On Sunday evening, over 150 people gathered on Northern Blvd. to mourn 8-year-old Noshat Nahian. There was deep sadness at the loss of another child to reckless driving, but growing determination to take action to bring about change. Thanks for all who came out to be heard, and to comfort and support those in our community who are grieving. We would particularly like to thank Noshat’s family and friends, as well as Seema Ahmed, the Bravo family, Afsana Choudhury, the Cohen-Eckstein family, Congressman Joseph Crowley, State Senator Mike Gianaris, S. Mitra Kalita, State Senator Jose Peralta, Agah Saleh, the Tam-Liao family, Steve Vaccaro, Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, Transportation Alternatives, and Woodside on the Move.
In an encouraging development the next morning, State Sen. Mike Gianaris proposed new legislation to implement stiffer penalties and impound license plates for individuals found to be driving with suspended licenses. Make Queens Safer was proud to join him for the announcement, along with Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Senator Jose Peralta, Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, and Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Paul Steely-White. It was another example of how the Queens delegation is stepping up to provide leadership in the City Council and Albany to keep our communities safe.
Here’s some media coverage from the Sunday and Monday events:
- Bill Parry, “Truck kills Woodside school boy,” Times Ledger, December 24, 2013
- Sarah Goodyear, “A Growing Plea in New York: Pedestrian Deaths Cannot Be Tolerated,” Atlantic Cities, December 24, 2013
- Mike Sheehan, “Vigil held for 8-year-old boy killed by truck driver in Queens,” WPIX 11, December 22, 2013 (video)
- Anna Gustafson, “After 8-year-old boy killed by truck driver, calls for change,” The South and West Forum, December 23, 2013
- Ryan Sit, “Mourners in Queens call for traffic guards at spot where boy, 8, was killed by truck,” The Daily News, December 23, 2013
- Jane Gray, “Senator Proposes Tougher Laws for Drivers With Suspended Licenses,” The Epoch Times, December 23, 2013
- Brownstoner Queens, “Local Pols Held Traffic Rally in Woodside Today,” December 23, 2013
- Yang Yi, “New bill requires state legislators to punish undocumented drivers,” NTDTV.com, December 24, 2013 (video)
- Christian Murray, “Pols seek harsher penalties for unlicensed drivers, question why there were no crossing guards were child was struck,” Sunnyside Post, December 24, 2013
- Alan Krawitz, “As borough’s pedestrian injuries, fatalities rise, community seeks solutions” The South and West Forum, January 2, 2014
Together, we need to press to make our streets safer and more forgiving.
- Embracing Vision Zero: A letter from Amy Cohen
Key Quotes:
“We’ll continue to meet every traffic fatality w/a response. #VisionZero will be a reality & I’ll fight until it is.” – Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer via Twitter