A recent investigation by the New York Daily News found that as nearly two-thirds of New York City school buses “have been issued at least one speeding or red light camera ticket since 2014.” Of the city’s 10,497 registered school buses, 6,895 (or 65%) have received tickets. Of those 6,895 buses that received tickets for speeding or […]
Bodily Injury
NYC Looks to Enforcing Bike Lane Parking Violations
The New York City Department of Transportation has released a “Request for Expressions of Interest” for vendors interested in developing an automated enforcement program for the city’s bike lanes, according to a report by StreetsBlog, whose report suggests the request shows the city’s interest in a “crack down on scofflaw drivers who illegally park and stop […]
NYC Issues Almost 1,500 Stop Work Orders in Construction Safety Sweep
A New York City Department of Buildings safety sweep this month resulted in 3,600 violations and 1,499 stop work orders issued to construction contractors. According to a report by Construction Dive, the sweeps were launched because of a spate of construction site fatalities in the city, with seven workers dying in the first five months of 2021—two […]
NYC Pols Discuss Unsafe Basement Apartments After Deadly Floods
The deadly flooding brought to New York City by the remnants of Hurricane Ida has sparked conversations among policymakers about the tens of thousands of New Yorkers living in dangerous and likely illegal basement apartments. As City and State reported last week, basement apartments are defined as those where at least half the unit is above grade, […]
How Can NYC Prepare For Future Flooding?
In the wake of the flash flooding that killed at least 22 in New York and New Jersey last week, local news publication City and State spoke with a variety of “climate experts and activists” about what what can be done to prepare New York City for future flooding events and protect New Yorkers from deadly floodwaters. […]
Automated Auto Makers Protest Proposed NYC Safety Rules
Self-driving car manufacturers strenuously protested New York City’s proposed rules for automated vehicles in a recent city hearing, according to a report by StreetsBlog. The biggest point of contention: a proposed mandate that automated vehicles drive “more safely than a human driver.” According to the report, representatives for the vehicles’ manufacturers said the rule would make […]
Long-Awaited Safety Measures Come to Brooklyn Avenue
The New York City Department of Transportation announced last week that it would implement safety measures along a segment of Brooklyn’s Wythe Avenue where a cyclist was struck and killed last year, and where other pedestrians and cyclists have been injured over the years. The DOT said specifically that it would erect physical barriers separating the bike lane from the traffic […]
Electric Scooters Come to the Bronx, with Safety Concerns in Tow
The launch of a new electric scooter sharing program in New York City has raised concerns about safety issues for motorists and pedestrians. According to a report by The Verge, scooter companies Bird, Lime, and VeroRide have installed one thousand scooters per company in the East Bronx as part of a pilot program to see how micromobility fares in […]
Staten Island Files Child Sex Abuse Lawsuit Against Boy Scouts, Church
A Staten Island man has sued the Greater New York Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the Staten Island Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in Westerleigh, Staten Island, and the Archdiocese of New York allegations a Scout leader sexually abused him in the late 1970s, when […]
Study: SUVS May Be Connected to Rising Pedestrian Deaths
A new study published in the journal Economics of Transportation finds that the rise of “light trucks”—SUVs, minivans, and pickup trucks—in the US may be correlated with increases in pedestrian deaths from traffic crashes. According to a report by StreetsBlog, the study found that “as the number of SUVs on the street tripled from 2000 to 2019, pedestrian […]
Lawmakers Call for National Vision Zero to End Car Crash Deaths
Two lawmakers have introduced a resolution that would call for a “National Vision Zero” campaign, according to a recent report by StreetsBlog. Vision Zero is an effort to eliminate traffic fatalities. The resolution, introduced by Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Representative Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, calls on Congress and the Department of Transportation to “commit to working together […]
Child Sex Abuse Survivors Sue New York Boy Scouts Council, Churches
A pair of child sex abuses against the Boy Scouts have been filed under the Child Victims Act in New York’s Chautauqua County, according to a recent report by the Observer. The Child Victims Act is a law allowing survivors of sexual abuse sue their abusers even in cases where the statute of limitation has passed. […]
NYC Construction Deaths Yield No-Tolerance Sweeps
New York City building inspectors are implementing “zero-tolerance sweeps” in the city’s job sites, according to a recent report by Construction Dive. The sweeps are in response to “three worker deaths in recent weeks, two of which were the result of falls,” according to the report, and have resulted in 322 sites shut down due to hazardous conditions. The […]
