Streetsblog New York City

It will take at least three meetings for the transportation committee of Manhattan Community Board 6 to deliberate on a proposal for shared lane markings. Image: DOT

Last night, Manhattan Community Board 8 voted, 23-6 with four abstentions, to support DOT’s plan to improve bike access to the Queensboro Bridge. Meanwhile, Community Board 6′s transportation committee, which has yet to consider a resolution supporting the proposal, will host its third meeting on the topic next month.

The foot-dragging from CB 6 is notable because the project’s most important changes, including a two-way protected bike lane on First Avenue beneath the bridge overpass and an extension of the avenue’s northbound protected bike lane south to 60th Street, are located in CB 8, which has already supported the project. The most significant parts of DOT’s plan that fall within CB 6′s boundaries are shared lane markings and a half-block contra-flow bike lane.

At the last CB 6 meeting, committee chair Fred Arcaro asked DOT to set up a site visit, despite the fact that some committee members said that they had already done a walk-through. Arcaro tells Streetsblog that the walk-through already occurred and that there will be a vote on the proposal in June.

CB 6′s transportation committee is scheduled to meet on June 3, followed by the full board on June 12.

This post has been updated with the correct date of the full board meeting.

First Avenue at 88th Street. Concrete pedestrian islands and tree pits have already been installed, and the bike lane has been striped.

Our most recent progress report on the protected bike lanes for East Harlem and the Upper East Side came last October, when crews installed the bike lane and pedestrian refuges on Second Avenue between 100th Street and 125th Street. Last year also saw the construction of a protected bike lane on First Avenue between the Queensboro Bridge and 72nd Street. Now, long-time reader Jacob sends in photos of the latest extension on First Avenue, which will stretch up to 125th Street.

This is a major safety upgrade that East Harlem residents and Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito fought hard for the past few years. When complete, crossing distances will be shorter for people walking across the avenue, and biking will feel much safer than it did with the old buffered lane, which was frequently obstructed by double-parkers.

Elsewhere, adjustments to pedestrian and bike space on Broadway between Times Square and Herald Square are underway. When this stretch was first redesigned about five years ago, a protected bike lane was sandwiched between the sidewalk and a floating plaza space, which wasn’t the smoothest arrangement for either pedestrians or cyclists. The design tweaks, which got a thumbs up by Community Board 5 last fall, narrow Broadway from two general travel lanes to one, while replacing the plaza-adjacent protected bike lane with a buffered bike lane on the other side of the street. It also widens the plaza space to 20 feet and connects it to the sidewalk. While cyclists now ride between parked cars and motor vehicles, traffic is light and tends not to move at high speeds.

Broadway at 36th Street. The bike lane has been moved to the west side of the street to reduce conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists

DOT is proposing a two-way protected bike lane for a block of First Avenue beneath the Queensboro Bridge. Image: DOT

At a meeting of the Community Board 6 transportation committee last night, NYC DOT presented a plan to add some protection for cyclists heading to and from the Queensboro Bridge in Manhattan [PDF]. The proposal would add a protected bike lane on First Avenue between 59th Street and 61st Street, including a two-way segment on one block that will divert southbound bike traffic away from a hectic block of Second Avenue. The project could be implemented as early as this summer.

Cyclists exiting the Queensboro Bridge reach ground level at 60th Street and First Avenue. Presently, southbound cyclists are supposed to travel north on First Avenue, west on 61st Street, then south on Second Avenue, where they must navigate busy bridge entrances between 59th and 60th Streets.

Under DOT’s proposal, southbound cyclists would instead use a jersey barrier-protected two-way bike lane on First Avenue between 60th and 59th Streets, connecting to a shared lane on 59th Street. Before reaching Second Avenue, all westbound car traffic on 59th Street diverts to a Queensboro Bridge ramp, after which the bike route would continue as a contra-flow buffered lane with flexible barriers to protect cyclists from oncoming eastbound traffic.

Currently, cyclists access Second Avenue via 61st Street, and cross a busy entrance to the Queensboro Bridge. DOT is proposing to route cyclists via First Avenue and 59th Street instead. Image: DOT

The plan would also add a one-way protected bike lane on First between 60th and 61st, linking the bridge path entrance to the existing northbound protected bike lane on First Avenue.

