I sincerely dedicate my prayers to the family and loved ones of those lost during the two separate crashes that occurred today. The high number of vehicular accidents must be treated as a New York City emergency. It is unacceptable that within the first week of the New Year we have lost 4 lives to vehicular crashes.
Today, within 24-hours, we lost two people in Queens and Brooklyn killed in separate crashes involving trucks. The first was a 10-year-old boy who was walking alongside his mother when a multi-ton Sanitation truck struck them, killing the boy. The second was Mrs. Fraidy Weider a 68-year-old resident of Borough Park, who was struck and killed by a cement truck as she was crossing the street. These two New Yorkers represent some of the most vulnerable communities we have in our City. We must act now and ensure that no other pedestrian or cyclist loses their life.
We need to ensure that all municipal trucks in the City have side-guards to increase the protections for all New Yorkers. Side-guards have proven to minimize the chances of a pedestrian getting caught in between the wheels of multi-tons vehicles. Additionally, we must separate the time in which pedestrians and vehicles cross a street and intersections. These changes will have lifesaving impacts on our communities. Enough is enough, we cannot see another death.
In the coming weeks, we will be holding a round-table discussion with City Hall, The Department of Transportation (DOT), Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), New York City Police Department (NYPD), The Trucking Association of New York (TANY), and other stakeholders. Our goal is to discuss and address the recent pedestrian road fatalities to find the best solutions and practices to ensure we keep all New Yorkers safe. As Chairman of the Transportation Committee I am committed to make New York City the most walkable, pedestrian and cyclist friendly city in our nation.
Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, 250 Broadway, Suite 1763, New York, NY 10007
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