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
Bloomberg on the Radio: Bike Share Is the “Wave of the Future”
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Mayor Bloomberg brushed off an anti-bike crank while bragging on bike-share, set to launch this spring, during his radio show this morning. “It is just gonna be unbelievable,” the mayor said, showing off a Citi Bike key he keeps on his keychain to co-host John Gambling. “And the people that don’t like it are gonna […]
Legal Double Parking in School Zones — What Is Joel Rivera Thinking?
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City Council Member Joel Rivera is taking some heat for a bill that would, in his words, “allow parents to double park when picking up their kids from school [and] not receive a parking ticket.” It’s the latest answer to a question no one asked from a council whose raison d’être seems to be absolving city […]
Details Scarce on First Reported Pedestrian and Cyclist Deaths of 2013
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We have updates on the year’s first reported pedestrian and cyclist fatalities, which occurred in Manhattan and the Bronx on January 4 and 5. NYPD was not ready to release the identity of either victim as of Wednesday afternoon. Meanwhile, it remains unclear what caused last Friday’s collision between a cyclist and a private sanitation […]
Will Cy Vance and New York’s District Attorneys Push for Traffic Law Reform?
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On Tuesday the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York released its agenda for cleaning up and toughening state and federal gun laws. Manhattan DA Cy Vance, named to a one-year term as DAASNY president last summer, announced that the organization had sent a letter to Governor Cuomo and legislative leaders with a […]
Why Does DOT Keep Taking Away Inwood Bike Infrastructure?
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A short stretch of bike lanes in Inwood has gone the way of the disappearing bike shelter, further reducing the neighborhood’s scarce cycling infrastructure. West 218th Street, Manhattan’s northernmost cross street to extend west of Broadway, connects Broadway and Inwood Hill Park, and delineates the southern border of the Columbia University Baker Field complex. It […]
NYPD: 1,310 Pedestrians and Cyclists Injured, 6 Killed in Traffic in November
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Fourteen people were killed in New York City traffic last November, and 3,977 were injured, according to the latest NYPD crash data report [PDF]. Citywide, at least eight pedestrians were fatally struck by drivers: three in Manhattan; three in Brooklyn; one in Queens; and one in Staten Island. Among the victims were Dante Dominguez, Kwok […]
Proposal for New Park Near Lincoln Tunnel Endorsed by CB 4
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A community-driven proposal to create a new public space on a street near the Lincoln Tunnel was endorsed by Manhattan Community Board 4 Wednesday. The plan, as reported by DNAinfo in December, is to convert three lane-widths of leftover asphalt on Dyer Avenue between 34th and 35th Streets into a park. That stretch of Dyer […]
Myth Busted: Safer Streets Are Not Slowing Emergency Responders
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A go-to NIMBY argument against safe street improvements is that bike lanes, pedestrian plazas, and ped refuge islands interfere with emergency responders. In 2009, one complainer at an event sponsored by then-Council Member Alan Gerson claimed that pedestrian islands on Grand Street “put lives in danger” by slowing down fire trucks and ambulances. Opponents of the […]
Five Killed in Four Days: Holiday Season Marked by Pedestrian Deaths
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In separate crashes in Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx, city motorists killed five pedestrians between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Four of the crashes, which took the lives of a child and three young mothers, were hit-and-runs. At approximately 8:45 a.m. on December 28, 11-year-old Miguel Torres of Jackson Heights was crossing at Northern Boulevard and 80th […]
In Memoriam
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When the book is written on the fight for traffic justice in New York City, an entire chapter might well be devoted to 2012. This was the year when Commissioner Ray Kelly’s NYPD revealed to the City Council that only a handful of officers are assigned to investigate serious traffic crashes. The public learned that, […]
No Charges Filed as Five Pedestrians Killed in City Traffic in Six Days
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In the last six days, five pedestrians have been killed by motorists and a sixth victim was reported “likely to die” in crashes in four boroughs. At 3:15 this morning, a 31-year-old man was struck by a driver at Francis Lewis Boulevard and 246th Street in the Rosedale section of Queens. The killer fled the scene. Police […]
NACTO 2012: Leading City DOT Commissioners Talk Transportation Politics
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“To me, the single most fascinating element of politics is the alchemy by which something becomes an issue,” said Chris Hayes, MSNBC host and moderator of the commissioners’ panel on the politics of transportation at the October NACTO Designing Cities conference. The panel, captured in its entirety by Streetfilms, featured NYC DOT’s Janette Sadik-Khan, Chicago […]