See any victims here? Neither does NYPD. Photo: Daily News

Despite the carnage and eyewitness accounts, none of which appear contradictory, NYPD told the Queens Courier the driver would face no charges:

According to police, the driver "had a clean license;" he was neither arrested nor issued any summons. “We weren’t there to witness an infraction,” the police source said.

This case again plainly exposes the hypocrisy in how city law enforcers handle cases involving drivers, pedestrians and cyclists, depending on the identity of the "victim."

Recall that Queens pedestrian Max Kim-Bee was criminally charged earlier this year after a driver who nearly ran him down said Kim-Bee somehow damaged his car. This arrest, which occurred several hours after the incident, was based solely on the driver's claims to police. Not only were no cops present, there were no corroborating witnesses.

So: Bloody bodies littering the ground yards away from a smashed automobile? Nothing NYPD can do. A pedestrian injured your car, you say? The cops are on the case.

Imagine all crimes were treated this way. "I'm sorry your son was murdered, ma'am, but since we didn't witness an infraction, there's really nothing to investigate." Or, "There were no police officers in the area when the crane fell, prosecutors said, and no charges are expected in light of the operator's clean record."

A grisly scene. Multiple innocent victims disfigured. Lives disrupted. Families terrorized. How on earth, Ray Kelly, does this not qualify as violent crime?

Site of James Langergaard's fatal August 14 crash

Tomorrow, TA will be holding a special Queens Boulevard Bike Pool ride in honor of James. The ride will pause at the site of James' crash to dedicate his ghost bike. The ride meets at the Queens foot of the Queensboro Bridge bike-pedestrian path (Queens Plaza North at Crescent Street in Long Island City), and ends in Forest Hills. Riders depart at 6:30 p.m.

I recently helped install James' ghost bike and saw for myself the intersection where my friend perished. Queens Boulevard is notoriously dangerous to cross, but this is a particularly forbidding stretch for anyone not encased in steel and glass.

James was riding south on 69th Street and had begun the perilous traverse of a 10-lane highway. After crossing three lanes of the "access" road, he came to the four-lane "express" portion of the Boulevard. Vehicles traveling down this corridor are given copious visual cues that they are on the urban equivalent of a limited-access freeway. They hurtle along a concrete, fenced-in channel that could be transplanted to any suburban no-man's land without alteration. The only things out of place would be a crosswalk and a 30-mph speed limit sign, which may be the highway department's idea of a joke given the inducements to exceed it.

As he approached the express lanes, James' view of traffic coming towards him from the left would have been partially obscured by a fence and signs placed in the median. He wouldn't have gotten a clear view of approaching traffic until he was only a few yards from the intersection. All he had to remind him that he was about to enter a zone of mortal danger was a distant "Don't Walk" signal at the other end of the intersection. That and a thoughtful sign placed on the median to his left warning any pedestrian foolish enough to venture across this deadly expanse to "Be Alert: Proceed With Caution."

According to witnesses, James was crossing against the light. But capital punishment should not be the likely penalty for an error in judgment. James was arguably as much the victim of an infrastructure designed exclusively for the convenience of motorists. All others who stray into the area are an afterthought, at best.

By coming on the ride or attending the dedication, you can help send a strong message to the community and the city that these casualties of the Boulevard will not be forgotten, and that such inhuman landscapes in the middle of a congested city must not be tolerated and must change.

WHERE: Ride meets at the Queens foot of the Queensboro Bridge  bike-pedestrian path (Queens Plaza North at Crescent Street in Long Island City); Ride ends in Forest Hills

WHEN: Friday, October 2; Riders depart at 6:30 p.m.

Monthly bike commuter pools on Queens Boulevard are led by TA's Queens Committee to provide cyclists with a safe ride home, and build support for protected space for cyclists on the borough's most iconic roadway.

Top to bottom: Deirdre Feerick, James Van Bramer, Brent O'Leary.

Gioia, after some wobbling, voted yes on congestion pricing last year. For good reason. Like District 33 in Brooklyn, the 26th is a doormat for traffic crossing the East River. All those car commuters enticed by the free pass are a curse for bus riders heading to the transit hub at Queens Plaza or crossing the Queensboro Bridge itself, which handles more bus routes than any other East River bridge. Combined with crammed subways and a boom in car-oriented development along the western Queens waterfront, the picture isn't pretty for transit.  

"The 7 train seems to be at capacity while large residential buildings are sprouting throughout Hunter's Point," said Emilia Crotty, a Woodside resident. "We want to encourage these new residents to use mass transit, of course, but there's very little room for them. Simultaneously, these buildings are being built with ample parking facilities for their new occupants. Our buses are not a viable alternative to the 7 when they sit in backed-up Queensboro Bridge traffic nearly all day long." 

