Blood on the Asphalt, Silence in City Hall

On Victory Blvd, a distracted SUV driver hit a northbound e-scooter rider. The rider suffered knee and leg injuries. The SUV’s rear bumper took the impact. The crash left the scooter driver conscious but hurt.

According to the police report, a crash occurred at 22:17 on Victory Blvd, Staten Island. An SUV, stopped in traffic, was struck at the right rear bumper by a northbound e-scooter. The e-scooter rider, a 50-year-old man, was going straight ahead and suffered abrasions and injuries to his knee, lower leg, and foot. He was not ejected and remained conscious. The report lists 'Driver Inattention/Distraction' and 'Unsafe Speed' as contributing factors for the SUV driver. No contributing factors were attributed to the e-scooter rider. The data points to the SUV driver’s lack of attention and unsafe speed as causes of the crash and resulting injuries.

• Motor Vehicle Collisions – CrashID 4774324 - Crashes, Persons, Vehicles , NYC Open Data, Accessed 2025-08-04

A 26-year-old unlicensed driver crashed her sedan on Richmond Terrace. She suffered neck injuries. Police cite driver inexperience. No other people were hurt. The road remains dangerous for all.

According to the police report, a 26-year-old female driving a 2014 Kia sedan crashed on Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, at 21:06. She was the sole occupant. The sedan struck an object with its right front bumper. The driver suffered neck pain and whiplash, classified as a moderate injury. Police list 'Driver Inexperience' and 'Unlicensed' status as contributing factors. No pedestrians or cyclists were involved. The crash underscores the risks posed when unlicensed, inexperienced drivers operate vehicles on city streets.

• Motor Vehicle Collisions – CrashID 4773045 - Crashes, Persons, Vehicles , NYC Open Data, Accessed 2025-08-04

Council moves to gut parking reforms in City of Yes. Car-centric districts win. Fewer homes, more cars, less safety. The plan shrinks. Streets stay dangerous. The promise of safer, denser neighborhoods slips away in committee rooms.

Bill: City of Yes for Housing Opportunity. Status: Awaiting City Council committee vote as of November 20, 2024. The proposal, described as 'a zoning initiative aiming to eliminate costly parking mandates citywide,' faces heavy opposition from council members in low-density, car-dependent districts. Progressive members like Lincoln Restler, Carlina Rivera, Tiffany Cabán, and Shahana Hanif support full removal of parking mandates. But the Council is set to weaken the bill, keeping parking minimums in many areas. This move will slash the number of new housing units and keep dangerous car volumes on city streets. Experts warn that keeping parking mandates will limit housing growth and keep neighborhoods unsafe for those outside cars. The compromise falls short of the original vision for safer, more walkable streets.

• Council Likely To Weaken Mayor’s ‘City Of Yes’ Pro-Housing Zoning Plan, Streetsblog NYC, Published 2024-11-20

A 48-year-old woman driving a 2019 Dodge pickup truck struck a parked 2024 Hyundai SUV on Bard Avenue. The impact hit the truck's left front bumper and the SUV's left rear bumper. The driver suffered full-body contusions but remained conscious.

According to the police report, at 11:25 p.m. on Bard Avenue in Staten Island, a 48-year-old female driver operating a 2019 Dodge pickup truck traveling south struck a parked 2024 Hyundai SUV. The collision occurred at the center front end of the pickup truck and the center back end of the SUV, damaging the truck's left front bumper and the SUV's left rear bumper. The driver, who was the sole occupant of the pickup truck, sustained injuries described as contusions and bruises to her entire body but remained conscious and was not ejected. The report lists unspecified contributing factors related to the driver. No pedestrian or cyclist was involved, and no victim behaviors were cited as contributing factors. The crash highlights risks posed by driver errors leading to collisions with stationary vehicles.

• Motor Vehicle Collisions – CrashID 4773038 - Crashes, Persons, Vehicles , NYC Open Data, Accessed 2025-08-04

Three people hurt on Victory Blvd. Taxi and sedan drivers, plus a rear-seat passenger, suffered neck injuries. Police blame driver inattention and distraction for the chain-reaction crash.

