Sunset Park Bleeds—City Leaders Look Away

Sep 27 - A moped driver turned right and hit a 23-year-old woman near 706 45 St in Brooklyn. Police recorded unsafe speed and aggressive driving. She was not at an intersection. She suffered a bruised arm. The driver was unlicensed.

A driver on a moped, traveling east and making a right turn, hit a 23-year-old woman near 706 45 St in Brooklyn. She was outside an intersection and suffered a bruise to her arm and hand, and remained conscious. According to the police report, the driver was unlicensed and police recorded Unsafe Speed and Aggressive Driving/Road Rage. The moped showed front-end damage, matching the impact to the pedestrian. The crash involved a single vehicle. The crash time was 9:15 a.m. in the 72nd Precinct.

• Motor Vehicle Collisions – CrashID 4845351 - Crashes, Persons, Vehicles , NYC Open Data, Accessed 2025-10-02

• Breaking: Hit-and-Run Driver Kills Cyclist in Brooklyn, Streetsblog NYC, Published 2025-09-27

Sep 21 - On a Belt Parkway ramp in Brooklyn, a 29-year-old motorcyclist crashed and was ejected. He suffered severe abdominal and pelvic lacerations. Police recorded driver inattention.

Police recorded a motorcycle crash on the Belt Parkway ramp in Brooklyn at 12:40 p.m. The 29-year-old man driving a 1987 motorcycle was ejected. He sustained severe lacerations to the abdomen and pelvis and was conscious at the scene. According to the police report, contributing factors included Driver Inattention/Distraction. The motorcycle was traveling straight, heading southwest, and showed center front-end damage. No other people were listed as injured. The driver was licensed in New York. The crash is logged under collision ID 4844045 in the 72nd Precinct and Community District 307.

• Motor Vehicle Collisions – CrashID 4844045 - Crashes, Persons, Vehicles , NYC Open Data, Accessed 2025-10-02

Sep 20 - On 45 St at 5 Ave in Brooklyn, a van driver collided with a 61-year-old cyclist. He was ejected and suffered a head injury. Police recorded driver inattention.

According to the police report, a driver in a van collided with a bicyclist at 45 St and 5 Ave in Brooklyn at 1:50 p.m. The crash injured a 61-year-old man on the bike. He was ejected and suffered a head injury but remained conscious. Police recorded driver inattention/distraction by the driver. Vehicle types were listed as van and bike. The bike’s point of impact and damage were at the center front end. The report lists whiplash as a complaint. The crash was logged under collision ID 4843598 in the 72nd Precinct.

• Motor Vehicle Collisions – CrashID 4843598 - Crashes, Persons, Vehicles , NYC Open Data, Accessed 2025-10-02

• Woman fatally struck by 18-wheeler truck in hit-and-run crash in Brooklyn, ABC7, Published 2025-09-19

• Brooklyn road rage attack: Man brutally stabbed over double-parked car, cops say, The Brooklyn Paper, Published 2025-09-08

Sep 7 - A driver went straight on 54 St and hit a 6-year-old at the intersection. The boy was hurt. The driver was also injured. Police recorded failure to yield by the driver.

At 557 54 St in Brooklyn, a driver traveling east and going straight ahead hit a 6-year-old boy in the intersection. The child suffered a leg injury and abrasions. The driver, a 21-year-old man, was also injured with neck abrasions. According to the police report, police recorded Failure to Yield Right-of-Way by the driver. The point of impact was the center front end. Both were listed as conscious at the scene. No vehicle damage was noted in the report.

• Motor Vehicle Collisions – CrashID 4840426 - Crashes, Persons, Vehicles , NYC Open Data, Accessed 2025-10-02

Sep 2 - An eastbound moped driver hit a 72-year-old man at 60 St and 8 Ave in Brooklyn. Head injury. He was semiconscious. Police listed contributing factors as unspecified.