Biking over the bridge instead? As in the neighboring 25th District, both Queens Boulevard and Northern Boulevard cut through here, traffic sewers that discourage cycling and strangle street life near and far. Local community boards have reacted to recent bike safety enhancements, like the buffered lane on Vernon Boulevard, with hostility.

Putting a stop to the free ride over the Queensboro is pretty much the sine qua non for fixing this district's traffic troubles and requires some degree of courage, so the answers to the road pricing question on the TA candidate survey are especially instructive. Candidate Deirdre Feerick, a lawyer who works for the City Council, ruled out bridge tolls and dodged the topic of congestion pricing. Feerick has the backing of Queens Democratic boss Joseph Crowley and former council member Walter McCaffrey of "Keep NYC Congestion Tax Free" fame.

James Van Bramer, a former reporter who now works for the Queens Public Library, acknowledged the effectiveness of congestion pricing but hedged by calling for "careful planning and mitigation" as a pre-condition, citing the belief that commuters from points east might drive to the district, park, then hop on a train or bus to complete their trips. Van Bramer has been endorsed by the New York League of Conservation Voters and has secured the Working Families Party ballot line in November.

The other candidate on the Democratic primary ballot next Tuesday, business lawyer Brent O'Leary, eschewed going on the record about congestion pricing, voicing support for a higher gas tax or VMT fees instead.

With two potential BRT routes identified by DOT running through the 26th, the question of how to prioritize surface transit is a big one here. While all three candidates said they support BRT, only Van Bramer mentioned the idea of giving buses exclusive space. "Creating bus lanes or giving buses the right of way makes a lot of sense," he observed in his survey response, though again he hedged, saying he'd like to see "a study of the impact it would have on traffic conditions."

Two other candidates, David Rosasco and Kwame Smalls, were kicked off the ballot after Feerick challenged the signatures on their petitions. Of the two, Rosasco is mounting a full-fledged write-in campaign. He didn't fill out a candidate survey, but a source who lives in the district tells us that the self-described conservative Democrat is an earnest worker who has admirably refrained from pandering to the anti-bike crowd during his campaign.

For more transportation stances from Feerick, Van Bramer, and O'Leary -- including one call for bike-only streets and one incorrect citation of the New York City speed limit -- check their responses at the TA candidate survey.

At the Transportation Alternatives City Council candidate debate last night, the three Democrats competing in District 25 sat down to tackle concerns about traffic, public space, and street safety. An overflow crowd of about 50 people packed the second floor office of the Queens Diversity Center to see them.

The starkest differences between the candidates centered around how to allocate street space and improve safety. Challenger Daniel Dromm, a school teacher, was the only one to speak unreservedly in favor of design and engineering improvements. "We need to have more bike lanes installed," he said. "We may need to have lighting systems that give pedestrians more time to cross the street."

Incumbent Helen Sears took a different view of cyclist safety. While Dromm had called for better education of both drivers and cyclists, Sears got more specific. "I think every company that makes bikes should have to produce a video that will absolutely show the cyclist exactly what the rules of the road are," she suggested.

Businessman Stanley Kalathara at first insisted that "providing a special route in the street" for bike lanes is "impossible," but later modified the claim, saying that 34th Avenue and 35th Avenue might have the necessary space. (Note: 34th Avenue already has a bike lane.)

Dromm was also the only candidate to express much support for congestion pricing. "I do support some form of road pricing that would help to alleviate the burden on the MTA," he said, adding that he would also support higher gas taxes or bridge tolls to fund transit. "The majority of people in this neighborhood probably do not have cars, and that’s why I make that such a high priority."

According to the most recent census numbers [PDF], Dromm's intuition is correct: 52 percent of District 25 residents don't own cars. Still, Kalathara pledged to oppose pricing in no uncertain terms, and Sears made her support conditional on the construction of additional municipal garages. Apparently the council member subscribes to the belief that car commuters will use her district as a park-and-ride if they can't drive across the 59th Street Bridge for free. Logic dictates otherwise, but if there's any way to fulfill that prophecy, thousands of additional parking spots would do it.

Off-street parking policy was something of an Achilles heel for all three candidates. Their prevailing view: More garages and more parking would reduce the terrible congestion problem in Jackson Heights, one of the most transit-rich neighborhoods in Queens. Someone should send around a copy of Donald Shoup's The High Cost of Free Parking to these folks:

• Kalathara: "People are going to buy cars anyway, it has nothing to do with the garage."
• Dromm: "I agree that any development that comes into the community should have parking attached to it. Some people here come from Jersey and don’t use transit. So they need space."
• Sears: "We have very viable commercial areas. It’s a tri-state shopping center; people don’t take public transportation to get here."