According to the police report, a multi-vehicle crash struck Victory Blvd in Staten Island at 17:30. A Nissan sedan hit a taxi from behind, forcing the taxi into a Chevrolet sedan. The report lists 'Driver Inattention/Distraction' as the cause. Two drivers and a female taxi passenger were injured, all suffering neck trauma. The passenger was in the middle rear seat with no safety equipment. No ejections occurred. Police cite driver inattention and distraction as the sole contributing factors.

• Motor Vehicle Collisions – CrashID 4773041 - Crashes, Persons, Vehicles , NYC Open Data, Accessed 2025-08-04

A sedan hit a bicyclist on Richmond Terrace. The cyclist suffered internal back injuries. Police cite failure to yield. The crash happened at 2:45 a.m. in Staten Island. The driver’s details remain unknown.

According to the police report, a 36-year-old male bicyclist was struck by a sedan while traveling east on Richmond Terrace at 2:45 a.m. The cyclist suffered internal back injuries and remained conscious at the scene. The report cites 'Failure to Yield Right-of-Way' as the cause of the crash. The sedan was passing and showed no damage, while the bike was hit at the center back end. No information was provided about the sedan’s driver or occupants. The police report lists driver error as the primary factor, with no contributing factors attributed to the bicyclist.

• Motor Vehicle Collisions – CrashID 4772458 - Crashes, Persons, Vehicles , NYC Open Data, Accessed 2025-08-04

City data shows open streets thrive. Storefronts fill up. Pedestrians and cyclists bring life and cash. Cars do not. Vacancy rates drop where traffic is banned. Volunteers keep these corridors alive, but city support lags behind their success.

On November 18, 2024, the Department of City Planning released a report titled 'Storefront Activity in NYC Neighborhoods.' The analysis, covered by Streetsblog NYC, finds that open streets—car-free corridors—have about half the vacant storefronts of car-filled streets. The report states: 'vibrant public spaces are key to the success of local businesses.' City officials like Ya-Ting Liu, chief public realm officer, and volunteers such as Alex Morano and Brent Bovenzi, praised the program's impact. Bovenzi noted, 'the program is shrinking because too much of the burden falls upon volunteer labor.' The Open Streets program, now permanent, covers over 130 locations but relies heavily on volunteers. Advocates urge the city to invest more, as the data shows people-centric design drives economic recovery and safer, more vibrant neighborhoods.

• Car-Free Streets are Good For Business, Yet Another Report Shows, Streetsblog NYC, Published 2024-11-18

City Council passed a bill to clean up battered newsracks. Erik Bottcher led the charge. The law forces owners to post contact info and lets DOT set strict standards. The goal: clear sidewalks, fewer obstacles, safer passage for all.

On November 18, 2024, the City Council approved a bill regulating sidewalk newsracks. The measure, sponsored by Council Member Erik Bottcher (District 3), passed through committee and aims to address neglected, broken, and obstructive newspaper boxes. The bill summary states it will 'establish clear guidelines and help ensure that our local publications get to maintain their newsracks while also helping to alleviate sidewalk congestion.' Bottcher’s action brings new requirements: owners must display contact information, and the Department of Transportation gains authority to set size, shape, and material standards. Sandra Ung, another council member, noted that without oversight, newsracks become a blight. The law seeks to reduce sidewalk clutter, making streets less hazardous for pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.

• ‘Ugly’ NYC sidewalk newspaper boxes will get much-needed makeover under new City Council bill, nypost.com, Published 2024-11-18

Jessica Scarcella-Spanton led Staten Island and Brooklyn politicians in a rally against congestion pricing. They gathered at the Verrazano Bridge, denouncing the plan as a burden on working-class commuters. The coalition promised fierce resistance, demanding the governor keep the program paused.