A moped driver traveled east on 60 St. The driver went straight and hit a 72-year-old pedestrian in the intersection at 8 Ave around 5:20 p.m. in Brooklyn. The man suffered a head injury and was semiconscious at the scene. According to the police report, the crash involved a moped with front-end damage and the pedestrian was at an intersection. Police recorded contributing factors as “Unspecified.” No driver error was listed in the report. The driver’s direction of travel was east, and the pre-crash action was going straight ahead. The impact point was the center front end. The case is logged under collision ID 4839258 in ZIP 11220.

• Motor Vehicle Collisions – CrashID 4839258 - Crashes, Persons, Vehicles , NYC Open Data, Accessed 2025-10-02

Aug 31 - A northbound e-bike struck the rear of a parked 2013 Honda on 5th Avenue. The 22-year-old rider was ejected and suffered head trauma and bleeding. Police recorded driver inattention/distraction as a contributing factor.

According to the police report … the 22-year-old e-bike rider struck the center rear of a parked 2013 Honda sedan near 4415 5 Ave in Brooklyn at 1:19 a.m. The rider was ejected and suffered head trauma and minor bleeding. The sedan driver was listed as injured. The report cites Driver Inattention/Distraction as a contributing factor. The e-bike was traveling north going straight; the sedan was parked and sustained center back-end damage. The report notes the e-bike operator was unlicensed and had no safety equipment recorded.

• Motor Vehicle Collisions – CrashID 4838563 - Crashes, Persons, Vehicles , NYC Open Data, Accessed 2025-10-02

Aug 26 - Mayor Adams vetoed a council push to decriminalize street vending. Vendors clustered on the narrow Brooklyn Bridge walkway. Crowding squeezes pedestrians, collides with cyclists and strollers, and can impede emergency movement, raising crash and injury risk.

""There are immense barriers to entry for the often working-class and immigrant New Yorkers that populate our city as street vendors,"" -- Alexa Avilés

Bill: City Council package to decriminalize street vending (file number not provided). Status: vetoed by Mayor Eric Adams (veto reported last month). Committee: Committee on Immigration, chaired by Council Member Alexa Aviles. Key dates: vendors observed Aug. 25, 2025; story published Aug. 26, 2025. The article ran under the headline, "Defying a NYC ban, illegal vending thrives on iconic Brooklyn Bridge this summer." Adams issued the veto. Aviles and supporters pushed the decriminalization package and criticized enforcement barriers. DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez warned vendors impede pedestrian mobility. Safety analysts note: illegal vending clusters on the narrow walkway, reduces pedestrian space, creates conflicts with cyclists and strollers, and can impede emergency movement—raising crash and injury risk.

• Defying a NYC ban, illegal vending thrives on iconic Brooklyn Bridge this summer, amny.com, Published 2025-08-26

Aug 23 - A driver rear-ended an eastbound sedan on 6 Ave at 62 St. A 50-year-old front passenger suffered a leg bruise. Police recorded Passenger Distraction. A parked sedan was damaged.

A driver heading east on 6 Ave rear-ended another eastbound sedan near 62 St in Brooklyn. A driver in a 1997 Toyota hit the back of a 2021 Audi. A parked sedan's left-side doors were damaged in the same crash. A 50-year-old woman in the front passenger seat was injured with a leg bruise. Other people were listed with unspecified injury status. According to the police report, police recorded Passenger Distraction as a contributing factor. Both drivers were recorded as going straight ahead before impact.

• Motor Vehicle Collisions – CrashID 4841762 - Crashes, Persons, Vehicles , NYC Open Data, Accessed 2025-10-02

Aug 4 - A car struck and dragged a man fifty feet on Broadway. He died at the scene. The driver fled. Police search for answers. Brooklyn leads the city in pedestrian injuries this year.