The proposal would not close the gaps in protected bike lanes on the East Side. Instead it calls for shared lane markings on Second Avenue from 59th Street to 58th Street, and on First Avenue from 56th Street to 59th Street. The shared lanes on First would direct cyclists to the third lane from the left, since there are double left turn lanes there now. This is different than existing shared lane markings on Second Avenue at 36th Street, for example, where left-turning traffic going to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel shares a lane with cyclists continuing straight on Second Avenue.

At last night’s meeting, some in attendance raised concerns about cycling in a shared lane removed from the edge of the street on both 59th Street and First Avenue. Committee members requested that DOT consider installing flexible barriers to separate bikes and left-turning vehicles from through lanes, according to Steve Vaccaro. A similar set-up exists at the entrance to the Holland Tunnel on Varick Street.

The committee is next scheduled to meet on Monday, May 6. DOT staff said last night that the plan could be implemented in the summer or fall, if the agency receives a supportive vote from the community board next month.

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Linden Boulevard at Rockaway Parkway, where pedestrian Gerald Green was killed by a motorist who "had the light." Image: Google Maps

Three pedestrians were killed in separate crashes in Manhattan and Brooklyn last night.

At around 7:50 p.m., 85-year-old Richard Griffin was on his way to visit a hospital patient, according to the Post, when he was apparently struck head-on by the driver of a Jeep SUV on York Avenue at E. 69th Street. Griffin, of Staten Island, was taken to Cornell Medical Center and died soon after.

At approximately 11:30, Gerald Green was hit by the driver of a Jeep SUV while attempting to negotiate the hellish intersection of Linden Boulvard and Rockaway Parkway. Here’s how the crash was described by DNAinfo and the Daily News.

Green, who cops said was crossing against the light, was taken to Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center and pronounced dead, police said.

Gerald Green, 52, was hit in East Flatbush as he tried to cross … against the light … cops said.

The Daily News story reported that another pedestrian was killed, in Harlem, some 90 minutes later. According to NYPD, a 35-year-old man was crossing W. 125th Street at Broadway when he was hit by a yellow cab driver at around 1 a.m. He was pronounced dead on arrival at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt. Police had not released the victim’s identity as of early this afternoon.

No drivers were charged for any of these crashes, despite the fact that there is no indication that the fallen Harlem pedestrian or Richard Griffin were violating any traffic rules. That’s because NYPD tends to cite possible causal factors — who “had the light,” for example — only when they are attributed to the victim, i.e. the dead or wounded pedestrian or cyclist.

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Three pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes on consecutive days in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan this weekend.

When will Jessica Lappin and the City Council take action to stop the bloodshed on New York City streets?

At approximately 1:15 this morning, Andrew Schoonover, a 31-year-old from Florida, was struck by the driver of a city sanitation truck at the corner of Second Avenue and East 84th Street. NYPD told the Daily News and the Post that Schoonover tripped over trash bags and fell into the street. The driver was not charged.

Andrew Schoonover was at least the third pedestrian killed by a motorist in Jessica Lappin’s City Council district this year. In September, 65-year-old Pelagia Zingtapan was hit by a yellow cab driver, who was reportedly barreling through the intersection of 69th Street and First Avenue, horn blaring, at the time of the crash. In May, a 75-year-old man on crutches and wearing a reflective vest was run over by the driver of a box truck at First Avenue and 89th Street when he was caught in traffic as the signal changed.

In another serious crash, Elizabeth Brody, 28, suffered a brain injury in July when two yellow taxi drivers collided at Second Avenue and East 79th Street, sending one of the cabs spinning onto the sidewalk. No charges were reported filed in any of these crashes.

Lappin spoke at the City Council hearing on NYPD crash investigations in February. She was instrumental in opening up NYPD crash data, and has proposed a DOT office dedicated to road safety. But as of late, her agenda reflects a preoccupation with sidewalk bicycle riding and electric-assisted bikes, as reckless motorists continue to wreak havoc in her district and across the city. Twenty-nine pedestrians and six cyclists were killed by drivers in Lappin’s district between 1995 and 2009 (she was elected in 2005), while motorists injured 3,463 pedestrians and 974 cyclists during the same time span, according to DMV data compiled by Transportation Alternatives’ CrashStat.