After they're done with Shoup, the candidates might want to peruse TA's 2008 report, Guaranteed Parking, Guaranteed Driving, which spelled out that many car trips originate in Jackson Heights precisely because city zoning laws require parking attached to new development.

Each candidate also had one or two ideas that stood out as especially unique or insightful. I'll end on a bright note with some of these: 

• Dromm: "Reducing the speed limit is something we have to look at. These cars come barreling down the streets, especially the side streets, not the avenues. It rattles my windows." 
• Kalathara proposed car-free summer weekends on the major shopping streets in Jackson Heights: "37th Avenue, 73rd Street, and 74th Street -- make it like a shopping mall, car-free so people can shop and have a lot of fun."
• Sears used the disjointedness of Queens Boulevard to justify her stance that it can't accommodate a bike lane: "When [DOT] did studies for traffic, they did not do Queens Boulevard in its entirety, they did sections of it. As a result, they went by Community Boards; none of it connected." Okay, that's a terrible excuse for inaction. But it's also a pretty trenchant observation about DOT, when you consider that nearly all of the Class 1, on-street bike lane miles installed in the past two years have been confined to two community board districts in Manhattan, with two more in Brooklyn slated to receive some soon.
  

Both Queens Boulevard, still one of the city's most dangerous streets, and Northern Boulevard, another heavily trafficked feeder to the free 59th Street Bridge, run through the 25th. Only five percent of workers in the district commute by car to the Manhattan CBD, while 39 percent rely on transit [PDF]. Livable streets activism is strong here: Residents helped launch the 78th Street Play Street last year as a temporary corrective to the district's cramped sidewalks and lack of public spaces. Calls for a protected bike lane and traffic calming on Queens Boulevard have been continuous since the death of Asif Rahman last February.

Two-term incumbent Helen Sears sided against congestion pricing in last year's City Council vote, declined to join Eric Gioia and John Liu in urging safety improvements for Queens Boulevard, and responded to the district's sidewalk crunch by proposing a ban on food vendors in 2006. Democratic primary challenger Daniel Dromm, a teacher at PS199, also answered TA's candidate questionnaire, while a third Democratic candidate, Stanley Kalathara, has confirmed he will attend the debate. Republican Mujib Rahman has yet to confirm.

For a preview of tomorrow night's action, here's what Dromm and Sears told TA when asked their opinion of road pricing as a traffic reduction tool:

• Daniel Dromm
  Daniel Dromm does believe that road pricing will alter New Yorkers' travel choices. Dromm is a strong advocate for reducing motor vehicle congestion and expanding mass transit access and funding. Road pricing may be an effective way to reduce traffic but its implementation and design must not alienate or appear to unfairly burden different sections of the City. The major concern is that road pricing, as twice recently proposed, is not politically viable at the moment. Dromm advocates for vastly increasing street parking fees, improving parking management, and initiating a residential parking program. Dromm is a firm believer that neighborhoods surrounding high-traffic roadways will benefit from reduced vehicular congestion.
• Helen Sears
  Helen Sears: I believe that congestion is a serious problem in NYC for many reasons, including health (emissions contribute to high asthma rates and other issues) and the environment (it is critical that we reduce our carbon footprint). I look forward to working on this issue in the future, and will advocate for a plan that equitably distributes any burdens equally among the five boroughs.

The forum gets underway tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the Diversity Center of Queens, 76-11 37th Avenue (between 76th Street and 77th Street).

James at the inaugural Tour de Brooklyn in 2005.

His death is a reminder to all of us that although the cycling atmosphere in New York City has improved tremendously, our streets are still dangerous. Even if you are an experienced rider (James rode his bike everywhere) all it takes is one critical error or getting caught in the wrong situation. When I biked with James he was usually a very deliberate rider. I don’t know what happened on Friday, all I know is we lost a very unique individual. Without James, the world just got a whole lot less interesting.

Let me just take a few paragraphs to tell you about my friend James. I have known him since 1997, when he and I were volunteers at Transportation Alternatives. (Read about some of the feats he performed to earn honors as TA "Volunteer of the Month" in 1998.) Over the years we helped out together at many events, went on countless rides and hikes, and generally just enjoyed talking with each other about the world and bicycling, almost always in a humorous -- and sometimes absurd -- manner.

It was one of those brainstorming sessions between us that led to the idea that James would become the official "bicycling philosopher" for bikeTV - the cable access show I produced until 2006. We filmed a chapter, "What is the essence of cycling?," at a 2005 Central Park volunteer appreciation party for marshals of the TA Century. James's wit and humor are on full display. Check it out:

Here is another video I did that will always bring smiles and warm my heart. While riding in the Bike New York 2001 event, James ended up adopting a kitten along the course. Cats, bikes, philosophy, and of course getting caught up in a quirky tale -- that was James in a nutshell.

