A tragedy in our home neighborhood

Our home base is Jackson Heights, Elmhurst, Corona, East Elmhurst. Last night, we learned a senior in our neighborhood was killed by a turning driver who failed to yield to this man who was in a crosswalk. What follows are comments made to our neighborhood list serve. Our hearts go out to this mans family and loved ones. 

My heart goes out to the friends, family and neighbors who suffer this loss on the very streets we walk, bike, bus, shop and drive every day.

It’s true, I had contacted the previous commanding officer last year about 37th and spoke at precinct council meeting just the night before this tragedy. I spoke specifically about 37th. I also mentioned that hazards such as double parking create road rage events, as frustrated drivers plow through streets once freed from behind a double parker.

Vision Zero initiatives have reduced fatalities. City-wide there has been a decrease of 60 fatalities over the last year. Sadly, they are on the rise again. Mind you, vision zero kind of started here with a march in November of 2013 after three kids were killed on Northern Blvd in about 10 months. Redesign came quickly on Northern. Left turn lanes, larger medians, changes to signal timing and sporadic speed camera use have all been added. 

Last year Olvidio Jaramillo was killed in a cross walk at Junction/Northern by a hit and run driver who was never caught and never turned himself in.  Senator Peralta and Council Member Ferreras-Copeland had a press conference and a walk about with DOT and NYPD. They both have pushed for more speed cameras in their districts. 

NYPD has said that resources are directed to crash areas- they are not proactive. If there have been crashes, then an area gets looked at. I will look at data.

NYPD said they had 5 or 7 (will check) fatalities in the 115 last year. A few on GCP and at least 3 on our neighborhood streets. Note that they are not listed on the traffic stat photo posted here.

What else goes unreported? What is under-reported, such as the category, “contributing factors”. Cops hardly ever cite any factors in police reports (cell phone, driver distraction, drowsy driver, speed) and this directly affects prosecution rates. 

I’m proud of the success we’ve had on Northern, though we are far from truly successful. We have prevented some tragedies. I stressed at115 Community Council that I biked there in the hard rain because “a tragedy is imminent on 37th.” 

We as a community are well placed change driver behavior. ( Yes, pedestrian and bike behavior as well, but please start a new thread for that ) We have many, though underfunded, volunteer groups and caring citizens. Schools and PTA’s can request DOT to do presentations. Our elected can distribute more pertinent info in their offices, of course legislation and street re-design need 311 complaints, active participation in community meetings and people who will make the call when they see “a crime in progress” which is a 911 call. Let police decide what level emergency your concern is. It’s your right, and it’s the advice NYPD gives. 911 is for a crime in progress. And traffic enforcement is law enforcement. Download the 311 app to your phone. You can send a photo, a mapped location and a complaint in less than a minute. Police are detailed based on 311 complaint data. 

We have here in JH, the founders of Make Queens Safer. We can’t do much, but we keep these tragedies in the news, attend community meetings, write about these topics, arrange press conferences and have the ear of legislators from local to the Mayor’s office. 

We have the Transportation Alternatives Queens Committee, which meets right there on 76th and 37th monthly. TA Queens sadly doesn’t have the respect of TA Manhattan/Brooklyn, but you can change that. 

We’ve got Van Bramer, Dromm, Peralta and Ferreras- who’ve all held press conferences for previous deadly traffic incidents.

We have Streetfilms! Clarence has made hundreds of videos documenting safe streets activism. Some months ago, he shot right here in JH, regarding yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks, when Mexican activist Peatonito came to New York for Vision Zero cities conference. 

