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
Daily News Ignores Driver’s Actions in Persecuting 70-Year-Old “Jaywalker”
| | 9 Comments
The headline in today’s Daily News, “Jaywalker in critical condition after being struck by car in Midtown,” sets the tone for a particularly heinous example of tabloid victim-blaming. According to the Post, the victim was Landal Hoilette, who was hit on W. 57th Street near 11th Avenue yesterday afternoon while on a lunch break from his […]
One Month In, DA Thompson Charges Sober Driver With Manslaughter
| | 10 Comments
Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson has filed homicide and reckless driving charges against a sober driver who caused a violent crash in Crown Heights, killing another driver. On January 6, Jermaine Filmore ran a red on Eastern Parkway and hit two other vehicles, according to WABC. One of those cars hit a fourth car and […]
Advos Call for Dedicated Fund After Cuomo Budget Again Omits Bike-Ped
| | 2 Comments
Two and a half years after he signed the state’s complete streets bill into law, Governor Cuomo has again declined to write dedicated funds for pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure — and, therefore, pedestrian and cyclist safety — into the executive budget. A coalition of over 50 advocacy groups and locals governments under the banner New Yorkers […]
Eyes on the Street: Rehab of Inwood’s 215th Step-Street Finally Underway
| | 4 Comments
After years of delays, work began today to rebuild the 215th Step-Street in Inwood. These stairs, which technically serve as a car-free street, connect residential blocks in northwest Inwood with shops on Broadway, and they are a link for commuters headed to the 1 train. The step-street is quite steep, with cracked stairs and broken lamps. The […]
DA Brown: $500 Fine for Unlicensed Driver Who Failed to Yield, Killing Senior
| | 12 Comments
Update: Pursuant to a plea arrangement with Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, in March Abel Tinoco pled guilty to aggravated unlicensed operation and was fined $500, according to court records. As NYPD ramps up enforcement against pedestrians who cross mid-block and against the signal, a funeral was held last week for a senior struck in a crosswalk […]
Vigil in Brooklyn Sunday for Victims of Traffic Violence
| | 2 Comments
A vigil will be held in Brooklyn Sunday in honor of Ella Bandes and other victims of vehicular violence. On January 31 of last year, Bandes, 23, was fatally struck by an MTA bus driver at the intersection of Wyckoff Avenue, Myrtle Avenue, and Palmetto Street. Since then, her family has tried to get the […]
Barron Lerner: It’s Time to Treat Reckless Driving Like Drunk Driving
| | 21 Comments
The most basic flaw in the New York State traffic justice system is that in most cases it fails to hold motorists accountable for deadly recklessness. Unless a motorist is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, killing someone with a car is usually not considered a crime. In a column for the Times, Barron […]
Eyes on the Street: 78th Precinct Clears the Bergen Street Bike Lane
| | 12 Comments
The story of the Bergen Street bike lane, and the 78th precinct, keeps getting better. Your eyes are not deceiving you. Reader N. Wayne Bailey sent in these photos of NYPD officers — including CO Deputy Inspector Michael Ameri — shoveling the Bergen Street lane, which for over a year now has been protected by […]
Next Week: DOT to Preview Ped Safety Improvements for 96th and Broadway
| | 13 Comments
The public will hear from DOT next week at a Community Board 7 meeting on proposed improvements at Broadway and 96th Street, after three pedestrians were fatally struck by drivers at or near the intersection this month. “Safety is our top priority and we are actively identifying and evaluating a range of options for the area,” […]
Maude Savage and Akkas Ali, Struck by Motorists in 2013, Die From Injuries
| | 17 Comments
Maude Savage, the 72-year-old who was hit by a motorist in a Brooklyn crosswalk last November, died from her injuries. Though video showed Savage was crossing with the light, charges were not upgraded against the commercial driver who took a corner at speed, striking her a few feet from a grocery store she had just walked […]
Sneckdowns: Taking the World by Storm
| | 27 Comments
The #sneckdown is now a phenomenon, with nature’s traffic-calming gaining international media coverage and photos popping up from across the U.S. and Canada. “The snow is almost like nature’s tracing paper,” Streetfilms’ Clarence Eckerson told the BBC. “It’s free. You don’t have to do a crazy expensive traffic calming study. It provides a visual cue […]
Video: Drivers Endanger Lives on Morningside Avenue as CB 10 Dithers
| | 5 Comments
While Manhattan Community Board 10 fails to take action, proposed measures to make Morningside Avenue safer for pedestrians continue to languish. Among other changes, DOT has proposed restriping Morningside between 116th Street and 126th Street from two lanes in each direction to one lane in each direction with a center striped median, concrete pedestrian islands and […]