If you would like to pay your respects to James and his family, services will be held tonight from 7:00 to 9:00, and again Tuesday from 2:00 to 5:00 and 7:00 to 9:00 at the Hess-Miller Funeral Home in Middle Village, Queens -- 64-19 Metropolitan Avenue (near 64th street). Donations will be accepted in James's name for Transportation Alternatives and to combat multiple sclerosis.

Finally, I remember an event that James really took to heart. At a TA holiday party in 1999, James was once given an award for being "The Spirit of Cycling." I can’t think of a better way to honor my friend than to remember him as such.

Center Boulevard and 48th Avenue, the Long Island City intersection where Max Kim-Bee was nearly mowed down by an erratic and angry driver. Locations approximate. Image: Google Maps/Carly Clark

On the morning of May 6, Max Kim-Bee was walking his two dogs on 48th Avenue in Long Island City, en route to Gantry Plaza State Park. When he reached Center Boulevard, which borders the park, Kim-Bee checked for oncoming traffic. Seeing only a black car to his left some distance away and moving slowly (Kim-Bee assumed the driver was looking for a parking spot), he started to cross. As he approached the middle of the street, Kim-Bee checked to his right for traffic that is obscured by a grassy median (pictured here). At that point, the car he had seen to his left barreled past -- on the wrong side of the street and, by Kim-Bee's estimate, traveling at 40 to 50 mph -- missing Kim-Bee by three feet, and nearly running over his dogs, who were in front of him. After passing Kim-Bee, the driver hit a piece of trash in the street, presumably an empty can or bottle, which issued a loud report.

Here's what happened next, in Kim-Bee's own words:

As soon as the black car stopped, I walked the approximately 30 feet from the pedestrian crossing to where the driver was sitting -- almost alongside the south facing parked cars -- but pointing the wrong way.

I was in a state of mild shock. I had almost watched my dogs run over right in front of me and I felt sickened. It must have taken me about 15-20 seconds to walk with my two dogs to the black car and when I reached it, I leaned toward the open passenger side window and shouted, "Hey buddy, where's the fire? You almost killed me and my dogs!"

The driver looked startled and disoriented. He also appeared to be holding a cell phone and in the middle of a conversation. Sounding confused, he asked, "Did you hit me?" It was apparent he had not seen me at all and had no idea I was in the crosswalk 30 feet behind him -- or that there was a crosswalk or an intersection.

I was taken aback and replied sharply, "Do you see me driving a car? I was on the crosswalk back there when you almost killed us!" I told him he should get out and check he hadn't run anyone over, because he had nearly taken me and my dogs out when he blew through the crosswalk, speeding the wrong way up the street, not looking where he was going. I told him I was lucky he hadn't killed my dogs and me. "You're reckless and dangerous. Get a grip!"

With that exchange, which lasted less than a minute, Kim-Bee walked away. But the driver then made a U-turn, Kim-Bee says, and drove straight toward him. Kim-Bee ran for the curb, dragging his dogs by their leashes. The driver stopped in a crosswalk and, remaining in his car, began shouting.

The driver appeared enraged and very hostile because I had criticized his driving and called him reckless and dangerous. He had no interest in apologizing for almost running me and my dogs over in the first place -– or chasing us to the curb soon after.

Kim-Bee says he repeated himself to the driver -- that he was driving carelessly on a residential street with many pedestrians and school kids -- until it became apparent that he was wasting his time. Anxious to get the incident behind him, Kim-Bee, who had been standing with his hands on his knees so as to address the driver, still in his car, stood upright. Shaking, dizzy and nauseous, Kim-Bee says he steadied himself by putting his elbow against the roof of the car. He then "staggered" away, and had to squat to keep from falling. For the first time, the driver got out of the car. He stood in front of it as Kim-Bee gathered himself, his dogs, and the newspaper he had planned to read -- he had lost the cup of coffee he'd been holding -- and headed toward the park. Some 10 minutes later, as he exited the park, Kim-Bee saw the driver, still parked in the crosswalk, leaning against his car and talking on his cell phone. According to Kim-Bee, he "appeared to be laughing." Kim-Bee says the driver called out to him, but that he "had no interest in any further interaction," and continued on his way home.

Though his route took him past the 108th Precinct, based on previous experience, and because he was not actually hit, Kim-Bee felt sure that going to the police would be an exercise in futility. So he went on with his day, commuting to work in Manhattan, then returning home to take his dogs for their afternoon walk. As he stood talking to neighbors, Kim-Bee was approached by two police officers -- an Officer Sorrentino and Officer O'Brien. Sorrentino asked Kim-Bee if he had been in an "altercation" earlier that day. As he told his story, Kim-Bee saw that the same black car was parked a short distance away, with two other police officers nearby. Not long after, Officer Sorrentino interrupted Kim-Bee and walked to the car, conferred with one of the officers, and returned.

