Streetsblog New York City

Roosevelt Avenue and 90th Street, where senior Elba Granizo was struck and killed by a driver last Sunday. Photo: Times Ledger

An elderly woman was killed by an elderly motorist in Queens last weekend.

Elba Granizo, 75, was crossing at Roosevelt Avenue and 90th Street in Elmurst when she was hit by a driver making a left turn, according to the Times Ledger. She was pronounced dead at Elmhurst Hospital.

DNAinfo reports that the driver, also 75, was not charged, and that the NYPD investigation is ongoing.

Granizo was at least the twelfth senior to die in NYC traffic in 2013, according to crash data compiled by Streetsblog.

This fatal crash occurred on the border of the 110th and 115th Precincts. To voice your concerns about neighborhood traffic safety directly to the commanding officers of these precincts, go to the next precinct community council meeting. Community council info is available on each precinct’s web page.

The City Council district where Elba Granizo was killed is represented by Julissa Ferreras. This district was also the site of a horrific fatal curb-jump crash in Willets Point in April. To encourage Ferreras to take action to improve street safety in her district and citywide, contact her at 718-651-1917, jferreras@council.nyc.gov or @JulissaFerreras.

Photo: Clarence Eckerson Jr.

Clarence snapped these shots of a new Slow Zone in East Elmhurst/Jackson Heights, where DOT is putting in 20 mph signage and street markings, including a wide striped median on 30th Avenue that reduces the number of lanes pedestrians must cross.

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The pedestrian killed by a truck driver at Flatbush and Atlantic on Wednesday has been identified as Irvin Gitlitz, 83, according to NYPD.

The truck involved in the crash that killed Irvin Gitlitz did not have required crossover mirrors. The driver was not summonsed. Photo: DNAinfo

Police say Gitlitz stepped between parked cars into the path of the truck driver, who was not charged or summonsed. Photos of the scene indicate that the truck was not equipped with required crossover mirrors, which enable the driver to see what’s directly in front of the cab.

Gitlitz lived a short distance away, at 334 Bergen Street, a police spokesperson said. The crash occurred in the 78th Precinct, near the location where another pedestrian, Ronald Sinvil, was killed by the driver of a city sanitation vehicle last December.

Gitlitz was at least the eleventh senior to die in city traffic in 2013, according to crash data compiled by Streetsblog, and at least the third NYC pedestrian killed by a tractor-trailer driver in the last five weeks.

Another Wednesday crash claimed the life of a pedestrian in Elmhurst. Police say a man stepped between parked vehicles into the path of an MTA bus, on Broadway near 77th Street, at around 7:30 last night. The victim carried no identification, and as of this morning NYPD did not know who he was. The Q53 was carrying passengers at the time of the crash, according to reports. No summonses were issued.

Last night’s fatal crash occurred in the 110th Precinct, and in the City Council district represented by Daniel Dromm.

A Queens senior struck by an alleged drunk driver last week was at least the fourth person to die in traffic in Eric Ulrich’s City Council district in the last six months.

John Eberling. Photo via Daily News

John Eberling, 76, was crossing Jamaica Avenue at 80th Street at approximately 4:30 on the afternoon of February 27 when he was struck by an SUV driven by Viveshdyal Thakoordyal, according to reports.

Eberling, a retired warehouse manager, was declared dead on arrival at Jamaica Hospital.

“He was the sweetest man you could ever know,” said Eberling’s niece, Diana Freeman, to the Daily News. “When my father died, he stepped in and became my surrogate father. He gave me away at my wedding.”

Thakoordyal, 45, was charged with first degree vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated, according to online court records.

Though Eberling’s alleged killer was arrested and charged, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown has a history of granting favorable deals in DWI death cases.

Last December, Demitrios Matsoukatidis received probation for killing Ditmars senior Lizardo Aldama. Brown’s office reported that Matsoukatidis had a blood alcohol content of .16, twice the legal limit for driving. He was charged with second degree manslaughter and DWI.

One year ago, Kent Lowrie pleaded guilty to manslaughter and received five years probation, a $1,000 fine, and a six-month license revocation for the death of 6-year-old Zhaneya Butcher in Jamaica. According to reports, Brown’s office feared Lowrie was not drunk enough to get a manslaughter conviction.

