Civic leader Dmytro Fedkowskyj, center, and other community advocates gathered in Maspeth Tuesday to urge the city to implement policies that will prevent the pedestrian deaths that have plagued Queens – and the rest of the city. Photo by Phil Corso
Community advocate Dmytro Fedkowskyj was just leaving the Maspeth Stokes Cards and Gifts store on Grand Avenue when he found himself at the scene where 68-year-old Angela Hurtado lived her final moments.
Hurtado, who was on her way to play bingo, was fatally hit by an SUV making an illegal left turn onto Grand Avenue on the morning of Jan. 19, officials said. The driver, Abel Tinoco, was charged with aggravated driving without a license – but his arrest was not enough to bring justice to the busy Maspeth strip, Fedkowskyj said. That same weekend, three other pedestrians were struck and killed in other parts of the city.
“Today, we stand united to see actual change take place, not only here, but throughout other areas of Queens,” he said near the scene of Hurtado’s death Tuesday morning. “We can all stand here today and support an increase in traffic patrol and legislation that will make harsher punishment for such traffic infractions, but unfortunately, lives will still be in danger unless actual design changes take place at this intersection and at other dangerous locations.”
Fedkowskyj, a member of Community Board 5 from Middle Village, stood with other concerned residents, including PTA president for IS 73 Joann Berger and Community Education Council District 24 member Bill Kregler, to push Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero initiative to make for safer streets in the city. The mayor was in Woodside earlier this month to introduce the plan, which aims to reduce pedestrian fatalities to zero over the next decade.
“This is our top priority,” said Polly Trottenberg, incoming city Transportation Department Commissioner in a statement. “It is our job to get ahead of this epidemic on our streets. We know what the tools are, and we are going to immediately set to work on the concrete plans to put them into action. We are going to build on what’s working, fix what’s broken, and make sure that nothing is held back as we make our streets safer,”
Berger revisited another traumatic pedestrian accident not far from Hurtado’s death in which a driver crashed into five students walking on the sidewalk towards their school in Maspeth in September. One of the students involved in the accident, Michael Gomez, 13, died.
“We have almost 4,000 students walking to school and traveling on Grand Avenue every morning,” she said. “Something needs to be done.”
Both Berger and Fedkowskyj pushed for changes along Grand Avenue – particularly near 69th Place, where they said the street’s width entices drivers to double-park and make illegal turns onto a road known for its busy car and pedestrian traffic. The group called on the city to consider a redesign of the intersection, possibly narrowing it down to only one lane with barriers to protect passersby.
“Nothing will change unless physical change takes place at this intersection, and we are here today to make sure that happens,” Fedkowskyj said. “Not only do we have to make sure we hold the reckless driver responsible for Angela’s unfortunate and untimely death accountable for his actions, but we also need to work together to make sure that we never have to lose another one of our community members to reckless driving again.”
By Phil Corso