With all respect for the serious and tragic circumstances today, I’ll still share the peatonito video. (Jh begins around 2 minutes). It may inspire you to engage your kids and neighbors. Peatónito is in NYC: Protecting Pedestrians from Cars in the Crosswalk

Tracking Progress: October 2016

tracker-2016-10

Fatalities. Since we last reported in June, there have been 25 traffic fatalities in Queens. Some of the neighbors we lost included:

  • Mary Alice D’Amico, 76, Pedestrian, struck on May 14 at Myrtle Avenue and Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood (104th Precinct), died in early July (Streetsblog).
  • Unnamed Pedestrian, female, 61, struck on May 17 at Mott Avenue and Beach Channel Drive in Far Rockaway (101st Precinct) by an oversized tractor-trailer, died in early July (Queens Tribune)
  • Antonio Flores, 59, Cyclist, struck on July 7 at Broadway and Baxter Avenue (110th Precinct), and died later from injuries (Queens Chronicle)
  • Terrence Montrose, 26, Pedestrian, killed on July 24 on Rockaway Point Boulevard in Breezy Point (100th Precinct) (Streetsblog)
  • Roberts Nukheimra, 29, Pedestrian, killed July 27 on the Van Wyck Expressway service road near 115th Ave. in South Ozone Park (106th Precinct), hit and run (Daily News)
  • Martin Smith, 50, Pedestrian, killed August 14 at Springfield Boulevard at Murdock Avenue in Queens Village (105th Precinct) (Streetsblog)
  • Michael Schenkman, 78, Cyclist, killed on August 24 on Northern Boulevard near 223rd Street in Bayside (111th Precinct) (Streetsblog)
  • Arline Smeal, 80, Pedestrian, killed August 30 on sidewalk by empty van at Broadway and 32nd Street in Astoria (114th Precinct) (Streetsblog)
  • Unnamed Male Cyclist, killed on September 5 on 111 Street near Grand Central Parkway, East Elmhurst (115th Precinct) (Streetsblog)
  • Dian McLean, 54, Pedestrian, struck on September 19 on Rockaway Boulevard and 144th Terrace, Springfield Gardens (105th Precinct), died later from injuries (The Aqueduct Blog)
  • Jun Hiu Liu, 70, Pedestrian, killed on September 27 on Centreville Street in Jamaica (103rd Precinct) (WPIX 11)
  • Unidentified Pedestrian, female, 36, killed on September 29 on Rockaway Freeway at Beach 59 Street (100th Precinct) (Rockaway.com)
  • Unidentified Pedestrian, male, 67, killed on October 6 on Van Wyck Expressway near Atlantic Avenue in Jamaica (103rd Precinct) (Queens Chronicle)
  • Unidentified Pedestrian, male, 79, killed on October 16 on Northern Blvd. at Prince Street in Flushing (109th Precinct) (Daily News)
  • Jazmine Marin, 13, Pedestrian, killed October 24 on Cross Bay Boulevard at 149th Avenue, Ozone Park (106th Precinct) (Streetsblog)
  • Navraj Raju, 8 months, Pedestrian, killed on sidewalk on October 28 on Astoria Blvd. near 92nd Street in East Elmhurst (115th Precinct), unlicensed driver (Streetsblog)

In the 12 months ending October 2016, there have been 72 overall traffic fatalities in Queens, down 23% from the 93 people killed in 2013, the Vision Zero benchmark year. Citywide, there has been an 18% decline in fatalities.

Injuries. In the 12 months ending in October 2016, there have been 2,609 pedestrians injured in Queens by motor vehicles, a decline of 7% from the Vision Zero benchmark year, 2013 (but an increase of 7% from the year ending in October 2015).  In the same time, there have been 879 injuries to cyclists, a rise of 6% since 2013. Overall, including motor vehicle occupants, there have been 17,532 people injured in motor vehicle crashes in Queens over the past year, up 13% since 2013. Citywide, there has been a 5% increase in injuries over this time. Across the city, there has been a general upswing in injuries from vehicular crashes in recent months, a pattern that is seen across every borough. Part of this is likely due to an underlying citywide increase in traffic and pedestrian activity.  But this contributing factor notwithstanding, Queens has seen the greatest percent increase in traffic-related injuries of any of the five boroughs.

