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
Mirror Law Loopholes Keep City Pedestrians at Risk From Large Trucks
| | 3 Comments
Following queries by Streetsblog, two state senators have pledged to address loopholes in a new state law that permit large trucks to be operated without safety mirrors, thereby endangering pedestrians and cyclists, especially children and the elderly, in New York City neighborhoods. The law requires trucks weighing over 26,000 pounds to be equipped with convex, or […]
Protecting NYC Transit From the Next Storm: Searching for Specifics
| | No Comments
Today on the Streetsblog Network: Known Unknowns. Ben Kabak at Second Avenue Sagas examines the capital funding request from New York MTA staff to its board, which estimates that nearly $5 billion is needed to restore the city’s transit system to pre-Sandy working order. Missing from the document, Kabak writes, is a plan to protect transit infrastructure […]
Acura: Santa Is Real, and You Better Watch Out
| | 13 Comments
If you tuned in to the news earlier this week, you likely heard that in 2011 U.S. road fatalities dropped to their lowest level since 1949. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the media practically consider it cause for celebration that *just* 32,000 or so people were killed in motor vehicle crashes last year. Maybe […]
Queens DA Richard Brown: Probation for Driver Charged With Manslaughter
| | 5 Comments
A motorist charged with driving drunk and killing an elderly man in Queens will get probation thanks to a plea deal with the office of District Attorney Richard Brown, according to the New York Post. Lizardo Aldama, 89, was a fixture in the Ditmars section of Astoria. He was taking a walk one evening last […]
David Greenfield Monitoring Investigation of Crash That Killed Bystander
| | 7 Comments
City Council Member David Greenfield is keeping an eye on the investigation into a fatal collision in Brooklyn last weekend, which so far points to the culpability of both drivers involved in the crash. Greenfield told Streetsblog that he has been in touch with NYPD and the office of District Attorney Charles Hynes regarding the […]
NYPD: “No Criminality” When SUV Drivers Collide, Plow Into Family
| | 26 Comments
No one was criminally responsible for a grisly high-speed crash in Brooklyn this weekend that left one bystander dead and three members of her family injured, according to NYPD. Accounts vary regarding the events leading up to the crash, which occurred at W. Fifth Street and Quentin Road in Gravesend at around 2:25 p.m. Saturday. […]
Spellman Verdict Highlights Continued Weakness of Drunk Driving Cases
| | 6 Comments
A jury in the Bronx on Thursday found former NYPD detective Kevin Spellman guilty of second degree manslaughter for the death of Drane Nikac, the 66-year-old woman he hit with a government-issued sedan in Kingsbridge on the morning of October 30, 2009. Spellman, who prosecutors said has a history of drinking and driving, was acquitted […]
State DOT’s Spending Blueprint Overlooks Walking and Biking
| | 3 Comments
Advocates for safer streets are alarmed by a New York State DOT “blueprint” for capital investments that scarcely acknowledges walking or biking as modes of transportation. The Tri-State Transportation Campaign noted in November that the NYS DOT document released with the file name “Two Year Capital Plan” [PDF] made virtually no mention of pedestrians or cyclists. “Although the document […]
James Vacca’s Pet Peeve Committee Is Back in Session
| | 26 Comments
The City Council transportation committee met today, and if you thought the council was due for a break from dreaming up motorist entitlements, think again: this afternoon’s agenda was all about parking. On the docket were three bills: one to require DOT to provide notice before changing street signs that affect parking; one to allow […]
Queens Rep Barbara Clark Searches for Solutions to Deadly Speeding Epidemic
| | 12 Comments
After a fatal crash in her district, a state representative from Queens is again calling on Albany to double fines for speeding, but with NYPD issuing few tickets, lax traffic enforcement continues to be the biggest obstacle to safer streets. Barbara Clark, State Assembly Member from Queens Village, introduced a bill in May that would […]
Cyclist Reported Killed in 90th Precinct in August, “No Criminality Suspected”
| | 4 Comments
Based on NYPD crash data and a report from Gothamist, an unidentified Williamsburg cyclist struck by a driver this summer died from his injuries. On August 27th, Gothamist reported a collision that occurred the night before, involving a male cyclist, at Flushing and Franklin Avenues. “[T]he cyclist was not expected to survive,” wrote Christopher Robbins, “and […]
DMV Data Show Decrease in NYC Traffic Injuries in 2011
| | 1 Comment
The number of traffic deaths in the city remained mostly flat from 2010 to 2011, while total pedestrian and cyclist deaths and injuries dropped slightly last year, according to data from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. The trend may be positive, but the scale of traffic violence in NYC is still staggeringly […]