‘This Is the Result of Inequitable Street Design’: Statement After Bike Rider Killed By Driver of Tractor-Trailer in East New York, Brooklyn

More people were injured in crashes in this district in the past two years than any other, with 3,209 injuries and 17 fatalities. City Council District 42 is 97 percent non-white and more than one in every four residents lives below the poverty line.

In the past five years, 128 people have been injured in traffic violence at this intersection.

Crashes have killed 171 people so far in 2022 — a 15 percent increase over the Vision Zero average, and just shy of 2021’s record-breaking fatalities.

BROOKLYN, NY — On Tuesday afternoon, the driver of a tractor-trailer struck and killed a 44-year-old person on a bike on Pennsylvania Avenue and Linden Boulevard in East New York, Brooklyn.

In the past five years alone, 128 people have been injured at this intersection, and a pedestrian was killed at this location in March 2022. Both streets are known to be among the city’s most dangerous, labeled by the city as Vision Zero Priority Corridors.

This is the result of inequitable street design. No other council district had more injuries in the past two years than the 3,209 in District 42 — where more than three-quarters of residents are Black and 97 percent are non-white, and where more than one in four residents lives below the poverty line.

Despite this, the city has not made the 11-lane, 150-foot-wide Linden Boulevard or the 7-lane, 78-f00t-wide Pennsylvania Boulevard safe. Despite the known dangers, there are no turn-calming measures installed, no leading pedestrian intervals, and no bike lanes at the intersection.

With this crash, traffic violence has now killed 171 people in 2022 — nearly even with 2021, the deadliest year under Vision Zero, and a 44 percent increase over 2018, the safest year under Vision Zero. This preventable fatality follows July 2022, the deadliest month in eight years of Vision Zero. In Brooklyn, 48 people have been killed in crashes. Citywide, 31 people on bikes, e-bikes, and other micromobility devices have been killed.

Statement from Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Danny Harris:

“All New Yorkers should be able to ride a bike without fear of death or serious injury on our streets. Yet as long as our streets are designed like highways, prioritizing the movement and storage of private vehicles above all else, people will continue to die.”

“The solutions to the crisis of traffic violence are simple – prioritize people over cars. Our city’s leaders must demonstrate the political will to repurpose space from cars and trucks and build physical infrastructure that protects all street users, and gives every New Yorker safe, equitable and sustainable options to travel around the five boroughs. ”

“We send our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the bike rider killed in East New York yesterday.”

Statement from Families for Safe Streets member Jessica Santana, whose brother Jose Ramos was killed by a driver in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn:

“Our hearts break for the loved ones of the bike rider killed in a crash with a giant tractor-trailer yesterday afternoon.”

“While nothing can erase the pain brought to our families because of preventable traffic violence, our city leaders can take concrete action today to stop traffic violence from happening in the future. By making the investments in street safety required by the NYC Streets Plan, our leaders can get Vision Zero back on track and protect more New Yorkers from the unspeakable pain of traffic violence.”

“We can prevent future crashes from happening when we expand what works. Mayor Adams, take action today to save lives.”

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