Enforcement. Overall, while enforcement of speeding, red light running, and not giving right of way to pedestrians remains significantly higher than pre-Vision Zero levels, tickets issued for illegal cell phone use, an important contributor to distracted driving, remains sharply down. Overall, enforcement across all four categories in Queens is up 2% since 2013. Citywide, enforcement is up 18%.

Overall, the level of enforcement according to these measures has be declining in Queens, and we have been watching for the promised surge in enforcement efforts timed with the beginning of the school year.  This only materialized in a few scattered locations in September, but in October we finally began to see the enforcement numbers begin to increase.  We encourage the NYPD to remain focused on this.

Noteworthy precincts.  Overall, the 109th, 110th and 114th precincts show sharply reduced enforcement relative to 2013, while the 100th, 102nd, 104th, 112th, and 113th precincts have seen enforcement levels increase more than the citywide average (18%).  The 103rd, 105th, 106th, 109th, 113th and 114th precincts show significantly increased traffic injuries, and only the 100th, 110th and 115th Precincts has seen small reductions traffic injuries.

Click here to download our full detailed report.

World Day of Remembrance 2016

Via Fnov2016amilies for Safe Streets and Transportation Alternatives:

After a week that has seen a spike in traffic deaths and injuries, Families for Safe Streets, a group of New Yorkers who have lost loved ones or been injured in traffic crashes, will join street safety advocates from Transportation Alternatives to observe the annual World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims on Sunday, November 20th at City Hall Park.

“We are gathering to remember and honor those who have been killed or severely injured by aggressive or reckless driving and dangerous conditions on our streets, and we will stand together to remind New Yorkers that we can create a safer city for everyone,” said Sofia Russo of Families for Safe Streets, whose 4-year-old daughter Ariel Russo was killed by a speeding driver who crashed on a Manhattan sidewalk.
 
On a single day this week, one man was struck and killed by a driver who fled the scene, a bicyclist was killed by a truck driver on the Upper West Side, while nearby two pedestrians were seriously injured when a driver drove onto a sidewalk.
 
“Too many people have been needlessly killed and maimed on our streets, as we have been reminded in recent days. We are standing with New Yorkers who have suffered those losses to tell our city and the world that traffic violence is preventable,” said Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives. “The World Day of Remembrance is an opportunity for all of us to renew our Vision Zero commitment to keep working to change the culture of reckless and careless driving, and to rebuild our streets so they’re safer for everyone who uses them.”
 
TransAlt will debut a large Vision Zero sculpture at the event and is inviting people to bring yellow ribbons to add to the sculpture, commemorating loved ones killed or injured in traffic. Participants have the opportunity to join one of several group rides and walks listed below to reach the gathering at City Hall. The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2005, is commemorated each year on the third Sunday of November, in locations around the world.
 
WHAT: NYC World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims
 
WHERE: City Hall Park
 
WHEN: Sunday, November 20th, 12:00 pm
 
WHO: Families for Safe Streets, Transportation Alternatives, City Council Transportation Committee Chair Ydanis Rodriguez, Council Member Margaret Chin, Council Member Brad Lander, State Senator Brad Hoylman

Vision Zero for School Kids

Make Queens Safer strongly supports Mayor de Blasio’s Vision Zero initiative.  After two years of the program, we believe that the city needs to begin putting more focus on initiatives to improve safety for vulnerable populations, including children, teens, and the elderly.

In particular, schools have not been sufficiently integrated into the city’s Vision Zero efforts.   There have been a number of good early steps.  We were pleased by the recent announcements  DOT and DOE would collaborate on a new Vision Zero curriculum for 4th-6th graders.  We applaud the use of speed cameras in school zones and the Mayor’s commitment to broadening their deployment and hours of operation. We appreciate the efforts of some schools to put in place safer arrival and dismissal procedures. And we’re fans of the DOT Safety Education and Outreach office’s excellent programs.