On November 14, 2024, State Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (District 23) led a bipartisan rally against the revival of congestion pricing. The event, held at the Verrazano Bridge, included U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, Council Member Joe Borelli, and others. The group opposed Governor Hochul's plan to re-implement congestion pricing, which would charge vehicles entering lower Manhattan. The rally's matter title: 'Staten Island, Brooklyn pols rally against congestion pricing as Hochul considers reviving program.' Scarcella-Spanton pledged to 'fight tooth and nail until congestion pricing is dead.' Brooklyn Assembly Member Jaime Williams and others condemned the plan as unfair to transit deserts and working-class communities. No safety analyst assessment was provided regarding the impact on vulnerable road users.

• Staten Island, Brooklyn pols rally against congestion pricing as Hochul considers reviving program, brooklynpaper.com, Published 2024-11-14

Council bill targets shuttered schools. Annual study flags closed sites. Speed cameras pulled from dead zones. Streets lose watchful eyes. Vulnerable walkers and riders left exposed.

Int 1106-2024 sits in the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Introduced November 13, 2024, by Council Members Chris Banks (primary), Kamillah Hanks, Frank Morano, and David M. Carr. The bill orders the city to study which schools have closed each year and to remove speed cameras from those erased school zones. The matter title reads: 'Annual study to identify non-operational schools and the subsequent removal of speed cameras from eliminated school speed zones.' If passed, the law would strip cameras from streets where schools once stood, erasing a layer of protection for people on foot and bike.

• File Int 1106-2024, NYC Council – Legistar, Published 2024-11-13

A 92-year-old woman suffered chest injuries and whiplash in a Staten Island crash. Two sedans collided on Broadway at 11 a.m. Driver inattention caused the impact. The elderly driver was restrained with a lap belt and was not ejected.

According to the police report, the crash occurred on Broadway near Forest Avenue in Staten Island at 11 a.m. Two sedans traveling north collided, with impact points on the right front bumper and left front bumper respectively. The 92-year-old female driver, an occupant of one vehicle, sustained chest injuries and whiplash, and was in shock. She was restrained by a lap belt and was not ejected. The report identifies 'Driver Inattention/Distraction' as the contributing factor to the collision. Both drivers held valid New York licenses. The elderly driver’s injuries and the collision resulted directly from the distracted driving error, with no contributing factors attributed to the victim.

• Motor Vehicle Collisions – CrashID 4770728 - Crashes, Persons, Vehicles , NYC Open Data, Accessed 2025-08-04

Governor Hochul slashes NYC’s congestion toll to $9. The move aims to beat a federal block but guts traffic reduction. Streets will see less relief. The plan leaves vulnerable road users exposed. The city trades speed and safety for political timing.

On November 8, 2024, Governor Hochul proposed lowering New York City’s congestion pricing toll from $15 to $9. The plan, a policy proposal to adjust congestion pricing, comes as officials rush to implement it before a new presidential administration can intervene. The original $15 toll, crafted by the Traffic Mobility Review Board and approved by the MTA Board, promised strong traffic reduction and included credits and caps. The $9 version, previously reviewed in environmental assessments, may lack those protections. Economist Charles Komanoff warns, 'You lose other benefits. Most noticeably, you don’t get the immediate traffic speed gain that a $15 toll would give.' State Senator Andrew Gounardes urges swift action, saying, 'The time to commit to better public transit, less traffic and cleaner air is now.' The lower toll is projected to improve traffic speeds by only 6.4 percent, far less than the 17 percent expected from the original plan. With less traffic reduction, streets remain dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists.

• Analysis: Hochul’s $9 Congestion Toll May Stave Off Trump, But Won’t Reduce Traffic as Much, Streetsblog NYC, Published 2024-11-08

Diesel trucks choke New York streets. Pollution hits hardest in poor, Black, and Hispanic neighborhoods. The Advanced Clean Trucks rule promises cleaner air and fewer deaths. Industry fights back. Governor Hochul faces a choice: protect lives or bow to polluters.

