Happy Friday, Greenpoint! It’s nearly the weekend, and you can celebrate with the very last show at the House of Vans. The 25 Franklin St. venue will close after 8 years with a show by Interpol.
And when the weekend’s over, the nabe’s newest coffee tricycle has your Monday Morning brew covered. Continue reading
Happy Friday Greenpoint! As per usual, we’re at the top of the list. This time, the list in question is Patch’s “Best New Places to Eat in NYC.” Di An Di (68 Greenpoint Ave), the new Vietnamese eatery on Greenpoint Avenue, takes the top spot.
But, how will we get there? Turns out that the MTA is undertaking a major 10 year overhaul of the entire subway system that may lead to extensive closures on the G within the next five years.
One study finds a silver-lining in all that subway work: several communities near subway stations have seen rents fall in the past year. The study concluded that rents for a 1-bedroom around the Nassau G fell 20% in the last year. Continue reading
After Neftaly Ramirez, beloved server at Paulie Gee’s, was struck and killed by a private garbage truck at the intersection of Franklin and Noble Streets in July, the NYPD brought no charges against the person who hit him. After conducting an investigation in August, the police claimed they could not press charges because the driver “didn’t know” he had hit Ramirez.
Despite the lack of charges, the case remained open, as the District Attorney’s office began its own investigation. Given that the case was open, the full details of the crash were not available to the public, a situation particularly frustrating to this community as it grieved the loss.
On January 9th, the DA’s investigation also closed without charges. According to Brooklyn Paper, Brooklyn DA, Eric Gonzalez, determined that he could bring no charges because prosecutors failed to find “necessary evidence” against the driver. Continue reading
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. Continue reading
While Greenpoint mourns Neftaly Ramirez, who was fatally struck on Franklin and Noble on July 22, the Action Carting driver who hit him is not being charged with a crime. Ramirez was biking home after his shift at Paulie Gee’s (60 Greenpoint Avenue) when he was hit on Franklin Street, and pronounced dead at the scene.
According to DNAinfo, Mr. Ramirez’s death is one in a string of fatalities and injuries Action Carting, the city’s largest private garbage collection company, has been involved in recently. Since 2008, the company’s trucks have killed 5 and injured at least a dozen others. Continue reading
Yesterday at 4pm (3/9) Jorge Rios, 47, was riding his motorcycle northbound on Manahattan Ave when he hit a car near Green Street. He passed away at Bellevue shortly after. The driver of the vehicle is not expected to face charges, according to the Daily News. Rios was from Queens.
This accident happened only two blocks away from the site of another fatal motorcycle crash that happened last August. The victim was 18.
This only heightens the need for safer driving/traffic regulations in Greenpoint, especially after we were already identified (with Williamsburg) as the site of the most traffic-related deaths in 2013. Continue reading
Unfortunately, we have another tragic traffic death to report in the neighborhood. At 1:30am on Sunday (3/2), 21-year-old Marisol Martinez was struck and killed by an MTA bus at the corner of Union and Meeker in Williamsburg. She was walking south on Union Ave when she was hit by the Q59, which was making a left turn on Meeker. Continue reading
This isn’t a joke. Crossing McGuinness Blvd. can often be a near death experience and for some deadly. A speed survey confirmed that speeding cars are out of control with over 66% of cars going over the speed limit with accidents averaging at over one per month involving mostly cars and pedestrians. According to the DOT report:
From 2005 to 2009 there were 57 crashes on McGuinness involving pedestrians or bicyclists … Of those, 44 crashes involved pedestrians, with one resulting in death. The remaining 13 crashes, involving cyclists, resulted in three fatalities.
Some of the more dangerous intersections are getting a make-over, with narrowing lanes and countdown signals, plus speed cameras are going to be tested. It’s a start.
Still, McGuinness is a very anti-pedestrian street. The very location of the roadway, flanked by the LIE and BQE, leaves drivers in highway speed mentality and the lights don’t give pedestrians much time to cross.
Even though safety measures are being created, as pedestrians we need to look out for ourselves and carefully cross the street.
I hung out on McGuinness Blvd at Driggs Ave with a stop watch at about 10am on a Friday morning, when there is a decent amount of foot and car traffic, then went again at 10pm the same night.
How much time do you really have to safely cross McGuinness Blvd?
GREEN LIGHT: During the day, cars on McGuinness have about 1 min. 5 sec. to pass before it turns red, and about 1 min at night.
Meanwhile…
RED HAND: Pedestrians, wait over 1 minute.
I know it’s obvious, but we are all guilty of running against the light. Don’t be an idiot! It’s better to be late than dead. When you see that red hand, don’t risk it – even if there is no traffic.
TOTAL TIME TO CROSS FOR PEDESTRIANS = *45 sec. in am, 55 sec. in pm
*includes white hand signal plus countdown
WHITE HAND: Lasts 20 sec. before countdown signal begins in am, 30 sec. in pm
25 SECOND WARNING: At a normal pace, you can make it safely across the two lanes without having to wait on the dangerous divider.
17 SECOND WARNING: At a fast paced walk, you can make it safely across.
9 SECOND WARNING: At a fast jog you can make it across, but don’t risk it.
What if you trip?
RED HAND BLINKING: 3 sec. DO NOT CROSS
The most appalling moment I ever witnessed in Greenpoint was a man who ran to make the light while pushing a stroller in front of him.
DON’T WAIT ON DIVIDER
If a car skips the curb you are dead meat. Don’t risk it.
WAIT ON THE SIDEWALK, NOT IN THE STREET
Impatiently standing on the street is just as dangerous as waiting on the divider. Stay on the sidewalk as far from the edge of the curb as possible. In the event of a crash be as far away from McGuinnes Blvd. as possible.
This article was created with pedestrian safety in mind, but I hope drivers who read this realize that they pedestrians, too. As drivers, if we keep that in mind, and as pedestrians if we safely follow street crossing guidelines, McGuinness Blvd. can be a much safer place for everyone.
How about we rip up the pavement and replace it with sod and turn McGuinness Blvd. into a pedestrian walking mall, with a lane for bikes and emergency vehicles?