I tried to continue with my account but Officer Sorrentino interrupted me and asked me if I had "any contact with the car." I tried to finish my account by way of explanation but Officer Sorrentino insisted -- repeating several times more and more insistently: "Did you have any contact with the car?" I replied, "He almost ran me over -- but missed -- me by three feet, my dogs by a foot." Again Officer Sorrentino demanded: "Did you have any contact with the car?"

Kim-Bee recounted the moment when he had leaned against the car for support, at which point Sorrentino returned to the black car. The driver was walking around it, pointing to its sides. Sorrentino again conferred with the other officers -- one of whom Kim-Bee assumed was his sergeant -- before returning to inform Kim-Bee that there were "dents, scratches and scuffs" on the car. Incredulous, Kim-Bee replied that it was impossible that any of the marks could be attributed to him, that he had not touched the side of the car, and that he had seen the driver himself leaning against the car after almost running him down. Officer Sorrentino replied that the car "looked pretty new to have any damage," Kim-Bee recalls. When Kim-Bee asked for proof that he had harmed the vehicle -- photos or fingerprints, for example -- Kim-Bee says Sorrentino responded that he had "been watching way too much TV."

Sorrentino asked Kim-Bee to come down to the precinct to give his story. Kim-Bee said he would be happy to, and asked if they could walk the short distance to the precinct house. Sorrentino said no -- they had to ride in a squad car. Kim-Bee was under arrest.

Kim-Bee stresses that Sorrentino was apologetic, though he was unable to "explain or decide" what exactly Kim-Bee -- who has never received as much as a speeding ticket -- was being charged with, only that it was "very minor" and that it should be over in a couple of hours, assuming Kim-Bee "checked out." Officers drove Kim-Bee to the station, dropping off his dogs at his apartment along the way.

At the precinct, where Kim-Bee was held for almost five hours, Kim-Bee says Sorrentino and another officer scolded him for not "clearing up" the matter that morning. As Kim-Bee sat in a holding cell, an officer who was not present during the arrest, laughing, told him: "You just don't kick a man's car." Kim-Bee replied that he had done no such thing, and that the officer was the first person to suggest he had.

Like Ray Bengen -- assaulted by a driver who almost ran him over with his SUV, then charged by Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau's office for slapping the vehicle in an attempt to save his own life -- Kim-Bee was charged with criminal mischief, a Class A misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of 12 months in prison.

Streetsblog has a message in with the 108th Precinct for the officers' account of what happened on May 6. A spokesperson for Queens DA Richard A. Brown's office said that a prosecutor has not yet been assigned to Kim-Bee's case, as he was given a desk appearance ticket.

Kim-Bee's attorney, Frank Perrone, is a former Queens prosecutor. He believes that when the driver ran over the can or bottle in the street, he thought he had hit Kim-Bee. "And I think that, almost in a preemptive need to protect himself, he went and filed this completely bogus and erroneous complaint," says Perrone. "The police department, unfortunately here -- as long as the complaining witness is willing to swear to a supporting deposition, they have to file the complaint."

The driver's name, however, isn't on the desk appearance ticket. To this day, Kim-Bee does not know the identity of his accuser (believing the incident was over that morning, he did not note the license plate number). As of now, no deposition has been filed, according to Perrone. "All we have is a statement of the charge. So the assumption is that he [the driver] went into the police department and said that my client either hit, or bumped into, or did something to his car."

Perrone is confident that the charge against Kim-Bee will eventually be dismissed. "It really seems like this guy was just a lunatic," he says.

Photo: Daily News

The Daily News reports that on Saturday, a Range Rover driven by Martin Ocasio struck and killed cyclist Pablo Pasaras in Long Island City. Ocasio, who had nine prior arrests, was fleeing police after he was seen buying drugs. As cops in an unmarked car chased him on 21st Street, Ocasio was reportedly driving on the wrong side of the road. When he tried to get back in the right lane Ocasio hit a parked car and Pasaras, who was pronounced dead at Elmhurst Hospital Center.

Pasaras, 27, was on a food delivery run to a housing police precinct. He had three kids.

A witness said the police cruiser did not have its lights or sirens on. In April, several witnesses reported that police driving without lights and sirens were chasing the mini-van driver who hit and killed pedestrian Violetta Kryzak on Manhattan Avenue in Brooklyn. The commanding officer of the precinct denies that a chase occurred.