Another innocent bystander was killed by an outlaw motorist in Manhattan last weekend, and indications are that another perpetrator will go unpunished by police and prosecutors.

Rubin and Denise Baum. Photo via Daily News

On Saturday night at around 10:30 p.m., Rubin and Denise Baum were attempting to hail a cab at Park Avenue and E. 59th Street when, according to reports, the driver of a Mazda sedan, eastbound on 59th, ran a red light and struck a minivan, which was headed north on Park. The Mazda spun into the Baums. Rubin pushed Denise out of the car’s direct path, though she was struck and thrown into a parked vehicle. Rubin was pinned underneath the car.

Baum, an 80-year-old decorated war veteran whose father was also killed at the hands of a Manhattan motorist, died at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

Whether it was the driver of the Mazda or the minivan, given the direction each vehicle was traveling, one of the two had to have run the light — barring a traffic signal malfunction, which has not been cited as a possible cause. Since the collision could not be avoided, and the vehicles collided with sufficient force to send one of them spinning into the Baums, it is highly likely that at least one driver was speeding as well. Yet just a few hours after the crash police told DNAinfo that “no criminality was suspected,” NYPD-speak for “case closed.”

“I want to know who did this,” Denise Baum told the Daily News. “Was he drunk? Was he on drugs?”

If either driver had been found under the influence, criminal charges would probably — but not certainly — have been issued. Otherwise, these things happen.

NYPD bluntly refuses to properly investigate traffic crashes that result in injury and death. A package of City Council bills and resolutions intended to suggest that NYPD fulfill its obligations under the law does not have the support of council speaker and mayoral aspirant Christine Quinn, who speaks unequivocally on maintaining police budget levels but has no opinion on whether NYPD should protect New Yorkers from random street killings.

Thanks to the arbitrary “rule of two,” motorists who run people over are almost always immune from prosecution as long they didn’t mean to kill you, which in New York State means they weren’t drunk at the time. The juris doctor’s answer to the tooth fairy, the rule of two exists only in the minds of prosecutors who believe in it, but it’s a tradition that shows few signs of abating.

Rubin Baum was the 27th Manhattan pedestrian or cyclist known killed by a motorist in 2012. To date, no motorists are known to have been charged by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance for killing a pedestrian or cyclist this year. An e-mail to Vance’s office about this crash was not immediately returned.

This fatal crash occurred on the border of the 18th and 19th Precincts. To voice your concerns about neighborhood traffic safety directly to the commanding officer of either precinct, go to the next precinct community council meeting. Community council information is available on each precinct’s web page.

The City Council district where Rubin Baum was killed is represented by Dan Garodnick. To encourage Garodnick to take action to improve street safety in his district and citywide, contact him at 212-788-7393, garodnick@council.nyc.ny.us or @DanGarodnick.

Two seniors have been killed by motorists in Manhattan and Brooklyn since Saturday. Both crashes were apparently precipitated by careless driving or negligence, according to reports, and both drivers were exonerated by NYPD.

Pelagia Zingatan and Gitzella Katz. Photos via New York Post and DNAinfo, respectively.

Yesterday afternoon, 65-year-old Pelagia Zingatan was struck by a yellow cab driver at 69th Street and First Avenue. From the Post:

Zingtapan had been returning from lunch with a friend when the cabbie tore westbound across 69th Street, honking his horn, witnesses said.

They said the driver was trying to make the yellow light. Pedestrians including Zingtapan were already crossing 69th.

Zingtapan’s companion jumped out of the way, but she “froze” in the middle of the crosswalk, witnesses said.

After she was “dragged halfway down the block,” according to the Post, passersby lifted the cab off Zingatan and administered aid. She died at Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Though witnesses quoted by the Post and the Daily News said the cab driver was gunning for the light, NYPD told DNAinfo that police “do not expect any foul play,” and do not know if he was speeding. Cops told the Post and the News that they don’t expect to file charges.

