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
Tonight: Get In on the Ground Floor of Steve Levin’s Traffic Task Force
| | 2 Comments
Brooklyn Council Member Steve Levin will host the first meeting of a new “traffic task force” tonight in Boerum Hill. According to Levin spokesperson Hope Reichbach, the group is convening in response to a number of long-time neighborhood traffic issues. Reichbach says the initial meeting will serve to outline long-term goals — one possibility is […]
Is It Right to Forgive the Deadly Driver?
| | 11 Comments
Nine years ago next week my wife was hit by a cab driver. She was crossing at an intersection at the edge of downtown Athens, Georgia, on her way to meet me for some grocery shopping and, per usual for a Friday, an evening at our favorite watering hole. I was wrapping up editing duties […]
Vance Pursues Manslaughter Case Against Upper West Side Pedestrian Killer
| | 5 Comments
A motorist who ran down a retired nurse to allegedly avoid stopping for a red light on the Upper West Side has been indicted for manslaughter. According to court documents, last November 26 Jessica Altruz of the Bronx was driving her Dodge Charger at a high rate of speed on W. 93rd Street toward Columbus […]
Tonight: Backers Needed for Astor Place Reclamation
| | No Comments
Tonight, Community Board 2 will vote its recommendation on DOT’s plans to make Astor Place more accommodating and inviting to pedestrians. While it’s hard to imagine how, for an area between the East Village and NYU, traffic lanes could be considered more desirable than space for people, the outcome of the vote is very much […]
Tomorrow: Tell CB 2 You Want a More Pedestrian-Friendly Astor Place
| | 2 Comments
If you can’t make it to Brooklyn for the Prospect Park West forum tomorrow, there’s a Manhattan livable streets effort that needs a show of support. The reclamation of Astor Place, years in the making, would transfer thousands of square feet to pedestrians, and lay the foundation for a great public space to take shape […]
Life-Saving Speed Cams Find an Enemy in New York AAA
| | 25 Comments
Legislation to bring automated speed enforcement to the city is drawing fire from the New York branch of AAA. Speed cameras have proven to be effective in clamping down on highly dangerous behavior. A pedestrian hit by a driver obeying the city’s 30 mph speed limit has about a 45 percent chance of dying, while […]
Does NYPD Understand the NYPD Bike Crackdown?
| | 39 Comments
Streetsblog reader Hilda sent us a report of her encounter with two NYPD officers on the Brooklyn Bridge yesterday evening, when she was handed a two-page flier explaining the rules of the road. “A friendly head’s up,” said the first officer. “It is getting more dangerous out there, and we are doing what we can […]
Open Thread: How Was Your Commute?
| | 17 Comments
Mayor Bloomberg was determined not to be shown up by the second major snowstorm of the season, while Jay Walder advised against non-essential transit trips (the Times reports that all subways are running). It seemed the plows were out in force last night in Inwood, though there was six to eight inches on some sidewalks […]
T.A.’s Jammy Jam 2011: Your Community Board Needs You
| | No Comments
Even if city transportation staff, empirical data and public opinion are all pointing in the same direction, livable streets projects are notoriously prone to snags at the community board level. When, for example, a neighborhood where 75 percent of residents don’t own cars can muster only a 55 percent vote in support of safer walking […]
Rabbi From Israel Killed in Midwood Collision
| | 19 Comments
An 83-year-old Israeli rabbi was struck and killed by a driver in Brooklyn yesterday. Voz Iz Neias reports that Rabbi Mosha Adler, from Jerusalem, was hit on Avenue J and East 10th Street in Midwood, and died at Lutheran Medical Center. An NYPD spokesperson confirmed a Wednesday collision at that location, and said the victim […]
Driver Cam: The Columbus Ave Bike Lane Thru Tony Aiello’s Windshield
| | 27 Comments
We talk a lot about windshield perspective on Streetsblog, so with his latest salvo against safer cycling and walking, CBS 2’s Tony Aiello has done most of the work for us. From behind the wheel of “Mobile 2,” Aiello, in full-on Ted Baxter mode, informs viewers that the Columbus Avenue bike lane is playing havoc […]
In Memoriam
| | 18 Comments
By all indications, 2010 should have been a banner year for street safety in New York. As the city continued to roll out physical improvements to reduce risks to pedestrians and cyclists and announced unprecedented further measures to come, state legislators stepped up with new laws intended to hold accountable, however incrementally, motorists whose negligence […]