Transportation Alternatives and Families for Safe Streets Statements After SUV Driver Kills Pedestrian Crossing Street in Wheelchair in Kensington

Crashes have killed 127 people so far in 2023 — a 25% increase over this point in 2018, the safest year under Vision Zero.

There have been eight reported crashes at this site since June 2018, including one bike rider death and seven reported injuries.

BROOKLYN, NY — On Sunday afternoon, the driver of a Lexus SUV struck and killed 68-year-old Joyce Greenberg as she crossed the street in a wheelchair at McDonald and Webster Avenues in Kensington, Brooklyn.

DOT designated this area as a Vision Zero Senior Pedestrian Priority Area in 2022 and Bike Priority Area in 2017, indicating the need for street designs that protect older New Yorkers and people riding bikes. Despite this, no physical infrastructure has been built to shorten crossings for pedestrians, protect bike riders, or increase visibility at intersections through daylighting for vulnerable street users, including those who use wheelchairs.

Research shows that people using wheelchairs are more than a third more likely to be killed in a crash than pedestrians who do not use them.

The intersection lacks any conventional bike lane, protected bike lane, pedestrian islands, turn calming or curb and sidewalk extensions despite the known dangers as a Priority Corridor which the DOT found in a 13-year long study to reduce pedestrian killed and severely injured rates by 16%, 29%, 30%, 33%, and 45% respectively.

Borough Park, which borders this crash location, is ranked as the ninth-most dangerous neighborhood in NYC for senior pedestrians, with 1,574 senior pedestrian injuries per 100,000 seniors in 2022. 

The rise of SUVs has also had deadly consequences for New Yorkers. The size and weight of a vehicle are the main factor determining whether a person survives a crash. A pedestrian struck by an SUV or pickup truck is 41% more likely to die than a pedestrian struck by a sedan at the same speed. At present, 60% of all registered vehicles in New York City are SUVs and light trucks. 

Statement from Danny Harris, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives:

“Crossing the street should not be a life or death endeavor, yet time after time it is. Our streets must be safe for all New Yorkers, especially for those who use wheelchairs or other mobility aids to get around the city. We send our deepest condolences to the loved ones of Joyce Greenberg.”

“The legally-mandated NYC Streets Plan, which received $904 million from Mayor Adams and the City Council, gives New York City the tools to make intersections like this one safe, while also bringing more transportation options to all New Yorkers. This plan requires the political will of our leaders to make it happen. As more New Yorkers die and face injury on our streets, we don’t need more plans, studies, and promises — we need our leaders to build safe streets now.”

Statement from Families for Safe Streets member Elke Weiss:

“Last year, my 99-year-old grandfather Jack Mikulincer was killed by an SUV as he crossed the street in his wheelchair on his way to prayers in Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn. That day I lost my best friend, who had survived the Holocaust, because our leaders prioritized drivers’ convenience over his life.”

“Older people, and people with disabilities, are disproportionately killed. Wheelchair users are lower to the ground, and are often harder to see. At the city level, daylighting intersections or controlling the ever increasing size of vehicles on our roads will save lives. Mr. Mayor, we need you to work to ensure that no additional New Yorkers, like my beloved grandfather or Joyce Greenberg, die in preventable crashes on our streets. You have the power to save lives. Please use it without delay.”