This opinion, published November 6, 2024, urges Governor Hochul to uphold New York’s Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) standard and the Low NOx Heavy-Duty Omnibus standard. The piece warns, 'Delaying the implementation of any clean truck rule will likely result in the state losing hundreds of millions in health benefits and lead to additional air pollution-caused deaths.' The ACT, adopted in 2021, sets electric truck sales targets to cut deadly diesel pollution. The statement highlights the disproportionate harm to low-income communities of color, especially in the South Bronx, where truck exhaust drives high asthma rates. The author calls on Hochul to resist fossil fuel industry pressure and keep life-saving rules on track, stressing that clean truck standards are both feasible and vital for public health.

• Opinion: Clean Trucks Will Save Lives — If Gov. Hochul Stays the Course, Streetsblog NYC, Published 2024-11-06

A 13-year-old girl died after an SUV struck her at W. 110th and Manhattan. She was walking to catch a bus for her birthday. The driver stayed. No arrest. The intersection is wide, with poor sight lines. Advocates blame city inaction.

""This intersection was designed to be dangerous, and it's time for the city to prioritize New Yorkers instead of falling even further behind on the daylighting promises it made when another child was killed only a year ago."" -- Charles Fall

On November 4, 2024, a fatal crash claimed the life of 13-year-old Niyell McCrorey at W. 110th Street and Manhattan Avenue. The incident, reported by Streetsblog NYC, highlights a dangerous intersection: wide, two-way, with cars parked to the corner and no daylighting. Transportation Alternatives, represented by Philip Miatkowski, condemned the city for failing to deliver promised safety upgrades, stating, "This intersection was designed to be dangerous." Niyell is the 15th child killed by drivers this year, the second-highest toll since Vision Zero began. Advocates demand urgent action to protect vulnerable pedestrians and end the city's deadly neglect.

• Slaughter of the Innocents: SUV Driver Kills Upper West Side Teen, Streetsblog NYC, Published 2024-11-04

Roadside dining sheds fall. Cars reclaim the curb. Restaurants balk at new rules, costs, and storage. Streets once alive with people now serve as free parking. The city’s new code ends a brief era of public space for people.

On November 4, 2024, New York City enforced new outdoor dining regulations, requiring restaurants to remove pandemic-era dining sheds unless they met updated design standards. The measure, shaped by a Council law passed last year, forced all businesses to clear curbside setups by November 29. The Department of Transportation banned enclosed structures, allowing only temporary, open designs. As the city’s Dining Out NYC program shifts to seasonal operation, many owners, like John Kastanis of Casita and Jerry Hsu of Alimama Tea, chose to dismantle their sheds early, citing high fees and storage hurdles. Fred Kent, co-founder of the Placemaking Fund, lamented, “We’ve lost a whole era that could have been evolved into something far more significant for neighborhood main streets to thrive.” The curb returns to cars, erasing space once claimed by pedestrians and diners.

• Parking? Lots! Outdoor Dining Structures Are Coming Down Across the City, Streetsblog NYC, Published 2024-11-04

Two sedans crashed on Castleton Avenue. Driver distraction slammed metal into metal. A man suffered facial bruises. A woman took whiplash to her leg. Both survived. The street bore the scars of inattention.

According to the police report, two sedans collided at 8:30 PM on Castleton Avenue, Staten Island. One driver was making a right turn, the other going straight. The report lists "Driver Inattention/Distraction" as the cause. The crash struck the center front of one car and the left front bumper of the other. Two passengers were hurt: a 21-year-old man with facial contusions and a 27-year-old woman with whiplash to her knee and lower leg. The man’s airbag deployed. The woman had no safety equipment. Both were not ejected. The report highlights driver distraction as the critical factor. No errors are attributed to the passengers.

• Motor Vehicle Collisions – CrashID 4769206 - Crashes, Persons, Vehicles , NYC Open Data, Accessed 2025-08-04

MTA scraps its plan to run the Interborough Express on city streets. Instead, it will study tunneling under All Faiths Cemetery. Advocates cheer. The move keeps trains off dangerous roads. The future of the project hangs on funding.

