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
Reckless Driver and Poor Street Design Kill Skylar Perkins, Age 1, in Queens
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The intersection where Skylar was struck has not been identified by the city as a priority under the Vision Zero initiative, but conditions there invite drivers to take turns at dangerous speeds.
De Blasio Must Fix 111th Street Before Someone Gets Killed
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It's springtime. As the weather warms there will be more children, with and without their parents, crossing 111th Street to get to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The mayor must direct DOT to fix 111th Street now -- before, not after, someone gets killed.
Speed Cameras Have Saved Lives in NYC, But to Nicole Malliotakis, They’re a “Gimmick”
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To hear Malliotakis tell it, the safety benefits of speed cameras are a smoke screen, calling them "a gimmick to raise revenue for the city." And you thought you'd heard the last of the old cameras-as-revenue-scam canard.
NYC Drivers Injured 950 Pedestrians and Cyclists in February, and Killed 5
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Nineteen pedestrians and cyclists were killed by city motorists through February, and 2,186 injured, compared to 26 deaths and 2,296 injuries in the first two months of 2016.
Commercial Driver Kills 81-Year-Old Woman on Atlantic Avenue
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Of 20 pedestrians killed on NYC surface streets in 2017, at least 13 were seniors.
Simcha Felder Wants More People to Die on Ocean Parkway
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Felder has introduced a bill that would raise the speed limit on Ocean Parkway to 30 miles per hour, exempting the street from NYC’s citywide 25 mph limit.
Sign the Petition for a Snow Removal Plan That Clears Streets for Walking
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The success or failure of the city’s response to a winter storm is usually gauged by road conditions. If drivers are satisfied, the mayor gets credit for a job well done. Remarkably, there is no equivalent strategy for removing snow, ice, and slush from the pedestrian network.
Now Playing: Your Stella Sneckdowns
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Stella didn’t dump as much snow on NYC as predicted, but there was enough to make for some fine sneckdowns.
Tow Truck Driver Kills Ping Xie, 81, in Flushing
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Motorists have killed at least 19 people walking on NYC surface streets this year. Of 17 victims whose ages were reported, 12 were 65 or over.
State Assembly Wants to Restore Cuomo’s $65 Million MTA Cut
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Assembly lawmakers want to restore the $65 million transit cut in Governor Cuomo's draft budget. To reverse the cut, the draft budget released by the Carl Heastie-led Assembly [PDF, page 65-2] reallocates $65 million from New York Works, Cuomo's infrastructure piggy bank, to the MTA.
Hit-and-Run Driver Who Killed Greenway Cyclist Gets 1 to 4 Years
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The hit-and-run driver who killed cyclist Olga Cook on the Hudson River Greenway is going to jail. On the evening of June 11, 2016, Samuel Silva hit Cook with a Ford pickup truck as he turned right from West Street onto Chambers Street. Cook, 30, was knocked to the ground and sustained fatal head and body trauma.
Eyes on the Street: Time to Upgrade the 9th Street Bike Lane
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This morning, Doug Gordon, a.k.a. Brooklyn Spoke, tweeted this photo of westbound Ninth Street between Sixth and Fifth avenues. Drivers routinely take over the bike lane here and force cyclists into traffic. It's a scene that Mayor de Blasio must see on a regular basis.