This fatal crash occurred in the 102nd Precinct. To voice your concerns about neighborhood traffic safety directly to Captain Henry Sautner, the commanding officer, go to the next precinct community council meeting. The 102nd Precinct council meetings happen at 7:00 p.m. on the third Tuesday of the month at Richmond Hill Library, 118-14 Hillside Ave. Call 718-805-3215 for information.

The City Council district where John Eberling was killed is represented by Eric Ulrich, known among other things for telling New Yorkers concerned about traffic killings to “get a life.” Since last September, at least three other people have lost their lives to motorists in Ulrich’s district: Francisco Camacho, age 59; Ramon Russel, 37; and Sheena Mathew; 38. To encourage Ulrich to take action to improve street safety in his district and citywide, contact him at 212-788-7069, eulrich@council.nyc.gov or @eric_ulrich.

Left, Carlos Carlo, 65, of Rochdale, Queens, was killed by a hit-and-run driver. Right, Carlo's granddaughter and daughter, Samantha and Melissa Martin. Right photo: Mona Rivera/1010 WINS

Police are looking for the driver of a dark sedan who fled the scene after striking and killing Carlos Carlo, 65, as he tried to cross Rockaway Boulevard at 137th Avenue in the Rochdale section of Queens at approximately 12:30 a.m. last night.

Police say Carlo was returning home after getting off an MTA bus, according to the Daily News, though his daughter, Melissa Martin, told the Post that he was returning from a leisure walk. Her father often walked to lower his cholesterol and improve his health, she said.

The driver was traveling northbound in the right lane when the crash occurred. When first responders arrived, Carlo was unconscious with body trauma. He was transported to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Rockaway Boulevard has two lanes in each direction. Instead of a pedestrian refuge, there is a center turn lane down the middle of the road. The intersection with 137th Avenue does not have a traffic signal; the nearest striped crosswalks are blocks away at Conduit Avenue or 134th Avenue.

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Compared to the population at large, Latinas have high rates of diabetes and obesity, putting them at elevated risk of heart disease. At the same time, women are less likely than men to get around by bicycle. In an effort to integrate active transportation into the daily lives of Latina residents, community groups in Queens are organizing a new Spanish-language program to teach women bike repair and ride leadership skills. Corona Plaza and the Queens Museum will serve as focal points for the program, beginning in June.

Members of WE Bike NYC learn bike maintenance skills. Photo: WE Bike NYC

The 12-week, two-part program, launched by WE Bike, Immigrant Movement International, and the Queens Museum, aims to train six leaders who can promote bicycling in the neighborhood. The first nine weeks will focus on bike mechanics and how to lead group rides, while the second phase will offer stipends to lead rides and events with other community members around the neighborhood, including at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park and Corona Plaza.

The plan for a Latina bicycling program in Corona began over drinks a few months ago. Elizabeth Jose started WE Bike last year, after an email to some friends and acquaintances snowballed into a series of rides and events for women. When she met Queens Museum employee Prerana Reddy at a happy hour, Jose began talking about her goals for WE Bike, including outreach to more women of color.

“I was intrigued,” Reddy said, adding that the museum has dabbled in bike programs, like the Tour de Queens and DOT helmet giveaways. “It’s something that we’ve done in small ways,” she said, and she saw an opportunity to expand the museum’s involvement.

But Reddy knew that she and Jose couldn’t pull it off alone. To gauge interest from immigrant communities, they connected with Immigrant Movement International, which had worked with the Queens Museum before. The group, already running a health and fitness program for women in Corona, which features Zumba, tai chi, nutrition, and anti-domestic violence classes, asked participants if they would be interested in adding bicycling to the mix. They got a positive response. Group members were particularly interested in an earn-a-bike model, where participants get a new bicycle after learning maintenance and repair skills.

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A drunk driver who killed a Queens cyclist will be free to drive again in fewer than six years, under the terms of a plea agreement from District Attorney Richard Brown.

