Brooklyn
Streetsblog Basics
Billyburg’s “New Domino” Mixes Parking Disaster With Bike-Ped Benefits
The New Domino development proposed for the Williamsburg waterfront made headlines last week when a Brooklyn Community Board 1 committee voted against enabling its construction. This privately financed project is worth a close look because it exemplifies how developers can embrace certain livable streets goals while ignoring the big picture of traffic. It's the kind of development the city will have to guide with a firmer hand in order to meet the sustainability goals of PlaNYC.
March 4, 2010
Brooklyn CB2 Committee Seeks Better Fort Greene Bike Connections
The transportation committee of Brooklyn Community Board 2 voted unanimously Tuesday night to advance the idea of improving cycling connections between Fort Greene and surrounding neighborhoods. The proposal put forward by committee member Mike Epstein envisions safer bicycling across Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue, spanning intersections that are currently among the most dangerous in Brooklyn. A resolution asking DOT to study the plan's feasibility is now expected to come up before the full board at a meeting next month.
February 18, 2010
School Bus Kills Four-Year-Old Boy in Borough Park
A school bus on Amrom Altman’s block. Image: Google Street View. A yeshiva bus hit and killed a four-year-old boy in Borough Park this morning, the Times reports. According to witnesses, the child, Amrom Altman, was running after his school bus when he slipped on ice. The driver didn’t see Altman and continued to drive … Continued
February 17, 2010
Brooklyn Cop Dishes Out Disorderly Conduct Charge to Cyclist Who Ran Red
When Jeff Geisinger biked through a red light on Atlantic Avenue last October, he knew that he might get a traffic ticket. So when a cop pulled him over, he wasn't surprised. He just didn't expect to be handed a summons for disorderly conduct, a criminal violation.
February 4, 2010
Feds Green Light Funding for Better Nostrand Avenue Bus Service
A potential configuration for the Nostrand Avenue SBS Route. Image: NYCDOT. As Elana reported earlier today, the Obama Administration’s 2011 budget includes $28 million for the Nostrand Avenue Select Bus Service project. The announcement should help build momentum for a high-priority transit project set to launch in 2012. Nostrand Avenue SBS would ply the B44 … Continued
February 2, 2010
Turn Out Tonight to Talk Street Safety With Brooklyn CB 2
A quick note about tonight's meeting on motorist-cyclist relations put on by Brooklyn Community Board 2. "Sharing the Road, Sharing the Responsibility" -- a panel discussion with NYCDOT, NYPD, Transportation Alternatives, and AAA -- is an important one for cyclists to attend.
January 21, 2010
Killer DWI Cop’s Defense: Victim Shouldn’t Have Been Drinking and Walking
The lawyer representing Andrew Kelly, the off-duty NYPD officer who last September killed pedestrian Vionique Valnord, then refused to submit to alcohol tests, has indicated that his line of defense will go something like this: The victim precipitated her own death by drinking at a wedding before my client ran her down on a Brooklyn street.
January 20, 2010
What’s Next at Grand Army Plaza?
We missed it in the run-up to the holidays last month, but this item in the Brooklyn Paper is worth a longer look. DOT has announced its intention to implement some safety fixes at the northern end of Grand Army Plaza.
January 12, 2010
Eyes on the Street: Hey Pal, Where’s the Fire?
We're accustomed to the dangerous disrespect shown by NYPD to non-driving commuters, but a tip we received yesterday shows that cops haven't cornered the market on civil servants putting lives at risk. Our reader reports from Union and Eighth Avenue in Brooklyn:
January 7, 2010
Elderly Pedestrian Struck, Killed By Ambulance Driver in Brooklyn
A woman in her upper seventies to early eighties was hit by an ambulance at around 6 a.m. today while crossing Bay Parkway at the Belt Parkway in Bath Beach. The ambulance was carrying a patient. No word on whether lights and sirens were on. The driver passed a breath test, according to NY1.
December 15, 2009