Brad Aaron
Brad Aaron began writing for Streetsblog in 2007, after years as a reporter, editor, and publisher in the alternative weekly business. Brad adopted New York's dysfunctional traffic justice system as his primary beat for Streetsblog. He lives in Manhattan.
Recent Posts
Eyes on the Street: Ped Improvements Take Shape at Broadway and Dyckman
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DOT has begun work on pedestrian improvements at Broadway, Dyckman Street, and Riverside Drive in Inwood. With long crossings that required pedestrians to watch for drivers coming from different directions simultaneously, the five-legged intersection was the site of 128 crashes from 2010 to 2012, according to DOT. Last fall Community Board 12 endorsed a DOT plan for a mix of […]
Council Bill Would Fine Drivers for Leaving the Scene of a Crash
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Council Members Jimmy Van Bramer and Ydanis Rodriguez have introduced a bill that would impose civil penalties for hit-and-run crashes. Intro 371 would attach escalating fines, based on injury severity, for violating Section 600 of the state traffic code, which deals with leaving the scene. Fines would begin at “not more than” $250 for drivers […]
Will DA Ken Thompson Investigate Killing of 14-Year-Old Nicholas Soto?
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Following the vehicular killing of 14-year-old Nicholas Soto in Red Hook Monday morning, anonymous police sources were quick to blame the victim, though the crash happened near a school bus and sent Soto through the air, witnesses said. According to press accounts, NYPD won’t say if the driver who struck Soto was speeding through an […]
NYPD Fails to Charge Driver Who Killed a Child in Red Hook This Morning
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A motorist killed a teenager in Red Hook this morning. Nicholas Soto, 14, was crossing Lorraine Street at Hicks Street at around 7:00 when the driver of a BMW sedan slammed into him. From WNBC: Witnesses said the force of the impact flung the boy up in the air and over a fence. Millie Mendez […]
For Cooper’s Law to Work, NYPD Must Change Its Approach to Traffic Crashes
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One of the most substantive traffic safety bills passed by the City Council Thursday was Intro 171 — “Cooper’s Law” — which allows the Taxi and Limousine Commission to suspend or revoke hack licenses of cab drivers who cause critical injury or death as a result of breaking traffic laws. The effectiveness of the law, however, […]
City Council Passes Several Bills to Reduce Reckless Driving
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The City Council today passed a slate of bills and resolutions aimed at improving street safety. The 11 bills — outlined in detail here — include Intro 238, which would make it a misdemeanor for a driver to “make contact” with a pedestrian or cyclist who has the right of way, punishable by up to […]
NYPD: 1,141 Pedestrians and Cyclists Injured, 11 Killed in Traffic in March
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Eighteen people died in New York City traffic in March, and 3,829 were injured, according to the March NYPD crash data report [PDF]. As of the end of March, 33 pedestrians and cyclists were reported killed by city motorists this year, and 3,246 injured, compared to 45 deaths and 3,590 injuries for the same period […]
Unlicensed Driver Who Killed Brooklyn Senior Convicted of Leaving Scene
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A jury has convicted a motorist who, while driving without a license, fatally struck a Brooklyn senior and left the scene. Isabel Rodriguez, 88, was walking with her 79-year-old sister on July 22, 2012, when Wayne Stokeling drove into her at Stone and Livonia Avenues in Brownsville, according to reports. Police tracked down his damaged BMW […]
Unlicensed Driver Faces Wrist Slap After Killing Queens Cyclist William Faison
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A motorist who was reportedly driving with a suspended license will likely get off with a slap on the wrist after she killed a cyclist in Queens last week. Reports say William Faison, 53, was riding south on 228th Street in Cambria Heights at around 8:50 a.m. Friday when 26-year-old Tiffany Delcia Moore hit him with […]
TLC Won’t Renew Hack License of Cab Driver Who Killed Cooper Stock
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The cab driver who killed 9-year-old Cooper Stock won’t be prosecuted by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, but he won’t have a hack license much longer. Koffi Komlani has not driven a cab since he struck Cooper and his father in an Upper West Side crosswalk in January, according to Allan Fromberg, spokesperson for the […]
NYPD Ticketing Cyclists in Prospect Park and Central Park
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As dangerous drivers continue to injure and kill with impunity, NYPD is targeting cyclists in parks. Joanna Oltman Smith tweeted the above photo this afternoon. Police were ticketing cyclists on the loop of Prospect Park, Smith wrote, “mere feet” from the raging torrent of speeding traffic that is Flatbush Avenue. Motorists have killed at least […]
Manhattan DA Cy Vance Won’t Prosecute Cab Driver Who Killed 9-Year-Old
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Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance will file no criminal charges against the cab driver who killed 9-year-old Cooper Stock and injured his father in an Upper West Side crosswalk in January. Lisa Belkin of Yahoo News reports that prosecutors met Wednesday with Cooper’s parents, Richard Stock and Dana Lerner. “They told me there is nothing […]