Women Are Afraid of Walking in Cities Because of Sexual Assault, Study Shows
A new study examining the gendered nature of urban design, published by Leading Cities, found that the risk of sexual assault disproportionately prevents women from walking around their cities. According to the study, 30% of women respondents said they either “always” or “very frequently” avoid walking around their cities because of fear, instead choosing other modes of transportation. […]
Boy Scouts Propose New Settlement with Child Sex Abuse Victims
Last week the Boy Scouts of America announced in a proposal filed with its bankruptcy court in Delaware that it hopes to reach a settlement agreement in the near future with attorneys representing child sex abuse victims who have filed claims against the group. According to the New York Post, the Boy Scouts proposed placing assets worth $250 […]
Car Crash Legislation Stalls in New York Assembly
The New York Sate Assembly failed to pass street safety legislation before ending its legislative session last week. As StreetsBlog reports, even though the State Senate passed a bill empowering New York City to determine its own speed limits, the Assembly declined to hold a vote on the bill. State lawmakers could still call a special session […]
Boy Scouts Discloses Local Council Assets In Child Sex Abuse Case
The Boy Scouts of America’s local councils possess a total of roughly $3.3 billion in combined net assets, according to court filings described in a recent report by NBC. The disclosure followed arguments by attorneys representing victims of child sex abuse in the Boy Scouts that without information on the local councils’ assets, they would be unable […]
Traffic Violence in New York Continues in April
Twenty-five people were killed in road violence incidents in New York City last month, in what StreetsBlog describes as “the deadliest April since Mayor de Blasio took office in 2014,” during “the second deadliest year for road violence” during his administration. The statistics, outlined in data released by think take Transportation Alternatives, cast a grim pall over the city’s […]
New York Safe Streets Activists Propose New Road Safety Legislation
Earlier this month a group of safe-streets lobbying groups in New York released the Crash Victims Rights and Safety Act, a collection of eight pieces of legislation “that will better support victims of traffic violence and make streets safer across New York State at a moment when traffic fatalities and speeding are both on the rise,” according […]
Boy Scouts Claimants Seek $103 Billion in Child Sex Abuse Claims
In a new development in the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy proceedings in Dover, Delaware, the committee representing child sex abuse victims has sought the court’s permission to “file its own reorganization plan” for the Boy Scouts. The Tort Claimants Committee argued in a motion filed last week that the reorganization plan proposed by the […]
How One City Eliminated Car Crash Deaths in Only Three Years
The city of Hoboken, New Jersey, has recorded zero traffic violence deaths for three years, an impressive feat which a recent report by Streetsblog recently attributed to the city’s commitment to its Vision Zero campaign. Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla launched the campaign in 2019, expanding its network of bicycle lanes by 38% in that year and 2020. Today Hoboken […]
Pedestrian Deaths from Car Crashes Increased in 2019 and 2020
American roads have grown more and more dangerous for pedestrians in recent years, according to a recent article by NPR, and statistics show they are especially deadly for minorities. Data gathered by the Governors Highway Safety Administration shows that “6,301 pedestrians were killed by vehicles on American streets” in 2019, an increase of 46% since 2010. The same time […]
New Abuse Lawsuit Filed Against Former Catholic Bishop in Albany
A recently filed lawsuit alleges that Howard Hubbard, a retired Catholic bishop in Albany, molested “an 11-year-old boy at a carnival more than 40 years ago,” according to the New York Post, which notes that this is the seventh lawsuit alleging that the former clergyman committed abuse. The new lawsuit, filed anonymously, alleges that when the […]
More Criticism of Boy Scouts Child Abuse Settlement Plan
A recent article by USA Today reports that in early March, the Boy Scouts of America proposed to contribute $220 million into a trust that would “compensate tens of thousands of former members who say they were abused during their time as scouts,” a sum that may be complemented by a contribution of $300 million from the organization’s local […]
NYC Bill Would Transfer Car Crash Investigation from NYPD to DOT
A new bill in the New York City Council would remove the New York Police Department’s authority to investigate car crashes, vesting that power instead with the city’s Department of Transportation. According to StreetsBlog, the bill is supported by City Council Speaker Corey Johnson but opposed by Mayor Bill de Blasio. In a statement to the publication, […]