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
One Year After Taking Effect, State’s Vulnerable User Laws Gathering Dust
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Tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of the adoption of Hayley and Diego’s Law, which established the charge of “careless driving” in New York State and gave police and prosecutors a new tool to hold motorists who injure pedestrians and cyclists accountable. Unfortunately, says Transportation Alternatives, over the past 12 months the law has gone largely […]
Streetfilms Shortie: Walk to School Day 2011
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Wednesday was International Walk to School Day. Among the 3,784 U.S. schools participating this year was P.S. 197 in East Harlem, where kids were joined on their regular commute by Grover of “Sesame Street” fame, along with other guests. Robin Urban Smith of Streetfilms was there. Check out the vid for improvements near P.S. 197 […]
Wednesday: CB 4 to Vote on West Side Protected Bike Lanes
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Community Board 4 will vote Wednesday on the DOT plan to extend protected bike lanes on Eighth and Ninth Avenues north from 34th to 59th Streets. As Noah reported in September, the lanes will offer a much safer route for commuters, delineating protected space on wide avenues sorely in need of taming, particularly near Penn […]
Doctors’ Note Says Complete Streets Are Vital to New York’s Health
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Transportation Alternatives and the New York Chapter of the American Association of Family Physicians today released a letter to Mayor Bloomberg, signed by 140 medical professionals from a broad spectrum of specialties, praising the city’s bike and pedestrian infrastructure as essential to the health of New Yorkers. It’s a solid counterweight to the hysteria surrounding […]
New York’s Highest Court “Systematically Decriminalizing” Vehicular Killings
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The manslaughter plea of David McKie, sentenced earlier this month for running down Manhattan pedestrian Karen Schmeer as he fled police following a petty theft, points to a trend in vehicular crimes law that is resulting in lighter sentences for drivers who kill. On the evening of January 29, 2010, McKie was behind the wheel […]
Two Manhattan Pedestrians Killed 24 Hours Apart
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Two Manhattan pedestrians were killed in a span of just over 24 hours this week. According to NYPD, on Monday at approximately 10:20 p.m., Steven Reese was crossing E. 125th Street near Lexington Avenue when he was hit by the driver of an eastbound 2004 Chevrolet Suburban. Reese, 58, was pronounced dead on arrival at […]
NYC Bike-Share: First Look
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This photo simulation offers a glimpse of what New York City bike-share will look like. At this hour, DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson and a group of electeds are announcing details of the program — to feature 10,000 bikes at some 600 stations in Manhattan and Brooklyn — at Madison Square. We’ll […]
NYPD: Contrary to the Tabs, Fallen Cyclist Nicolas Djandji Didn’t Run a Red
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While it’s common for the media to find a fallen New York cyclist responsible for his own death, the egregiously sloppy coverage of the crash that killed Nicolas Djandji makes plain just how eager reporters and editors are to blame the victim. The prevailing narrative has it that last Friday, September 2, at approximately 8:30 […]
Janette Sadik-Khan: Bridge-Fixing Fanatic
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Matt Chaban at the Observer has filed a balanced, thorough and, dare we say, mature profile of Janette Sadik-Khan. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s definitely worth a read. Eschewing the pat cars vs. bikes conceit, and with nary a mention of the commissioner’s sartorial preferences, Chaban examines NYC DOT spending and wonders why […]
Times Square: Livable Streets Mecca, Retail Sensation
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Two years after Mayor Bloomberg and NYC DOT remade Times Square, the city’s premiere public space is one of the world’s leading shopping destinations. Crain’s reports that annual rankings from international real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield place Times Square among the ten most desirable retail locations on the planet, topped in New York only […]
Next Week: DOT to Re-Present Plans for East Side Bike Lanes Up to 125th
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After over a year of protests from residents and electeds clamoring for safer streets, next week DOT will present its proposal for extending the First and Second Avenue bike lanes north to 125th Street. The presentations will mark the second time around the community board circuit for bike-ped safety plans on those streets, which were […]
Cyclist Erica Abbott Killed in Williamsburg [Updated]
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A 29-year-old woman was killed Tuesday night while riding her bike in Brooklyn. Erica Abbott was traveling southbound on Bushwick Avenue at Powers Street when, according to police and media reports, she fell into traffic and was run over by the driver of a Mercedes. The Daily News says Abbott was riding near a construction […]