On October 30, 2024, the MTA announced it will abandon the street-running segment of the Interborough Express (IBX) light rail project. The agency now plans to study a tunnel under All Faiths Cemetery at Metropolitan Avenue. MTA President of Construction and Development Jamie Torres-Springer said, "We're looking at a tunnel at Metropolitan Avenue, which will allow us to avoid street running to make the [Interborough Express] faster and more reliable." Transit advocates, including Blair Lorenzo of the Effective Transit Alliance, praised the decision, calling it a win for speed and reliability. The MTA will assess expanding the existing freight tunnel or building a new one. The engineering and environmental review will take about two years. Funding for the IBX remains uncertain, as MTA CEO Janno Lieber warned that expansion projects could be at risk if the 2025-2029 capital plan falls short. The move removes a threat to vulnerable road users by keeping trains off city streets.

• Tunnel Vision! MTA Abandons Flawed Plan To Run IBX Partly on Street, Streetsblog NYC, Published 2024-10-30

DOT’s Smart Curbs pilot drags its feet. Free parking remains king. Promised microhubs for deliveries delayed. Only a sliver of free spaces become paid. Advocates call the effort timid. The city leaves most curb space untouched. Vulnerable users wait.

The Department of Transportation’s Smart Curbs pilot, updated October 29, 2024, aims to convert free parking to paid meters and add delivery microhubs on the Upper West Side. The plan, first proposed in June, promised about 200 new metered spots and 27 loading zones, but only 175 free spaces—one-tenth of the area’s 1,700—will be removed. Microhubs, meant to reduce double-parking and delivery chaos, are delayed until next year. DOT spokespersons Vin Barone and Mona Bruno confirmed most changes are just reassignments, not true removals of free parking. Carl Mahaney of StreetopiaUWS called the slow pace disappointing: “We’ve been super eager to see these changes, see what their impact is and start measuring and observing, so it’s a little disappointing.” Parking expert Donald Shoup urged the city to reinvest meter revenue locally, but DOT declined. The pilot leaves most curb space for cars, not people. Vulnerable road users see little relief.

• DOT’s Upper West Side ‘Smart Curbs’ Struggles to Claw Back Free Parking, Streetsblog NYC, Published 2024-10-29

The MTA will tunnel the IBX light rail under All Faiths Cemetery, dropping a street-running plan. Council Member Holden, once opposed, now backs the project. The move keeps trams off busy roads, sparing pedestrians and cyclists from new risks.

On October 29, 2024, the MTA announced it will route the Interborough Express (IBX) through a tunnel beneath All Faiths Cemetery in Queens, abandoning a previous plan to run trams on local streets. The project, covered in committee and public statements, is described as 'transformative for so many New Yorkers.' Council Member Robert F. Holden (District 30), who represents the area, had threatened to oppose the IBX if it included street-running. After the MTA’s shift to tunneling, Holden stated, 'Addressing the biggest issue by forgoing light rail on 69th Street is crucial to earning our support.' The plan eliminates a dangerous section where trams would have mixed with cars, reducing exposure for pedestrians and cyclists. The MTA has issued a request for proposals to design the line and guide it through federal review. The $5.5 billion project’s funding remains uncertain, but the tunnel plan removes a major safety concern for vulnerable road users.

• MTA looking to dig tunnel underneath Queens cemetery for IBX light rail project, amny.com, Published 2024-10-29

Box truck hit sedan on Broadway. Driver bruised arm. Impact crushed sedan’s front, tore truck’s side. Obstructed view listed as cause. Streets scarred, danger clear.

According to the police report, a box truck traveling north on Broadway in Staten Island collided with a sedan moving east at 4:45 p.m. The sedan’s front end was crushed, and the box truck’s right side doors were damaged. The sedan driver, a 35-year-old man, suffered contusions to his elbow and lower arm. The report cites 'View Obstructed/Limited' as a contributing factor for both vehicles, showing impaired visibility played a role. No other driver errors or victim actions were listed. The crash left both vehicles damaged and one person hurt.

• Motor Vehicle Collisions – CrashID 4767462 - Crashes, Persons, Vehicles , NYC Open Data, Accessed 2025-08-04