But there is much more that needs to be done to sharpen the focus on safe access to schools.  The Department of Education only recently joined the interagency coordination process established to implement Vision Zero (which initially included only NYPD, DOT, TLC and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene), and their role is limited to the new 4th-6th grade VZ curriculum.  DOE’s role in Vision Zero needs to be much more central, befitting its tremendous impact and reliance on the city’s streets.   DOE educates more than 1 million children in over 1,800 public schools whose parents, teachers and school administrators travel during set hours daily.  DOE employs over 135,000 people.

Key Issues at NYC Schools  

  • School safety plans don’t mention street safety
  • Lack of coordination and follow-up for safety complaints
  • Extremely small reach of DOT school safety education
  • Limited resources of NYPD crossing guards and traffic agents

Better interagency cooperation and more DOE involvement is needed to help schools with policies and procedures for safe student arrival and dismissal. At elementary schools, afternoon dismissal is particularly challenging, because of the need to monitor that children are being delivered to the correct adults, and the large number of parents who drive to the schools to collect their children. The number of crossing guards is inadequate, their deployment appears to be uneven and arbitrary, and they lack the training and authority to perform traffic management on busy corridors. The city lacks effective channels for raising these concerns, so they tend to be addressed only when they capture the attention of a sympathetic elected official. The overall program needs to be addressed in a more comprehensive manner, and would benefit tremendously from the proactive, data-driven, interagency approaches that characterize the city’s other Vision Zero efforts.

Recommendations

We would like to propose the following to integrate schools more completely into the Vision Zero program.

DOT:

  • Refresh the Safe Routes to Schools program. The city’s “Safe Routes to Schools” plans are outdated. NYCDOT needs resources to update and overhaul this program.
    • The report on “General Mitigation Measures” used for these plans was developed 12 years ago. It needs to be updated to incorporate NYCDOT’s current street design toolkit.
    • The Safe Routes to Schools program should be broadened to incorporate curb management, traffic management and other operational strategies. These could include temporary street closures and the establishment of additional no-parking zones during school arrival and dismissal hours.
    • The program should continue to look beyond the immediate school perimeter to address safe crossings for students at major arterials nearby.
    • NYCDOT should work with schools and precincts to reassess conditions in the field, update school traffic safety maps, and develop new data-driven priorities for capital and operational investments.
  • Safe arrival and dismissal policies manual. Elementary schools are unique- as afternoon dismissal poses the challenge of delivering the child to the correct adults, especially in schools where parents drive to pick up.  NYCDOT should lead development of a “best practices” manual to provide guidance to schools on techniques for managing sidewalk crowds and vehicular pick-ups and drop-offs in congested neighborhoods.
  • Recognition for best practices.  NYCDOT should publicly recognize a handful of schools each year that have taken innovative and comprehensive approaches to school access safety.
  • Increase reach of traffic safety education programs.  Unfortunately the school reached by these programs has been steadily declining.  In 2013, DOT visited over 700 schools.  In 2015, they visited 580 schools.  The current safety education goals in the Vision Zero Year Two report are to reach 500 schools each year.   More resources are needed.

SafetyEdMap

DOE:

  • A Vision Zero champion in every school. Every school should designate a person to lead its Vision Zero efforts. This person would:
    • Act as a site coordinator and liaison for the city’s Vision Zero efforts.
    • Review and update policies and procedures for student arrival and dismissal.
    • Work to integrate school access safety into School Safety Plans.
    • Participate in Parent-Teacher Association meetings to report news about school safety plans and receive feedback on issues and concerns.
    • Be empowered to elevate issues and concerns about school access safety and request an official review by the local NYPD precinct and DOT borough commissioner.
    • Reassess and coordinate the school’s participation in DOT safety education programs.
  • A Vision Zero Coordinator at DOE. This person would oversee the overall program within DOE, including:
    • Providing guidance, training, and support to the school VZ champions.
    • With NYPD and NYCDOT, prepare an annual report on access safety issues raised by school coordinators, and how these concerns are being addressed.
    • Solicit feedback from school VZ champions on safety educational programs that reach each school, and publish annual statistics on the numbers of students reached by each program, and teachers’ assessments of the programs’ quality and effectiveness.  Establish an online feedback and rating system, so that teachers and administrators can weigh in on which programs they found to be effective and productive for their students.