Gothamist (2025-08-04) reports a 47-year-old man was killed after being struck and dragged over 50 feet by a northbound car at Broadway and Suydam Street in Bushwick. The driver fled. Police have not released the victim's name and seek information on the vehicle. The article notes, 'It was not immediately clear whether the man was walking in a crosswalk, or who had the right of way.' Brooklyn has the highest number of pedestrian injuries in New York City so far this year, with 228 hurt and two killed through June. The case highlights ongoing risks for pedestrians and the persistent issue of hit-and-run drivers.

• Bushwick Hit-And-Run Kills Pedestrian, Gothamist, Published 2025-08-04

Jul 24 - Eighty dead or maimed on Third Avenue since 2018. Sunset Park stands up. Residents, officials, and advocates demand the city end delays. No fixes yet. Danger remains.

"The Third Avenue corridor has been "persistently dangerous," said Avilés. "We have the tools to majorly reduce this violence, but it's up to the mayor's office to use them."" -- Alexa Avilés

On July 24, 2025, Sunset Park residents, Council Member Alexa Avilés, Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes, Senator Andrew Gounardes, and advocates rallied for urgent street safety fixes on Third Avenue. BKReader reports: 'Fatalities on Third Avenue...are preventable with safety upgrades.' The Department of Transportation's plan has stalled for two years. Avilés called the corridor 'persistently dangerous.' Gounardes said, 'We know how to fix it: safer street design.' No council bill or committee is listed. The event shows strong community demand, but no policy action has been taken. As of now, there is no direct impact on pedestrian or cyclist safety.

• Sunset Park Urges City to Fast-Track Third Avenue Street Fixes, BKReader, Published 2025-07-24

Jul 24 - Eighty dead or maimed on Third Avenue since 2018. Sunset Park stands up. Residents, officials, and advocates demand the city end delays. No fixes yet. Danger remains.

On July 24, 2025, Sunset Park residents, Council Member Alexa Avilés, Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes, Senator Andrew Gounardes, and advocates rallied for urgent street safety fixes on Third Avenue. BKReader reports: 'Fatalities on Third Avenue...are preventable with safety upgrades.' The Department of Transportation's plan has stalled for two years. Avilés called the corridor 'persistently dangerous.' Gounardes said, 'We know how to fix it: safer street design.' No council bill or committee is listed. The event shows strong community demand, but no policy action has been taken. As of now, there is no direct impact on pedestrian or cyclist safety.

• Sunset Park Urges City to Fast-Track Third Avenue Street Fixes, BKReader, Published 2025-07-24

Jul 23 - Two pedestrians killed. Advocates and local leaders demand action. City stalls. Third Avenue stays deadly. Anger and grief fill Sunset Park.

"I am here to stand with our community again, to call for real investment, to call for real earnest movement forward, and to really address some of the challenges, because there are real tensions with what this corridor is used for. What it takes is real political will and real capital investment." -- Alexa Avilés

On July 23, 2025, local politicians and advocates rallied at 60th Street and Third Avenue, Sunset Park. They condemned the Adams administration's delay of a DOT safety plan, approved by Community Board 7 in 2023, after a hit-and-run killed two pedestrians. Council Member Alexa Avilés called for real investment. Elizabeth Adams of Transportation Alternatives called the delay 'unconscionable.' State Sen Andrew Gounardes and Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes demanded urgent redesign. The rally's matter: 'demanding the Adams administration implement traffic safety measures on Third Avenue.' Safety analysts note: public rallies like this can push systemic changes, making streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

• After fatal hit-and-run, local pols and street safety advocates slam delay of Third Avenue safety plan, Brooklyn Paper, Published 2025-07-23

Jul 23 - Two pedestrians killed. Advocates and local leaders demand action. City stalls. Third Avenue stays deadly. Anger and grief fill Sunset Park.