On Saturday night, Gitzella Katz, a 92-year-old Auschwitz survivor, was walking with her daughter Judy Fisher on Clymer Street in Williamsburg when they were hit by a 26-year-old man who was backing his SUV toward a parking spot. Fisher was hospitalized in stable condition. Katz died from a brain hemorrhage. The Post reports:

“They were just laying there, not moving. They were walking together. I saw them fall backward,” Pessie Gelb, 44, said.

Another witness, Christopher Wallace, heard the victims’ horrifying screams just before the accident.

The driver was not charged.

Gitzella Katz was the 34th pedestrian or cyclist known killed in Brooklyn this year. Of those 34 crashes, one sober driver is known to have been charged by Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes for causing a death.

Pelagia Zingatan was the 26th pedestrian or cyclist known killed in Manhattan in 2012. To date, no motorists are known to have been charged by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance for killing a pedestrian or cyclist this year.

The extension of the First Avenue protected bike lane up to 72nd Street is nearly complete. Photo: Jacob-uptown/Flickr

Photo contributor extraordinaire Jacob-uptown has uploaded a new batch to the Streetsblog Flickr pool, taking us on a tour of the major new bikeways DOT is implementing in Manhattan.

The extension of the First Avenue bike lane from the Queensboro Bridge up to 72nd Street is nearly complete. It’s the first protected bike infrastructure on the Upper East Side — “very exciting progress,” Jacob says, but he notes that the connection from the bike route south of the bridge could be better:

There is a big gap between the sharrows on 1st Ave leading up to 57th, and the beginning of the protected lane on 61st. At 57th the sharrows simply end, with no indication that a much nicer facility is only a few blocks away.

More photos from Jacob after the jump.

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A 75-year-old man on crutches was killed while trying to cross First Avenue on the Upper East Side this morning.

Photo: CBS 2

According to reports, the victim, who was wearing a reflective vest, crossed in front of a stopped box truck at First at 89th Street at approximately 8:20 a.m. When the signal changed, the victim was caught in the street.

Gothamist has this statement from NYPD:

The traffic light changed from red to green and a truck standing (northbound on 1st Ave) at the traffic light waved the pedestrian to cross. Another vehicle also traveling northbound on First Ave began to move causing the pedestrian to fall back into the path of the truck’s rear tire. The operator of the truck believed the pedestrian had completed crossing the street and proceeded to drive, striking the pedestrian.

A witness told City Room: “The truck, from Ace Party Rental, was not going fast, just inching forward, but, unaware that the man had fallen beneath, the driver struck him.” No summonses were issued, police told the Times.

Though there are many unknowns, if the crash unfolded as described it is as much as anything another indictment of the absolutely unforgiving nature of New York City streets. When a vulnerable user feels the need to don a reflective vest to protect himself from drivers and, to paraphrase the Times, it still isn’t enough, your system is broken.

DOT has been building pedestrian refuges on First Avenue in the 60s as part of the East Side protected bike lane project. The safer redesign, which gives pedestrians shorter crossing distances, will extend up to 125th Street, but the construction timetable is unclear. It’s safe to say, however, that work would have proceeded faster if not for the misguided resistance of a few businesses along the route.

This fatal crash occurred in the 19th Precinct. To voice your concerns about neighborhood traffic safety directly to Inspector Matthew A. Whelan, the commanding officer, head to the next precinct community council meeting. The 19th Precinct council meetings happen at 7:00 p.m. on the first Monday of the month at the precinct station house, 153 E. 67th Street. Call the precinct at 212-452-0600 for information.

Photo: TNoble2008/Flickr

Looks like the concrete has been poured for new pedestrian refuges on First Avenue in the 60s.

Courtesy of Flickr user TNoble2008, who reports that the construction work extends up to 70th Street, here are some more shots of the progress on the Upper East Side’s first protected bike lane. Apparently the markings and refuges aren’t finished yet but some blocks are already rideable.

If you have Flickr photos you’d like to share with us, add the “Streetsblog” tag.

Photo: TNoble2008/Flickr

Photo: TNoble2008/Flickr