NYPD:

  • Expand and rationalize the use of school crossing guards.  The number of crossing guards is inadequate, and their deployment appears to be uneven and arbitrary.  The city lacks effective channels for addressing concerns raised about crossing guard placement, and is often in a position where it is forced to react to the communities that complain the loudest.  The placement of crossing guards would benefit tremendously from the comprehensive, data-driven, interagency approaches that characterize the city’s other Vision Zero efforts.
  • Mobilization of other NYPD resources. Crossing guards are not trained or empowered to manage traffic.  On major dangerous arterials near schools, NYPD should be assigning Traffic Enforcement Agents to manage traffic and perform targeted enforcement during school arrival and dismissal hours.  Strategies should be developed to discourage discharging passengers in traffic, and citations should be issued for U-turns, cell phone use by drivers, and other dangerous behaviors in school zones.

Department of Health and Mental Hygiene:

  • Integrate pedestrian safety into school wellness programs.
  • Part of Vision Zero year two goals (section 2.38) was to “Create new partnerships with schools and priority neighborhoods that will promote Vision Zero and active living.”  Department of Health should be involved in safety education
    • As a health risk topic
    • As a school based active design project, Safe Routes to Schools should be incorporated.
  • DOH already produces a child fatality report which shows that motor vehicle injury is a leading cause of death in school aged children. They have studied this further in Understanding Child Injury Report which further investigates motor vehicle related deaths.  They should continue to expand their analysis and publications on this topic.

NYS Legislature

  • Pass legislation permanently authorizing NYC’s use of traffic safety cameras in school zones; authorize their use at every school in the city; and extend their operation around the clock.

See also:

School map

1/24/2016, Updated 5/17/2016

When “No-Brainer” might mean “No-Brains”

111-rally-fb-flier-eng-nologo

Council Member Julissa Ferreras-Copeland is hosting this event at City Hall. While we’d hoped this neighborhood issue could be resolved, it seems that CB4 Queens will be where Vision Zero initiatives brought forth by the Mayor and DOT must be challenged get for all similar places across the city … we hope this inspires coty-wide action from poorer, neighborhoods of color, that they recognize their rights to safe commutes, and find the power to stand for them.
Cars, bikes and pedestrians all have a part to play in safety on our streets. Creating visible infrastructure like bike lanes and improved and expanded crosswalks could possible educate drivers to the truth that we live in a mulit-modal city.

This roadway is built to outmoded design standards, and is hazardous to the many cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists that use it. We commend DOT for its extensive public outreach and for being open to a wide range of public input, but now is the time to move forward with a safer street design.

For too long, the total priority of car culture in NYC has endangered our residents. We’re talking about nine blocks abutting a park in a poor community with little access to public recreation.

Our efforts and those of the DOT have been exhausted. Yet, despite this three-year struggle that 111th has faced, our community still lacks the protections divvied out to other neighborhoods.

The link between schools and street safety must be direct!

The word was, that the New York Hall of Science would house a hundred seat UPK to open in 2019. What? Having kids cross 111th street without crosswalks or any traffic calming measures? No bike lanes for all the #bikingqueens families? Surely traffic safety would be considered, wouldn’t it?

Without any warning, when school began this year, students and parents of P.S. 28 in Corona found out their yard had been torn out and trailers for new UPK seats were installed just across from NYSCI.

Already hardened to the reality that their school borders 111th street, a road awaiting a DOT recommended safety redesign, families and the surrounding community continue to fight for a safer 111th.

Now in the third year of trying to push Community Board 4 Queens to approve DOT’s plan for 111th.

We’ve come to think that the expression “No-brainer” means that folks making these decisions do so with No brains! By that, we mean that the connection between schools and traffic safety has to be direct and community driven.

The 2016-2017 School year has begun!