Alex Batista was charged with second degree manslaughter, driving under the influence and leaving the scene after he ran down Roger Hernandez on Greenpoint Avenue on the night of July 18, 2012. Brown told the Sunnyside Post that Batista was driving “at a high rate of speed” when he overtook Hernandez, bouncing the victim off the windshield of his car and nearly striking several pedestrians. Police found Batista laying on a sidewalk after he crashed into a building 10 blocks away. He was also charged with disorderly conduct for being uncooperative and approaching an officer “in a threatening manner.”

Hernandez, a 37-year-old handyman who was reportedly carrying a bouquet of flowers on his bike, died at the scene.

Said Brown, last July: ”This defendant’s decision to get behind the wheel of a car while allegedly intoxicated is incomprehensible and cost an innocent young man his life. Drinking and driving is never a good idea — and all too often has deadly consequences.”

Batista could have gotten up to 15 years in jail on the manslaughter charge. On Monday he pled guilty to a top charge of assault — a D felony, the second-least severe felony category — and misdemeanor DWI, according to court records. Batista will be sentenced to five years in prison. He will not be eligible for parole, according to a spokesperson for Brown’s office.

It would be reasonable to assume that, at the very least, a motorist who commits such a wanton act of deadly violence would forfeit his driving privileges for life. But according to the Post, Batista’s license will be suspended for just six months upon the completion of his jail sentence. After three years, he will be permitted to drive without an ignition interlock device.

Alex Batista is but the latest killer motorist to benefit from the largesse of DA Brown and New York’s forgiving traffic justice system.

In another deal brokered by Brown’s office, Kent Lowrie pleaded guilty to manslaughter and received five years probation, a $1,000 fine, and a six-month license revocation for hitting 6-year-old Zhaneya Butcher in Jamaica. According to reports, prosecutors feared Lowrie was not drunk enough to get a manslaughter conviction.

Last December, Demitrios Matsoukatidis received probation for killing Ditmars senior Lizardo Aldama. Brown’s office reported that Matsoukatidis had a blood alcohol content of .16, twice the legal limit for driving. Like Batista, he was charged with second degree manslaughter and DWI. Our query to Brown’s office concerning the Matsoukatidis plea bargain was not returned.

Myrtle Avenue at Madison Street. Image: Google Maps

A 7-year-old boy was struck and killed by a motorist in Ridgewood Thursday evening.

Puran Thapa was crossing Myrtle Avenue at Madison Street when, as his father looked on, he was hit by the driver of a Toyota SUV traveling east on Myrtle, according to reports. From the Post:

“I saw the child lying in the street — right on the double yellow line,” said pharmacy worker Darlyn Deleon, 22. “The father was kneeling next to the child and crying. The child looked bad.”

NYPD told the Post that Puran “darted” into the street. As is the norm when a child killed in traffic is blamed for his or her own death, no mention was made of the motorist’s speed. Within hours of the crash, police were telling the media that “No criminality is suspected.”

In the past 13 months, no fewer than nine children aged 14 and under have been killed by city motorists, according to data compiled by Streetsblog. Of the eight drivers who remained at the scene, or fled the scene but were later identified, none were charged by NYPD or city district attorneys for causing a death.

As Mayor Bloomberg continues his work to reduce worldwide road fatalities, traffic crashes remain the second leading cause of death for children in New York City, after illness. Bloomberg hasn’t lifted a finger to reform the NYPD’s shoddy approach to traffic enforcement and investigations under Ray Kelly. Rather than addressing the charge that the department’s crash investigation procedures are in violation of state law, the mayor has scolded the press for raising the question.

This fatal crash occurred in the 104th Precinct. To voice your concerns about neighborhood traffic safety directly to Deputy Inspector Michael A. Cody, the commanding officer, go to the next precinct community council meeting. The 104th Precinct council meetings happen at 7:30 p.m. on the last Wednesday of every month at Maspeth Town Hall, 53-37 72nd Street. Call 718-386-2431 for information.

The City Council district where Puran Thapa was killed is represented by Diana Reyna. To encourage Reyna to take action to improve street safety in her district and citywide, contact her at 212-788-7095 or 718-963-3141.

A motorist charged with driving drunk and killing an elderly man in Queens will get probation thanks to a plea deal with the office of District Attorney Richard Brown, according to the New York Post.

