An update on yesterday’s fatal accident on Delancey Street. As we reported (here and here), a pedestrian was struck and killed around 4am as he was crossing the street (near Essex). The body was not moved for several hours, creating a gruesome scene during the morning rush hour. Now our elected officials are speaking out about the pedestrian dangers on Delancey. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, State Senator Daniel Squadron and City Councilmember Margaret Chin released the following statement:
(Yesterday’s) deadly crash at Essex and Delancey Streets is a tragedy, but not unexpected. According to the NYS Department of Transportation, there have been more than 80 crashes at this exact location over a 10-year period. A 2006 report by the Manhattan Borough President’s Office found this intersection to be the most congested in the borough. That’s why we have called on the New York City Department of Transportation to implement red light cameras and other pedestrian safety measures at ‘danger spot’ intersections throughout the city, including at Essex and Delancey. While DOT has been working on improving safety conditions in Lower Manhattan and should be commended for that work, today’s incident underscores the need for further attention to this intersection, as well as rapid passage of pedestrian safety legislation to ensure that tragedies like this don’t happen again.”
DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan told NY1, overall, traffic fatalities are the lowest they have been in the city since 1910. “We had 256 deaths last year, and we are going to do everything we can to make sure those numbers continue to fall,” she said.
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