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
Street Cheats: Parking Enforcement in Downtown Brooklyn? Fuhgeddaboudit.
| | 10 Comments
Today’s installment of Street Cheats takes us to Downtown Brooklyn, where city workers are using a rehabbed Cadman Plaza as their personal parking lot and the 84th Precinct has ceded Red Hook Lane sidewalks to government employees and other space hogging randos.
NYPD: No Charges for UPS Driver Who Killed Woman Walking With the Right of Way
| | 10 Comments
NYPD's account of the crash indicates 27-year-old Sumiah Ali was crossing the street lawfully when she was fatally struck by a UPS driver in Fort Greene.
Send in Your Photos of Street Cheats and Help Us Map Placard Abuse in NYC
| | 2 Comments
Streetsblog is launching a series of posts targeting serial placard abusers and their favored illegal parking spots — Street Cheats — and we need your contributions to hold them accountable.
De Blasio “Placard Crackdown” Update: Placard Holders Monopolize Livingston Street Bus Lane
| | 6 Comments
Nine months after Mayor de Blasio announced his big placard crackdown, it has yet to reach Livingston Street in Downtown Brooklyn, where bus riders stew in traffic while placard-holding government employees illegally park in the bus lane.
TransAlt Backs Albany E-Bike Bill With No Helmet or Age Restrictions
| | 42 Comments
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Thomas O'Mara of Elmira and Brooklyn Assembly rep Nick Perry, would enable adults to carry children on e-bikes.
DOT Needs More Resources From City Hall to Fix Streets Like Deadly Liberty Ave. in Queens
| | No Comments
Six people have died in crashes on Liberty Avenue since 2009. DOT noted hazardous conditions for walking on Liberty in 2015, but didn’t prescribe safety upgrades.
Can Albany and the City Council Save NYC From de Blasio’s Backward E-Bike Policy?
| | 14 Comments
State lawmakers have again introduced legislation to classify e-bikes as bicycles, rather than motor vehicles. Council Member Rafael Espinal has authored a resolution in support of the Albany bill, and is calling on the mayor to stop targeting commercial cyclists.
Darcel Clark: Probation for Driver Who Killed Child Inside Bronx Restaurant and Fled Scene
| | 6 Comments
Kwasi Oduro killed Ethan Villavicencio, 7, and injured the boy’s little sister and father as they ate in a sandwich shop. Oduro got no jail time and may drive again in five years.
Sign the Petition to Fix Canal Street, “Manhattan’s Boulevard of Death”
| | 12 Comments
Canal Street is Manhattan's preeminent traffic sewer. A loud, dirty, menacing torrent of motorized traffic with cramped sidewalks and no designated space for bicycling, Canal gets pulverized by the "trucker's special," which gives motorists a free ride across Lower Manhattan via the untolled Manhattan Bridge to the untolled westbound Holland Tunnel.
Phil Monfoletto Had 9 License Suspensions Before He Killed Kevin Flores. Why Was He Driving an Oil Truck?
| | 6 Comments
Neither state nor federal regulators have explained how Monfoletto's truck business remained in good standing despite his history of dangerous driving.
De Blasio’s E-Bike Confiscations May Violate City Law
| | 10 Comments
NYPD appears to be snatching up e-bikes whether or not workers are using them - a practice that is arguably illegal.
Crosstown Bikeways Can’t Come Soon Enough — Cyclist Doored and Struck on 29th Street
| | 57 Comments
A man in a Mercedes SUV doored a 67-year-old man on a bike, who was then hit by a truck driver and had to be hospitalized.