Ocean Parkway to the Belt: CB15’s Deadly Hours

Brooklyn CB15: Jan 1, 2022 - Aug 25, 2025

They crossed with the light at Ocean Parkway and Quentin Road. A mother, 34. Two daughters, 5 and 8. They were hit and killed. A 4‑year‑old boy lived. The record lists “Traffic Control Disregarded” and “Unsafe Speed.” A taxi turned right. An Audi came straight. Three dead on a Saturday afternoon. NYC Open Data lists it as 4801962.

A 70‑year‑old man was walking on Kings Highway. A 2023 Acura SUV struck him mid‑block. He died. The log says 7:24 a.m. The case is 4728391. NYC Open Data.

On the Belt near Knapp Street, a driver flipped his car and died. Unsafe speed. Westbound. A Lexus sedan overturned. He was 22. The crash came just after midnight. Gothamist reported the night’s string; the city file is 4833034 on NYC Open Data.

Across CB15, the numbers pile up. Since January, this district logged 873 crashes, 641 injured, and 9 dead. Children under 18 account for 4 deaths. Pedestrians take the brunt: 587 hurt and 14 killed since 2022. SUVs and cars lead pedestrian harm with 257 injured and 2 killed; trucks and buses add more. The Belt Parkway alone shows 3 deaths and 322 injuries. Period stats and top intersections come from NYC Open Data.

“Speed kills” is not a slogan here. It is the column in the ledger. In CB15, “other” factors dominate the city’s codes, but the fatal files tell on speed and signals blown. A 42‑year‑old on a motorcycle died on Avenue P at East 2nd. The note reads “Ejected.” Case 4820105. NYC Open Data.

The clock marks danger. Injuries spike from school release into evening, with deaths peaking at 1 p.m., 4 p.m., and after 9 p.m. The hour table shows six deaths at 1 p.m., three at 4 p.m., and three at 9 p.m. NYC Open Data.

Subways took lives too, one borough over or next door, depending on the line you ride. “No criminality is suspected,” police said after two people fell to the tracks and were struck by trains an hour apart. The words are flat. The bodies are not. NY Daily News.

Where the street breaks people

Ocean Parkway at Quentin Road is the worst corner: 6 deaths, 27 injuries. The Belt is a meat grinder: 3 deaths, 322 injuries. Kings Highway shows 2 deaths and 67 injuries. These are not black spots. They are addresses.

The mode split is stark. Pedestrians: 14 dead. Cyclists: 1 dead. Occupants: 6 dead. Other motorized users, including mopeds: battered. Heavy vehicles—trucks and buses—add to the toll; taxis show up in the killings. The records do not shout. They list.

Peak hours tell parents when to hold tighter. Afternoon into evening. Then the night roads open and speed does the rest.

What could stop the next body

Small moves save lives at these corners. Harden right turns at Ocean Parkway. Give pedestrians a head start with LPIs. Daylight the mouths of the cross streets where sight lines die. Target speed where the deaths cluster: the Belt, Avenue P, Kings Highway. Repeat the enforcement where the harm repeats.

Citywide, the tools exist. Albany passed a law to let New York set its own limits. Advocates say the city can lower residential speeds to 20 mph now. They are asking you to press City Hall. See our call to action.

The state is weighing a device for the worst repeat speeders. Streetsblog tracked the bill and the pattern: a small share of drivers cause outsized harm. The Senate file is S 4045. Its aim is simple: cap the car at the limit for those who keep getting caught. The votes and no‑shows are on the record. Open States.

Names behind the numbers

Gothamist logged a night when two died and a teen went to the ICU. AMNY and ABC7 said the boy on a moped hit an MTA bus on Staten Island. The bus driver and three passengers were unhurt. The boy had a head injury. “No arrests,” the stories say. The pattern is the point. Gothamist, amNY, ABC7.

On Avenue U at East 14th, a 90‑year‑old pedestrian died after a moped struck him in the intersection. Morning. Southbound moped. Case 4826233. NYC Open Data.

This is one district. One summer. One ledger that keeps turning pages.

Hold the line here

• Local fixes: harden turns at Ocean Pkwy/Quentin, LPIs on Kings Highway, daylighting on Avenue P; focused speed checks on the Belt; repeat‑hotspot enforcement where deaths recur. All are standard work.
• Citywide fixes: a 20 mph default and speed limiters for repeat offenders are on the table. The first is in city hands, the second sits in Albany as S 4045.

Lower speeds. Fewer funerals. If you want that, act now.