Brad Aaron
Brad Aaron began writing for Streetsblog in 2007, after years as a reporter, editor, and publisher in the alternative weekly business. Brad adopted New York's dysfunctional traffic justice system as his primary beat for Streetsblog. He lives in Manhattan.
Recent Posts
City Council Prods NYPD to Map Crime Data … Except Traffic Crime
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Last week, the City Council passed a bill that should revolutionize the way New Yorkers access NYPD crime data. For the first time, crime stats will be mapped, and will be searchable by precinct, area code, and street address. The data will be filed with the city Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, which will […]
Trolley Terror! Meet the Original Prospect Park West NIMBYs
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Norm Steisel, Louise Hainline, Iris Weinshall, and their anti-bike “Better Bike Lane” comrades aren’t the first well-to-do, politically connected bunch to wage war against a new configuration for Prospect Park West. According to a fascinating Curbed piece from the Weekly Nabe’s Keith Williams, another powerful NIMBY cadre once sought to undermine a nascent progressive transportation […]
It’s Spring! Feel the Bike Hate Beaming From the New York Post
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Given the Post’s unequivocal hatred of people who ride bicycles, you’d think Col Allan’s tabloid would applaud DOT for assigning a small number of employees to encourage cyclists to ride in the direction of traffic and stop for pedestrians. Instead, the Post today attacked the “Street Safety Manager” program as a waste of taxpayer money, even […]
Eyes on the Street: A Slow Zone Takes Shape in East Elmhurst
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Clarence snapped these shots of a new Slow Zone in East Elmhurst/Jackson Heights, where DOT is putting in 20 mph signage and street markings, including a wide striped median on 30th Avenue that reduces the number of lanes pedestrians must cross.
NYPD: 1,182 Pedestrians and Cyclists Injured, 12 Killed in Traffic in March
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Twenty-one people were killed in New York City traffic in March, and 4,152 were injured, according to the latest NYPD crash data report [PDF]. As of the end of March, 45 pedestrians and cyclists have been killed by city motorists this year, and 3,590 injured, compared to 33 deaths and 3,519 injuries for the same […]
Zero Information From NYPD on Crash Involving Elderly Man in Brooklyn
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Details are scarce surrounding a serious traffic crash involving a Brooklyn pedestrian last week. While FDNY confirmed that the crash occurred, and that the victim was severely hurt, NYPD said the department has no information. On April 17, @NYScanner — an anonymous Twitter feed that apparently gleans information from police scanners — tweeted that a […]
Motorists Crash Into Businesses in Queens and Brooklyn, Taking Life and Limb
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Curb-jumping motorists have crashed into places of business in Brooklyn and Queens in two incidents since Tuesday morning, leaving one dead and several injured, including a man whose legs were reported severed. At approximately 11:40 a.m. yesterday, a speeding driver rear-ended a vehicle on 126th Street in Willets Point, then veered off the street and […]
De Blasio Gives NYPD an “F” on Transparency
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Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has given NYPD an “F” for its record of withholding information from the public. De Blasio’s “Transparency Report Card” rates city agencies’ response to freedom of information requests [PDF]. Looking at 10,000 FOIL requests over a three-month period in 2011, the report awards grades to 18 agencies “based on timeliness […]
NYPD: Pedestrian Killed Himself by Running Into Stopped Police Cruiser
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NYPD has reportedly changed its story about what happened to Tamon Robinson, the man who suffered fatal injuries when he was chased by officers in a police cruiser through a housing complex in Brooklyn. Whereas witnesses said police ran Robinson over, NYPD now claims the victim killed himself by running into the police cruiser, which […]
Will the FRA Force Amtrak to Build Pricier High-Speed Trains?
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On the Network today, Systemic Failure highlights what is apparently an ongoing dispute between Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration — one that could affect the development of next-gen Acela trains. Systemic Failure says Amtrak was hamstrung by federal requirements into building a custom design for the first Acela, which led to higher costs. From […]
Who Will Be the Next City Council Member to Subscribe to Citi Bike?
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Steve Levin is the second council member to announce his Citi Bike membership. He is one of over 5,000 people to sign up for bike-share since memberships went on sale Monday. With Brad Lander signing up earlier in the week, Brooklyn council members lead Manhattan 2-0. Who will be the first Manhattan rep to join?
Cyclist’s Brother Says NYPD Closed Investigation Into Unsolved Death
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The brother of a man killed in an apparent dooring incident in the Bronx, a crash that NYPD failed to investigate for over a month, says police have stopped working the case due to a lack of evidence, DNAinfo reports. Joseph Nelson, 54, was riding his bike near the intersection of Fordham Road and Jerome […]