We wish everyone a safe and healthy year. Soon, you’ll be invited to Curriculum nights, or Meet the Teacher events. We encourage you to bring up traffic safety concerns with your school, and share with us the advice or resources you are offered to keep your kids safe. The combination of safe routes and infrastructure, traffic enforcement and respectful, law abiding drivers could make the difference for one of our 1 million school kids. We’ve created a survey and would love your input.

Please fill out our Traffic Safety Survey

Tracking Progress: June 2016

Tracker-2016-06

Fatalities. In June, there were three pedestrian fatalities in Queens. The neighbors we lost included:

  • A Pedestrian, killed on June 16 on Whitestone Expressway between 20th Ave. and Linden Place, Flushing (109th Precinct)
  • A Pedestrian, killed on June 17 on Northern Blvd. near 146 Street, Flushing (109th Precinct)
  • Doniqueca (Niiqua) Cooke, 21, Pedestrian, killed on June 30 on Junction Blvd. at the Long Island Expressway (110th Precinct)

In the 12 months ending June 2016, there have been 73 overall traffic fatalities in Queens, down 22% from the 93 people killed in 2013, the Vision Zero benchmark year. Citywide, there has been an 18% decline in fatalities.

Injuries. In the 12 months ending in June 2016, there have been 2,657 pedestrians injured in Queens by motor vehicles, a decline of 5% from the Vision Zero benchmark year, 2013. In the same time, there have been 921 injuries to cyclists, a rise of 12% since 2013. Overall, including motor vehicle occupants, there have been 16,948 people injured in motor vehicle crashes in Queens over the past year, up 9% since 2013. Citywide, there has been a 1% increase in injuries over this time. Across the city, there has been a general upswing in injuries from vehicular crashes in recent months, a pattern that is seen across nearly every borough. This is most likely due to an underlying citywide increase in traffic and/or pedestrian activity.

Enforcement. Overall, while enforcement of speeding, red light running, and not giving right of way to pedestrians remains significantly higher than pre-Vision Zero levels, tickets issued for illegal cell phone use, an important contributor to distracted driving, remains sharply down. Overall, enforcement across all four categories in Queens is up 2% since 2013. Citywide, enforcement is up 19%.

Noteworthy precincts.  Overall, the 109th, 110th and 114th precincts show sharply reduced enforcement relative to 2013, and the 109th and 114th precincts also show significantly increased traffic injuries.  The 100th, 102nd, 104th, 106th, 108th, 112th, and 113th precincts have seen enforcement levels increase more than the citywide average (19%), but of these, only the 100th Precinct has seen traffic injuries decline significantly so far.

Click here to download our full detailed report.

Tracking Progress: May 2016

Queens-2016-05

It has been a while since we’ve been able to get current data from NYPD, but now we can catch up on Vision Zero progress so far in 2016.

Fatalities. So far in 2016, there have been nine pedestrian or cyclist fatalities in Queens. The neighbors we lost included:

  • Nancy Ventura, 61, Pedestrian, killed on January 22, 2016 at College Point Blvd. and 15th Ave. in College Point (109th Precinct) (Streetsblog)
  • Dorothy Heimann, 90, Pedestrian, struck on February 7, 2016 at Clintonville Street 17th Avenue in Whitestone (109th Precinct), died on March 4th, hit and run (Streetsblog)
  • Alexa Smith, 16, Pedestrian, killed on February 10, 2016 at Sunrise Highway at Francis Lewis Boulevard in Rosedale (105th Precinct) by hit and run driver (Times Ledger)
  • Besik Shengelia, 48, Pedestrian, killed on February 28, 2016 at 111th Street near 109th Avenue in South Ozone Park (106th Precinct) by hit and run driver (Streetsblog)
  • Lin Qinyun, 64, Pedestrian, killed on March 11, 2016 at 37th Avenue at 113th Street in Corona (115th Precinct) (Streetsblog)
  • Male Pedestrian, 57, killed on April 5, 2016 at 35th Avenue and Prince Street in Flushing (109th Precinct) (Streetsblog)
  • Sean Crume, 45, Pedestrian, killed on April 6, 2016 at 21st Street and 30th Road in Astoria (114th Precinct), by a hit and run driver (Streetsblog)
  • Rodney Tavarez, 18, Skateboarder, killled on April 17, 2016 at Forest Parkway and Park Lane South, Woodhaven (102nd Precinct) in collision with NYC Parks truck (QNS.com)
  • Doodnach Lalchan, 43, killed on May 8, 2016 at 115th Avenue and 131st Street in South Ozone Park (106th Precinct), by two hit-and-run drivers (abc7NY)

