Mayor To Ramp Up Vision Zero Crackdown After 4 Pedestrians Killed In 24 Hours
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The de Blasio administration has announced new plans to protect pedestrians, especially during these final days of the holiday season.
During a press conference Monday, Department of Transportation officials shared on a new crackdown on dangerous driving during the holidays, CBS2's Jenna DeAngelis reported.
The focus will be on driver safety after a heartbreaking end to last week left several families without loved ones for the holidays.
This map shows where four pedestrians were killed in New York City in a period of fewer than 24 hours.
"We should not be losing so many great New Yorkers," City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez said.
According to the NYPD, even with the Vision Zero initiative, there have been 117 pedestrian deaths this year, up from 115 last year, along with 28 cyclists deaths, compared to 10 in 2018.
The city's DOT and NYPD said they usually a spike in fatalities at this time of year with people out shopping, rushing around and more trucks on the road.
New York City Officials Talk On Spike In Pedestrian Deaths
The recent two incidents happened in Manhattan -- in Hell's Kitchen and SoHo -- and the other two in the Park Slope and Sunset Park neighborhoods in Brooklyn, respectively.
Andreas Stylianou, 57, was starting his workday at New Millennium Motors, an auto service shop he owns in Brooklyn. At around 7 a.m. on Friday, he was struck by several vehicles and killed. His employees said he was just steps away from the workplace, crossing Third Avenue from John's Deli, where he was a regular customer.
Earlier Friday morning, a private sanitation truck for Classic Recycling struck and killed an unidentified man who was crossing on West 49th Street near 10th Avenue in Hell's Kitchen.
The crackdown is taking place late for these victims, including 85-year-old Brendan Gill. Gill died after being struck by a box truck Thursday afternoon near the intersection of 39th Street and Third Avenue in Sunset Park.
About an hour and a half later in SoHo, 26-year-old Katherine Miller was killed by a box truck that police said backed up into her as she crossed Broadway while in the crosswalk.
Three out of four of the pedestrian deaths, those on Thursday and Friday, involved large trucks, prompting Mayor Bill de Blasio to announce on Twitter: "The NYPD will be ramping up truck enforcement, with extra officers deployed citywide to keep our pedestrians safe."
ANY loss of life is unacceptable. Beginning today the NYPD will be ramping up truck enforcement, with extra officers deployed citywide to keep our pedestrians safe.
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) December 20, 2019
We're investigating the recent traffic fatalities across our city and my heart goes out to the victims' families.
Following the recent tragedies, the NYPD has increased truck enforcement, done more inspections and issued more violations.
On Monday, the agencies admitted the challenges and spoke about progress, from adding more speed cameras across the city to more bike lanes, while standing in front of a board highlighting progress on Brooklyn's 3rd Avenue, where there are plans to lower the speed limit from 30 to 25 mph on a stretch under the Gowanus.