in Brooklyn.

More pedestrians have been killed in Brooklyn over the last 12 months than any other 12 month period under Vision Zero.

February 2022 was the deadliest February citywide and the deadliest February in Brooklyn since at least 2008 — the earliest date where public records are available.