In the 12 months ending May 2016, there have been 68 overall traffic fatalities in Queens, down 27% from the 93 people killed in 2013, the Vision Zero benchmark year. Citywide, there has been a 21% decline in fatalities.

Injuries. In the 12 months ending in May 2016, there have been 2,620 pedestrians injured in Queens by motor vehicles, a decline of 6% from the Vision Zero benchmark year, 2013. In the same time, there have been 941 injuries to cyclists, a rise of 14% since 2013. Overall, including motor vehicle occupants, there have been 16,896 people injured in motor vehicle crashes in Queens over the past year, up 9% since 2013. Citywide, there has been a 0.1% increase in injuries. Citywide, there has been a general upswing in injuries from vehicular crashes in recent months, a pattern that is seen across nearly every borough. This is most likely due to an underlying citywide increase in traffic and/or pedestrian activity.

Enforcement. Overall, while enforcement of speeding, red light running, and not giving right of way to pedestrians remains significantly higher than pre-Vision Zero levels, tickets issued for illegal cell phone use, an important contributor to distracted driving, remains sharply down. Overall, enforcement across all four categories in Queens is up 4% since 2013. Citywide, enforcement is up 21%.

See our full report here, including results by borough and police precinct.

Safety Cameras at #EverySchool!

Clipboard01Traffic crashes are the #1 cause of injury-related death for children in New York City, but only 7% of New York City schools are protected by speed safety cameras.  Today there are only 140 speed safety cameras, switched on for just 60 hours a week.

A movement of New Yorkers is demanding more for their children. Parents are asking Albany legislators for speed safety cameras for every school, to protect every child, every hour of the day.

Make Queens Safer would like to thank the following elected officials, schools, and community organizations for supporting traffic safety cameras at every school in NYC:

Queens Borough President Melinda Katz

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown

US Congressmember Carolyn B. Maloney
US Congressmember Grace Meng

NYS Senator Joseph Addabbo
NYS Senator Leroy Comrie
NYS Senator Jose Peralta
NYS Senator Toby Ann Stavisky

NYC Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer
NYC Council Member Costa Constantinides
NYC Council Member Julissa Ferreras
NYC Council Member Peter Koo
NYC Council Member Antonio Reynoso
NYC Council Member Donovan Richards

NYS Assembly Member Jeffrion Aubry
NYS Assembly Member Vivian Cook
NYS Assembly Member Andrew Hevesi
NYS Assembly Member Ron Kim
NYS Assembly Member Margaret M. Markey
NYS Assembly Member Nily Rozic
NYS Assembly Member Catherine Nolan
NYS Assembly Member Aravella Simotas

Academy for Careers in Television & Film
Art For A Start, NYC
Dutch Kills Centraal
Generation Q – Queens House
Immaculate Conception School
Kehillat Tikvah: A Jewish Community of Hope
Kidical Mass
LaGuardia Community College
L.I.C. Community Boathouse
M’kekado School of Karate
The Noguchi Museum
Pomonok Senior Center
Public School 173 Fresh Meadows
Queens Community House
Queensboro Hill Flushing Civic Association
Rego Park Alliance
The Renaissance Charter School
Socrates Sculpture Park
Sunnyside Artworks
VOICE Charter School of New York

…and more to come!

See here to join the #EverySchool campaign or see a list of its supporters.   We’ll be updating this list as more endorsers appear on their site.