In June, nine people, including five pedestrians, were injured when officers responding to a call in a marked NYPD squad car collided with another car and careened onto an East Village sidewalk. Witnesses said the cruiser's lights and sirens were off, though NYPD claims otherwise.

Last month, a pedestrian and motorcyclist were struck by a man fleeing the NYPD in Washington Heights following an armed mugging. Police opened fire after the car hit a line of parked vehicles on 188th Street, shooting the driver dead.

On Sunday, Transportation Alternatives' Second Annual Tour de Queens took riders on an 18-mile circuit through St. Albans, Kew Gardens, Hollis, and many other neighborhoods. Once again, the Queens Museum of Art in Flushing-Corona Park helped host the event, and museum president Tom Finkelpearl rode the entire route. There were many more riders this year, probably due not only to this year's beautiful weather but the fact that last year's high temp was 96!

On the second Friday of the month, the Transportation Alternatives Queens Committee leads a bike pool along Queens Boulevard. This street is a critical yet dangerous part of many Queens bike commutes. By riding in a group each month, pool members aim to educate drivers that bikes are on the street, make a statement about the need for a bike lane, and give the borough's bike commuters a safe ride home.

I joined up with the ride last month. The next bike pool is tomorrow -- Friday, June 12.

Last week the Department of City Planning released the "Queens Around the World Guide," a map to help cyclists see the sights, sample the cuisine, and frequent the merchants of the city's biggest borough.

The Queens guide subtly delivers the message that attracting cyclists means attracting business -- a nice little counterpoint to those who demonize bike lanes as a drag on retailers. As the DCP press release says, the map points out "many opportunities for riders to park their bikes and walk around the unique neighborhoods and shopping districts" of the borough. Which raises the prospect of a good companion project: How about a few bike corrals along the route? The potential to boost foot traffic is rather impressive when you consider that each on-street spot for car parking could turn into a dozen or so slots for bike parking.

DCP will be distributing the maps to local bike shops. For now, you can find it online. Maps for other boroughs are in the works, with the Bronx coming up next.

JoAnne Hayden-Weissman, center, was killed by a curb-jumping driver in Queens on April 16.

Last Thursday afternoon, 55-year-old JoAnne (Kodetsky) Hayden-Weissman was walking her dog on a path near Cross Bay Boulevard in Broad Channel, Queens when a driver reportedly jumped the curb, striking both her and her pet. Hayden-Weissman, a popular dance instructor who founded the Western Steppers line dancing group, later died at Peninsula Hospital. Her dog was also killed, according to a commenter on the web site of the Daily News, which has the only coverage of the incident we've found.

Meanwhile, as residents bemoan Cross Bay Boulevard's status as a speedway for reckless motorists:

The driver stayed at the scene and was not charged.

As we've learned from our interviews with Leslie Crocker Snyder and Maureen McCormick, prosecutors in New York State are often hamstrung when it comes to going after sober drivers who kill. When pedestrian deaths in the city are so commonplace that they barely merit a mention in local media, while certain prosecutors show no inclination to push for any punishment whatsoever even in the most high-profile cases of motorist negligence, it's clearly going to take a lot more consciousness-raising over many more years for the words "the driver was not charged" to become the exception, rather than the rule.

Not that it can't happen: As McCormick points out, until MADD came along, drunk drivers were given the same societal free pass as careless, but no less deadly, drivers enjoy today.

Dollar Van Demos, the unlikely union of transportation needs and musical dreams that has entranced New York bloggers, is giving private transit operators in Brooklyn and Queens some of the best press they've ever received. But that isn't the only reason it's worth taking a fresh look at dollar vans. If the state legislature can't avert the MTA's doomsday scenario, the vans may soon see a surge in ridership -- perhaps big enough to launch a few recording careers.

Dollar vans are the unmarked and often unregulated 15-passenger vehicles that cruise Flatbush and Utica Avenues in Brooklyn, Jamaica Avenue in Queens, and other outer-borough thoroughfares picking up bus passengers and commuters. Service cuts and fare hikes would make their routes increasingly attractive to transit riders.

While that's a convenient fail-safe for residents of the transit-poor neighborhoods that dollar vans serve, it's problematic for the MTA and potentially dangerous for passengers.

It stands to reason that many dollar van trips (now priced at $1.50 or $2.00) would be New York City Transit trips if riders were satisfied with the level of service provided by area buses, so some trips lost to dollar vans not only represent dissatisfied transit customers, but also lost fare-box revenue at a time when the MTA needs every cent.

Furthermore, because many dollar vans are unlicensed and unregulated, and thus uninsured to operate as livery vehicles, passengers can expect little recourse in the event of a crash and little consistency from van to van and driver to driver.

Both the NYPD and the TLC are responsible for oversight of dollar vans but enforcement that would prevent illegal vans from operating and legal vans from poaching MTA passengers from bus stops has been spotty at best, according to City Council Transportation Chair John Liu.

