TA Calls on de Blasio to Act After Driver Kills Cyclist, 78, on Northern Blvd

NYPD filed no charges and issued no summonses after a driver struck and killed Michael Schenkman, 78, while he biked on Northern Boulevard in Bayside.

New York City motorists have now killed 16 cyclists this year, compared to 14 cyclist fatalities in all of 2015, according to city crash data. After yesterday’s crash, Transportation Alternatives called on Mayor de Blasio to pick up the pace of Vision Zero safety improvements.

Schenkman was eastbound on Northern Boulevard near 223rd Street at around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday when a motorist traveling in the same direction hit him with a Chevrolet sedan. Schenkman, who lived in Flushing, sustained head and body trauma and died from his injuries at North Shore Manhasset Hospital, police said.

The NYPD public information office said Schenkman “collided in the left lane” with the car. A photo published by the Daily News shows the car with a dented hood and a large hole in the windshield — the type of damage that would occur in a high-speed collision. Information released by NYPD did not mention driver speed.

As is customary when police don’t ticket or charge a motorist who kills a person, NYPD withheld the driver’s name, identifying him only as a 25-year-old man. The department said the investigation was ongoing as of this afternoon.

Schenkman was a driver for former public advocate Betsy Gotbaum, the Daily News reported, as well as a long-time cyclist and member of Transportation Alternatives. “Every morning he got on his bike and rode 15 or 20 miles,” Peter Schenkman, the victim’s son, told the News.

“Michael, who was passionate about bicycling, was a beloved Transportation Alternatives member who joined us on many of our bike tours and supported our work to make New York City streets safer for all road users,” said TA Executive Director Paul White in a statement released today. “We are dedicating our upcoming NYC Century Bike Tour on September 10th to his memory.”

In addition, TA has scheduled a “Ride for Mayoral Action” on September 15. In his statement, White noted that a large share of cyclist fatalities this year happened on streets that the city knows are dangerous:

It is significant that Michael Schenkman was killed on Northern Boulevard, which is among the city’s most dangerous streets that the Department of Transportation has designated as Vision Zero Priority Corridors — many of which have yet to see lifesaving redesigns. Of the 16 bike fatalities so far in 2016, half have taken place on corridors, at intersections or in areas that received a “Priority” designation in the DOT’s Pedestrian Safety Action Plans. Four deaths occurred on streets that were designated Priority Corridors but which did not have bike lanes. Of 26 hit-and-run fatalities, 12 were in locations that had a Priority designation — 8 were on Priority Corridors, and two were at Priority Intersections that have yet to receive any safety treatments.

In July TA criticized Mayor de Blasio for denying the City Council’s request to increase the DOT budget for life-saving Vision Zero street redesigns.

Michael Schenkman was killed in the 111th Precinct, which as of July had ticketed 326 speeding drivers all year, and in the City Council district represented by Paul Vallone.