A weekend series of community meet-ups will mull over potential solutions to making Queens streets safer in the wake of a devastating string of pedestrian accidents.
The advocacy group Transportation Alternatives scheduled a monthly outreach meeting for Saturday, Feb. 8 as part of an ongoing campaign to shore up safety along Queens Boulevard. The next day, U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) was slated to join state Assemblyman Francisco Moya (D-Corona) and safety group Make Queens Safer to discuss pedestrian safety throughout the city.
Both public forums were scheduled in the aftermath of several pedestrian incidents throughout the city – several of which claimed the lives of innocent residents simply crossing the street. Among a number of recent horrific events involving pedestrians, an 8-year-old boy, Noshat Nahian, was hit by a truck and killed while walking to school on Northern Boulevard in Woodside; an 84-year-old Woodhaven woman, Gertrude Schnabel, recently lost her foot after being hit in Forest Hills, and 69-year-old Angela Hurtado was hit and killed by an unlicensed driver in Maspeth.
Residents and legislators said pedestrian fatalities have plagued Queens for years. Last month, Abel Tinoco, pictured, allegedly hit a 68-year-old woman after he made an illegal left-hand turn from 69th Place onto Grand Avenue in Maspeth, according to police File photo
Pedestrian safety was made a top priority under the city’s new administration after Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled his “Vision Zero” initiative, which set out to reduce pedestrian deaths to zero over the next several years.
For Transportation Alternatives, zeroing in on Queens Boulevard was an important first step in addressing pedestrian safety because of the sheer size of the roadway. The group said Queens Boulevard has become notorious for its danger, and has already been dubbed by many, “the boulevard of death.”
“Queens Boulevard is the most integral route through the borough, but it is simply not safe,” said Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives. “The majority of New Yorkers who use it every day, transit riders, pedestrians and bicyclists, are all at serious risk.”
On the topic of de Blasio’s latest pedestrian initiative, White said the key to curbing accidents rested in the hands of the NYPD.
“Moving violations are pervasive in New York City, and enforcement of those violations is lax,” he said. “For Mayor de Blasio to achieve his goal of Vision Zero, he must dictate that police officers focus on deterring the most deadly moving violations: speeding and failure to yield to pedestrians.”
City Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills) has been an active voice in the fight to make Queens Boulevard safer for pedestrians and has worked to help establish new slow zones and stiffer traffic laws along the strip.
“Safety on Queens Boulevard has come a long way over the past 20 years, but we still have more work to do,” she said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues, the community and Transportation Alternatives in order to ensure that Queens Boulevard is a safe place for all.”
The group’s Saturday meeting was planned for 11 a.m. near the intersection of Queens Boulevard and 71st Avenue.
The next day, anyone interested in a more broad discussion on pedestrian safety throughout Queens and the city were given another option. Crowley, Moya and Make Queens Safer said they would host a joint town hall this Sunday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Renaissance Charter School on 81st Street in Jackson Heights.
The officials also said they invited representatives from the 108th and 115th precincts as well as the Transportation Department, Education Department and various principals from borough schools.
The discussion was slated to center around issues of street re-design, safe routes, slow zones and the need to educate both drivers and pedestrians about how to practice street safety.
By Phil Corso