The 63rd Precinct, which covers Mill Basin and Marine Park in Brooklyn -- neighborhoods favored by dollar van drivers looking to avoid traffic on Flatbush Avenue -- issued 49 moving violation tickets and 48 TLC tickets to the operators of legal dollar vans and impounded 25 illegal vans between June and October of 2008.

Still, that’s just a drop in the bucket.

In 1999, the New York Times estimated that there were between 2400 and 5000 dollar vans operating in New York City, a number that has no doubt fluctuated in recent years, but still represents a sizable fleet of private transit vehicles.

With commuters tightening their belts and MTA fare hikes and service cuts potentially on the way, this number may very well skyrocket, and what has long been a cottage industry loose and nimble enough to launch gimmicks like Dollar Van Demos could become an increasingly crucial part of the transportation network, for better and for worse.

For obvious reasons, it’s refreshing to see the steps that a small, privately owned transportation company will take to draw and please passengers. But for equally obvious reasons, it’s alarming to think that transit riders may have to rely more and more on an unregulated industry to get around their city.

DOT has plans to improve conditions for pedestrians on the Queens side of the Pulaski Bridge, which connects Greenpoint, Brooklyn with Hunters Point in Long Island City. According to a recent presentation [PDF], pedestrians will benefit from additional crosswalks, new markings and signalization to reduce turning vehicle conflicts, and pedestrian islands.

The plan was presented to the Community Board 2 Land Use Committee last month and to a transportation sub-committee on February 2, a DOT spokesperson told Streetsblog. A full board vote may come as early as next month. As of now DOT expects to begin construction in the spring. The project should take one to two months to complete. Given CB2's record on livable streets issues, Queens advocates may want to keep an eye on this one.

How to change the equation? An intriguing attempt is currently unfolding in southern Queens, where, in less than a month, voters will choose a replacement for Joseph Addabbo, who left the City Council following his election to the State Senate in November.

The New York League of Conservation Voters and the Campaign for New York's Future have launched a voter education campaign devoted to transportation issues in the 32nd council district, a car-dependent area that includes Ozone Park, Broad Channel, and part of the Rockaways. "So many folks head to the polls and they think about how their candidates stand on education, or what their stance is on guns and crime," says Dan Hendrick of the NYLCV. "The objective of this campaign is to make sure that transportation and mass transit are voting issues as well."

The campaign is not endorsing a specific candidate, but drawing attention to the need for better transit service and to the area's crippling traffic. Broad Channel and Rockaway residents have been in the news lately for griping about tolls on the Cross Bay Bridge. NYLCV intends to broaden the discussion. "One of their big needs is more express bus service," said Hendrick, who envisions the campaign as a continuation of last year's public debate about congestion pricing. "Because the area is so car-dependent, [rush hour] congestion is a real problem in that district."

A local partner, the South Ozone Park Civic Association West, is helping to organize a candidates' forum next Wednesday, where voters can get their would-be council members to go on the record with a transit platform. Six candidates are in the running [PDF] (including, still, Michael Ricatto).

"We really want to heighten the sense of accountability of our elected officials," said Hendrick. "Whoever gets elected, they'll go into office knowing, 'Transit is a big priority in my district.'"

Voters in the 32nd council district go the polls on February 24. When regular City Council elections roll around later this year, Hendrick said, NYLCV plans to build on this model and ramp up transportation campaigns in more districts. "Definitely the idea here is to replicate this on a much larger scale in the fall."

A facebook page apparently belonging to Alexander Aponte. The status was updated via cell phone minutes before Aponte struck and killed Ibrihim Ahmed.

In light of the fact that driving with a suspended license carries only a perfunctory fine and seldom results in any jail time, Transportation Alternatives is calling for stiffer penalties to keep dangerous drivers off the streets, including a top-to-bottom overhaul of section 511 in the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law.

A look at section 511-a reveals that there may be some small measure of legal recourse against the Council candidate, Michael Ricatto, whose campaign hired Aponte. It says, in effect, that if you allow someone with a suspended license to drive your vehicle -- such as a massive campaign bus -- and you should have known better, you can be held accountable. However, the meager consequences -- a maximum $500 fine and 15 days in jail for a first-time offense -- are further proof of the need for stronger penalties.

Note that drivers with suspended licenses must surrender the physical license to a court or to the DMV [PDF, page 3]. Did Ricatto's campaign even ask to see Aponte's license before letting him drive?

The Queens District Attorney's office would not comment on the possibility of charges being filed against Ricatto, saying that the investigation into the entire episode is ongoing. A spokesperson said that more serious charges may be brought against Aponte if the investigation warrants, contradicting the Daily News report, but declined to comment on what would trigger a charge of vehicular manslaughter. You would think running over a child while driving without a valid license would suffice.