According to reports, Lizardo Aldama is one of many New Yorkers whose killers have benefited from the state's farcical traffic justice system. Photo: Times Ledger

Lizardo Aldama, 89, was a fixture in the Ditmars section of Astoria. He was taking a walk one evening last February when he was struck by Demitrios Matsoukatidis, in a crosswalk, at the intersection of 31st Street and 21st Avenue, a block from his home. Wrote the Times Ledger:

Several neighbors said that after Aldama was hit, he was dragged by the black Mercedes SUV.

“People had to scream at him [the driver] to get off of him,” said Patricia Kazakos, 50, who lives in the same building as Aldama and said she arrived at the corner after the accident.

“When I saw the cane, I knew it was him,” Kazakos said of her neighbor.

Aldama suffered a head injury and died at a nearby hospital. He had lived in Astoria for over 50 years, having fled his native Cuba by boat in 1959.

“He was very independent and he was determined to stay [in the city],” said Aldama’s daughter, Maite Aldama-Foertsch, of Massapequa, to the Post. “He didn’t like the suburbs. When he would stay with me for a visit, he’d say, ‘Nothing to see, nothing to do.’”

Brown’s office reported that Matsoukatidis, 67, also of Astoria, showed signs of intoxication at the scene and had a blood alcohol content of .16, twice the legal limit for driving. He was charged with second degree manslaughter and DWI.

Vehicular manslaughter in the second degree is a Class D “non-violent” felony, punishable by up to seven years in prison, though jail time is not mandatory. Matsoukatidis’s next court date is in March, according to Brown’s office.

Matsoukatidis pleaded guilty to manslaughter on December 7, court records say. A Brown spokesperson could not confirm the terms of the plea as reported by the Post, or tell us if the case against Matsoukatidis was somehow compromised, resulting in a penalty that barely rates as a slap on the wrist. Instead, the spokesperson referred us to Brown’s director of communications, who at this writing had not responded to an email query.

According to the Post, Matsoukatidis will be given five years probation and 20 days of community service, and must attend DWI and victim impact programs. He apparently will retain his driving privileges, as the plea reportedly requires him to install an ignition interlock.

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After a fatal crash in her district, a state representative from Queens is again calling on Albany to double fines for speeding, but with NYPD issuing few tickets, lax traffic enforcement continues to be the biggest obstacle to safer streets.

Assembly Member Barbara Clark

Barbara Clark, State Assembly Member from Queens Village, introduced a bill in May that would double speeding fines for violations that occur in “residential neighborhoods.” Clark spoke up for the bill most recently after a November crash that killed a motorist in Cambria Heights.

Clark told the Times Ledger that she introduced the bill after efforts to boost enforcement and the installation of speed humps failed to slow traffic.

“Not only have I pressed each and every commander of the three police precincts that cover the 33rd Assembly District for increased enforcement, but I have also again and again requested each and every commissioner of the Department of Transportation to install speed reducers at countless locations throughout the district,” Clark said.

“And while these efforts have led to both temporary periods of increased enforcement and the limited installation of speed bumps, an overarching solution has been hampered by institutional constraints,” she continued. “On the one hand, a sustained enforcement program has fallen prey to a police department lacking the personnel to consistently assign officers to it. On the other hand, the widespread installation of speed reducers has been prevented by a Department of Transportation restricted by its own rules and regulations as to where they can be placed.”

While NYC DOT has in recent years made great strides in engineering for street safety, traffic enforcement continues to be a low priority for NYPD. The 33rd Assembly District is policed by the 103rd, 105th and 113th Precincts. Those three precincts combined issued just 523 speeding tickets in all of 2011, according to NYPD data. With 346 speeding citations logged as of October, the precincts were on track to issue a total of 415 summonses in 2012.

Increasing fines may discourage speeding to some extent, says Juan Martinez of Transportation Alternatives, but a robust automated enforcement program would be more effective.

“A typical speeding ticket is between 100 and 300 bucks,” says Martinez. “Especially once you add in a state surcharge, it’s a hefty sum. And then to double that, that’s a deterrent.”

Though the speed camera program proposed for New York City would levy lower fines — $50 to $100 per violation — and would not attach points to drivers licenses, Martinez says the increased likelihood of receiving a ticket is key to altering behavior. “The real deterrent would be automatic enforcement,” says Martinez, “or at least more pervasive enforcement.”

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