"We’ve seen how data-driven street redesign saves lives. It’s time to bring those investments to Brooklyn, not in a few years, not eventually, but now. Safer streets are not a privilege, they are a right." -- Marcela Mitaynes

On July 23, 2025, local politicians and advocates rallied at 60th Street and Third Avenue, Sunset Park. They condemned the Adams administration's delay of a DOT safety plan, approved by Community Board 7 in 2023, after a hit-and-run killed two pedestrians. Council Member Alexa Avilés called for real investment. Elizabeth Adams of Transportation Alternatives called the delay 'unconscionable.' State Sen Andrew Gounardes and Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes demanded urgent redesign. The rally's matter: 'demanding the Adams administration implement traffic safety measures on Third Avenue.' Safety analysts note: public rallies like this can push systemic changes, making streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

• After fatal hit-and-run, local pols and street safety advocates slam delay of Third Avenue safety plan, Brooklyn Paper, Published 2025-07-23

Jul 15 - A judge stopped the city from ripping out Bedford Avenue’s protected bike lane. The lane stands. Cyclists and pedestrians keep a shield, for now. The fight over safety on this deadly stretch continues in court.

Gothamist reported on July 15, 2025, that a state appellate judge blocked Mayor Adams from removing the protected bike lane on Bedford Avenue. The lane, installed after high crash rates and pedestrian deaths, was set for removal until the court's emergency order. The Department of Transportation admitted, "The City risks legal liability for knowingly reducing safety on a Vision Zero priority corridor." Advocates and families appealed, citing the lane’s role in protecting vulnerable road users. The legal battle highlights the tension between city policy, resident concerns, and the need for proven safety infrastructure.

• Judge Halts Bedford Avenue Bike Lane Removal, Gothamist, Published 2025-07-15

Jul 12 - A crash on Lincoln Avenue turned brutal. One driver struck another with a metal object. The victim landed in the hospital. The assailant fled in a black car. Police hunt for answers.

According to amny (2025-07-12), a traffic crash on Lincoln Avenue in Cypress Hills escalated when a driver "pulled out a metal object and repeatedly struck the victim about the head and body." The victim, 36, was hospitalized in stable condition. The assailant fled in a black vehicle. NYPD released video of the suspect, seeking public help. The incident highlights how post-crash confrontations can turn violent, raising questions about conflict de-escalation and the need for safer streets.

• Driver Attacks Man After Brooklyn Crash, amny, Published 2025-07-12

Jul 11 - A BMW ran a red in Sunset Park. Two men died on the street. The driver fled. Police made an arrest. Blood on the asphalt, lives ended fast.

Patch reported on July 11, 2025, that a hit-and-run driver killed two pedestrians at Third Avenue and 52nd Street in Brooklyn. The NYPD said the BMW "sped through a red light" before striking 80-year-old Kex Un Chen and 59-year-old Faqiu Lin. Both men died at the scene. Police later arrested Juventino Anastacio Florentino, charging him with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and leaving the scene. The crash highlights the lethal risk of red-light running and the ongoing threat to pedestrians in city crosswalks.

• Red Light Run Kills Two Pedestrians, Patch, Published 2025-07-11

Jul 4 - A man crossing near Broadway Junction died after a gray Ford hit him. The driver fled. Hours later, a Mustang plowed into six in the Bronx. Both drivers vanished. The city counts 55 pedestrian deaths this year.

NY Daily News (2025-07-04) reports a 36-year-old man was killed crossing Broadway and East New York Ave. in Brooklyn when a gray Ford struck him and fled. Hours later, a Ford Mustang hit six people in the Bronx, then the driver and passenger ran off. The article notes, 'It was the second hit-and-run in the five boroughs in 24 hours.' Police said, 'As of Thursday, 55 pedestrians have been killed by vehicles while crossing city streets.' Both drivers remain at large. The incidents highlight persistent dangers for pedestrians and the ongoing problem of drivers fleeing crash scenes.

• Hit-And-Run Drivers Strike Brooklyn, Bronx, NY Daily News, Published 2025-07-04