"I see no purpose to this [zoning] text change," said Community Board 1 chairperson Vinicio Donato. Board 1 voted down the zoning amendment, 25 to 8 (one abstention). The bicycle parking proposal is being voted on citywide by all community boards. After the boards' vote, DCP will hold a public hearing in January and the City Council has the final vote.

There you have it. Even after hearing a City Planning presentation explaining how better bike parking options would reduce congestion, improve air quality, and boost public health, Donato -- who has chaired CB1 since 1975 -- claims not to see the point of providing secure places for people to put their bikes. His stance may carry no binding authority, but Donato's board is assumed to speak for the community at large.

Note that CB1's zoning and variance committee did approve the bike parking measure. The whole situation is reminiscent of the Vernon Boulevard bike lane discussion last summer. Back then, CB1 refused to put the measure to a vote in a general meeting, opting instead to send a letter of opposition to DOT and local electeds.

We've seen determined activism from the Inwood and Washington Heights Livable Streets Group gradually pay dividends in northern Manhattan's CB12. Transportation Alternatives' Queens Committee has been just as active in western Queens. Will persistent local support for livable streets start to sway CB1?

Her name was Jasmine Paragas. According to reports, she was a 14-year-old freshman, an honors student, at Francis Lewis High School in Queens. She came to the US from the Philippines with her parents and younger brother, who is now 10, about six years ago.

Jasmine was afraid of Queens Boulevard, so her mother routinely crossed the street with her in the morning before school. Yesterday, after the two successfully negotiated the "Boulevard of Death," Jasmine's mom left her daughter to catch the Q88 while she made her way to the train for work. Minutes later, at 8:10 a.m., Jasmine was struck by a school bus while crossing 57th Avenue at 90th Street. Suffering severe head wounds, she was taken to Elmhurst Medical Center. Jasmine was pronounced dead at 8:54 a.m.

The driver of the bus was George Severino, 62, of Brooklyn, an employee of the JEA Bus Company. Severino was reportedly driving north on 90th Street when he made a left-hand turn onto 57th Avenue, hitting Jasmine, who was in the crosswalk. According to the Daily News, "Severino said he heard a thump, checked the rearview mirror and saw the girl lying in the street."

Checking a map of the intersection, 90th Street is one-way northbound at 57th Avenue. So Severino need not have been looking for oncoming traffic when he made the turn. If he had the signal, presumably so did Jasmine, as there don't appear to be any "push to cross" buttons. This version seems to jibe with police findings, as Severino was issued a summons for failure to yield to a pedestrian. Apparently, he just didn't notice Jasmine in his path until he "heard a thump."

Photo: Dima Gavrysh/New York Times

According to motor vehicle records, Severino was in an accident where someone was injured in Brooklyn in January 2006 and was convicted of changing lanes unsafely in June 2007.

A bicyclist was struck and killed on a Queens street by a van early yesterday morning, police said.

The unidentified 35 year old man was hit on 23rd street in Astoria around 1 a.m. by a Dodge Caravan, said police.  The van's driver will not face charges.

The crash actually occurred at 23rd Avenue and 27th Street. Streetsblog has a request in to NYPD for more details on the circumstances of the crash.

Flores, 35, was born in Peru and often busked with Andean bands in the subway. One commenter on a local blog remembers his talents:

Arturo Flores, as a longtime member of the band Inca Son, played on some of the most prestigious stages in this country. He was a brilliant musician who could play the Andean flutes like nobody else I’ve ever heard. He did traditional tunes but could also improvise. He could even replicate complex rock melodies like "Stairway to Heaven" on the quena.

A wake was held for Flores last night. His death is the second stark reminder we've seen this month of how much traffic violence goes unreported in the press.

T.A.'s campaign for a protected bike lane and pedestrian safety improvements on Queens Boulevard heats up this week with the first-ever Queens Boulevard "bike pool." Queens Boulevard is a critical, yet dangerous part of many bike commutes in Queens. By riding together in a group each month, we'll give the borough's bike commuters a safe, escorted ride home while making a statement about the need for a physically-protected bike lane on the essential artery. The rides will begin at the Queensboro Bridge and end in Elmhurst.

To date, Council Members Gennaro, Gioia, Liu and Avella have indicated their support for a protected bike lane on Queens Boulevard. With backing from a growing list of community groups, the campaign is building the political support necessary to bring DOT action.

Be part of the growing movement by riding with your neighbors for a safer Queens Boulevard.

Queens Boulevard Bike Pool
Friday, September 12th
6:30 pm
Queens side of the Queensboro Bridge Bike Path