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
Garodnick Bill Would Give Transit Riders a Tax Break
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A City Council bill from Dan Garodnick could save a lot of transit riders a nice chunk of change. Federal law lets commuters spend up to $130 in tax-free income a month on transit fares. For a New Yorker earning an average wage, buying a monthly MetroCard with pre-tax dollars adds up to $443 in […]
2 Dead in 3 Days: NYPD Must Slow Drivers to Stem Atlantic Avenue Carnage
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Update: WNYC reports that the pedestrian killed at Atlantic Avenue and 85th Street has been identified as William Guevara-Delgado, 26, of Woodhaven. Two pedestrians have been killed by motorists on Atlantic Avenue in the last week. Both crashes were outside the new 25 mph zone on Atlantic, and both occurred in a precinct that tickets one […]
City Council Reso Calls for Community Board Term Limits and Transparency
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A resolution brewing in the City Council recommends major reform for community boards. Introduced by freshman City Council Member Ben Kallos, the reso calls for board members to serve a maximum of five consecutive two-year terms, and for unspecified term limits for board and committee chairs. It also recommends a transparent appointment process and highly publicized, […]
Slew of Traffic Safety Bills on Council Transpo Committee Agenda
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The City Council transportation committee has a full docket of traffic safety bills on the agenda for its April 30 meeting. We’ll have more on some of these bills in future posts, but for now here’s a summary. There are a number of bills pertaining to taxi safety. Intro 276 would institute a one-year pilot […]
DOT: Improvements to Broadway at Dyckman Street Coming in May
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DOT should begin work next month on long-awaited improvements to a dangerous Broadway intersection in Inwood. Pedestrians are forced to negotiate long crossings while watching for drivers coming from different directions simultaneously where Broadway meets Dyckman/200th Street and Riverside Drive. There were 128 crashes there from 2010 to 2012, resulting in injuries to three cyclists, five pedestrians, and […]
TSTC and Manhattanites Call for Port Authority to Improve Bus Facilities
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The Tri-State Transportation Campaign joined locals in Hell’s Kitchen today to call on the Port Authority to invest in improved and expanded bus facilities to relieve pressure on local streets. With no more space left in the authority’s existing facilities, a growing number of buses are parked by curbs near the Port Authority Bus Terminal. […]
Mixed Signals From Bratton’s NYPD Jaywalking Directive
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Police Commissioner Bill Bratton’s memo ordering precincts to focus on dangerous jaywalking offenses looks like a positive sign, but it still directs officers to write out citations in a way that ensures many won’t be heard in court. The Daily News reports that Bratton issued guidelines Tuesday that instruct beat cops to issue warnings to […]
Will Bratton Open Up Data on Traffic Crashes That Involve NYPD?
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The senior who was seriously injured by the driver of a marked patrol car on the Upper West Side last weekend is the latest known victim of a crash involving a police driver, and the incident serves as a reminder that the NYPD keeps such data under wraps. In recent years, operators of cruisers and […]
On Safety, New TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi Has Her Work Cut Out For Her
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Two cab drivers fatally struck 22-year-old Kelly Gordon last night as she crossed York Avenue with her sister and a friend. Gordon was at least the fifth person killed by a city cab driver in the last 12 months, and the second this year, after 9-year-old Cooper Stock and his father were hit on the […]
Brooklyn Parking Preservation Board Votes Down Bike Corrals
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Brooklyn Community Board 1 has had enough of the “war on cars,” and they’re taking it out on pedestrians, cyclists, and local businesses. The Brooklyn Paper reports that four Williamsburg shops want bike corrals, to provide room to park bikes while keeping sidewalks clear. “We believe it is our responsibility to beautify the area,” said […]
De Blasio’s First 100 Days Speech: Vision Zero Has “Just Begun”
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Mayor de Blasio mentioned Vision Zero pretty early in his first 100 days speech this afternoon. He said the program has “just begun” to address what he called a “growing epidemic of pedestrian deaths.” Traffic deaths are down 26 percent, the mayor noted. There were 51 traffic deaths through the end of March, compared to […]
Driver Fatally Strikes Bushwick Cyclist, Hits Cars, Leaves Scene [Updated]
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Update: The cyclist has been identified by WNBC as Angel Torres. The driver remained at large Thursday morning. A driver killed a cyclist in Brooklyn this morning and injured another motorist before fleeing the scene on foot. The crash occurred at around 8 a.m., when a man driving a BMW sedan hit a man on […]