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
MTA Bus Driver Kills Anna Colon, 73, on the Lower East Side
| | 55 Comments
An MTA bus driver killed a senior on the Lower East Side this morning. Anna Colon, 73, was crossing East Houston Street north to south at around 9:50 a.m. when the driver, who was also southbound, hit her while turning left from Avenue D onto East Houston, according to NYPD. “[The light] was about to turn red […]
NYC Motorists Injured 1,322 Pedestrians and Cyclists in August, and Killed 15
| | 2 Comments
Twenty-three people died in New York City traffic in August, and 5,358 were injured, according to City Hall’s Vision Zero View crash data map. City Hall reported 98 pedestrians and cyclists killed by city motorists through August of this year, and 9,700 injured, compared to 92 deaths and 9,157 injuries in the same period in […]
Rodriguez Wants DOT to Remedy NYC’s Most Cramped Sidewalks
| | 14 Comments
City Council transportation chair Ydanis Rodriguez wants DOT to address overcrowding on some of the city’s most cramped sidewalks. A bill introduced this week would require DOT to identify 10 locations with the heaviest pedestrian traffic volumes and “develop strategies for improving safety and traffic flow at such locations.” “In this city, most New Yorkers rely on public transportation […]
Shame Bike Lane Blockers — and City Hall — With This Interactive Map
| | 57 Comments
A new web site lets people publicize incidents of motorists blocking NYC bike lanes. The developer hopes the site will draw attention to bike lane obstructions as a serious safety issue, leading Mayor de Blasio to devote more resources to improving bike infrastructure. Cars in Bike Lanes allows users to upload photos of offending vehicles to an […]
Drivers Killed Two Seniors in Manhattan and NYPD Filed No Charges
| | 16 Comments
Drivers fatally struck two seniors in separate crashes in Manhattan in the last few weeks. NYPD filed no charges in either case. On August 23 at around 3:50 p.m., 85-year-old George Mamalas was crossing W. 93rd Street at West End Avenue when someone hit him with a box truck. NYPD told the West Side Rag […]
Let’s Get Real: Cars Are Not the Answer to the L Shutdown
| | 27 Comments
It doesn’t matter if it’s a regular car, and autonomous car, an Uber…there is no room on the streets. You’d need 56 lanes at rush hour. — Julia (((Kite))) (@juliakite) September 22, 2016 Today the Daily News published an op-ed from autonomous car consultants Levi Tillemann and Colin McCormick, who proposed that NYC rush to establish an […]
DOT Moves Ahead With Redesign of Deadly Myrtle-Wyckoff Intersection
| | 1 Comment
DOT is moving ahead with a new plaza and safety improvements at the intersection of Myrtle Avenue, Wyckoff Avenue, and Palmetto Street on the border of Brooklyn and Queens, the Ridgewood Times reports, with work slated to start today. The project got a thumbs up from one of the neighboring community boards and a thumbs down from the […]
NYPD Is Still Shielding NYPD Crash Data From the Public
| | 4 Comments
It’s been almost six months since Streetsblog filed a freedom of information request for data on traffic crashes involving NYPD personnel. NYPD has not released the data, or given us a reason for not doing so. The 2016 Mayor’s Management Report, released this week, says crashes involving city-owned vehicles increased 10 percent from FY 15 to FY 16 — […]
Tell CB 6 and Mayor de Blasio That Bike-Share Belongs on Brooklyn Streets
| | 20 Comments
Citibike is really cramping the parking spaces of the Park Slope working classes #bikenyc pic.twitter.com/0VJmE9KFK9 — Michael Pick (@mikepick) September 18, 2016 Last week a bunch of people showed up at a Brooklyn Community Board 6 meeting to complain about Citi Bike, which has recently expanded into Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Gowanus, and Red Hook. […]
Tonight: Tell Mayor de Blasio to Step Up for Vision Zero
| | 2 Comments
Mass Bike Ride #Sept15 to Protest Spike in Cyclist Deaths, Hit-and-Runs https://t.co/pko3VNXQic #RideTogether pic.twitter.com/xErXNBSnP7 — TransAlt (@transalt) September 14, 2016 With New York City losing ground in the effort to eliminate traffic deaths, officials will join street safety advocates and victims of traffic violence tonight for Transportation Alternatives’ mass bike ride on Fifth Avenue. The event is […]
Driver Kills Army Vet Barney Pinkney, 63, in Harlem — NYPD Blames Victim
| | 10 Comments
A motorist struck and killed 63-year-old Barney Pinkney as he crossed the street in Harlem Tuesday. NYPD blamed the victim in the press. According to the NYPD public information office, the victim was crossing Morningside Avenue at 124th Street, west to east, when the driver, northbound on Morningside, hit him with a Saturn SUV. Pinkney suffered […]
Two StreetsPAC-Backed Candidates Win Primaries for Open Seats in Albany
| | No Comments
There were a few surprises in yesterday’s State Senate and Assembly primary races, with some incumbents losing their seats. Candidates who got the nod from StreetsPAC and pledged to support MoveNY toll reform and street safety legislation won two of the five open seats in which the organization made an endorsement. Yuh-Line Niou won a six-way contest to […]