Another Cycling Fatality in North Brooklyn

In a situation painfully familiar in North Brooklyn, a cyclist lost his life on Tuesday as he was traveling along Metropolitan Avenue. The 30 year-old victim was killed around 12:30pm, when his bike toppled, and he was crushed by a tractor-trailer traveling the same direction of the avenue. Critically injured at the scene, the man was pronounced dead at Woodhull hospital. Neither the victim nor the driver have been identified by the police, and no arrests have been made in the ongoing investigation.

Tuesday’s accident recalls the circumstances surrounding the death of Neftaly Ramirez, a beloved employee at Paulie Gee’s (60 Greenpoint Avenue), who was the victim of a hit-and-run on Franklin and Noble streets in July. At this month’s community council meeting on December 6th, Greenpoint residents asked that police officers remember Ramirez, and show a commitment to street and pedestrian safety.

According to Vision Zero, the City’s municipal traffic safety campaign, “approximately 4,000 New Yorkers are seriously injured and more than 250 are killed each year in traffic crashes. Being struck by a vehicle is the leading cause of injury-related death for children under 14, and the second leading cause for seniors. On average, vehicles seriously injure or kill a New Yorker every two hours.” The Vision Zero Action Plan sees these terrible events not as accidents, but as “preventable incidents that can be systematically addressed.” Here in Greenpoint, new police captain William Glynn has explained that “Engineering, Education, and Enforcement” are the 3 Es of the Vision Zero project. 

If you are interested in making your voice heard regarding street safety in North Brooklyn, Council Member Steven Levin is sponsoring a transportation study for Brooklyn Community Board 1. The study focuses on issues like street design, traffic flow, public safety and environmental impact, and relies, in part, on community input. You can contribute your thoughts and ideas here.