Bronx cyclists and pedestrians will soon have more space to safely walk and bike as a second stretch of the Bronx River Greenway is about to be revamped. A new bike lane and play spaces will be created along the Bronx River from E. 233rd St. to Duncomb Ave in Williamsbridge as part of a $3.25 million project.
Read more in the NY Daily News
Picture: Bronx River Alliance
Threee more pedestrians died this weekend in New York City after being struck by vehicles in three separate accidents which happened in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.
76 year old Melvina Hibbert was hit by a car on Conduit Blvd, near Belmont Ave in East New York. The impact was so strong that her body flew against the windshield and destroyed it (see picture in the NY Daily News. She died from her injury at the hospital.
The second victim was 79 year old Edmund Chow who was struck by a van as he crossed Hillside Ave near 257th Street. He also died at the hospital.
After two fatal crane accidents killed several people in Manhattan in 2008, 65 safety fixes were identified by consultants but only 8 (12%) of them were implemented, 17 (26%) were partially implemented, 18 (28%) were in progress and 22 (34%) had not been implemented according to a recent audit by New York City Controller Scott Stringer.
In 2008 the Building Department paid CTL Engineers & Construction Technology Consultants $3.9 million to prepare proposals on how to improve safety at New York construction sites and avoid catastrophic crane accidents such as the collapse of a 300-foot crane that killed 7 people on East 51st Street in Manhattan or the collapse of another crane that killed two construction workers 2 months later. The consultants provided a list of 65 recommendations and were paid another $1.9 million to assist the DOB with the implementation of these recommendations. They were supposed to have 49 of the 65 changes implemented in the next two years but they fell far short of that according to Stringer’s investigation.
The audit identified serious weakness in the New York Cit Department Building Oversight that costed tax payers million of dollars.
Our partner, New York Personal Injury Attorney Jeff Bloom is representing the parents of the teenager who sustained second and third degrees burns from an explosion and resulting fire caused by a Rainbow Experiment conducted in a chemistry lab by his teacher Anna Poole (for more info see our previous blogs in January and June)
A suit was filed yesterday in Manhattan Supreme Court. The suit alleges among other claims that the accident was the result of “gross negligence” as well as “abject dereliction and reckless disregard” for the safety of students and staff by the City Department of Education.
Jeff further commented in The New York Post “He’s horrifically scarred, wearing all sorts of protective clothing and a brace on his neck.” It was a parent’s worst nightmare, adding that the “courageous” 11th grader is back in class at the prestigious Beacon.
The Merrill’s Law or “safe distance” Law was created after Merrill Cassell, a devoted cyclist, died in a bicycle accident during which he was struck by a bus that sideswiped him as he rode his bike along Route 119 in Greenburg (see video below).
The Law was enacted 5 years ago but very few tickets have been written under the Law.
In a recent article in the Lohud, Theresa Juva-Brown explains why this law offers little protection to cyclists.Read the article here.
A 27 year old driver was killed after he struck a Jersey Barrier on the Belt Parkway in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn, NYC. Because he hit the Jersey Barrier at high speed, he then hit a guard rail and the car traveled across 3 lanes before striking another rail. The driver was then ejected from the car and fell on the highway, resulting in his death. The car continued to travel and fell off the elevated parkway onto the ground below. The fatal car crash happened last Monday around 2:00 am.
Two New York police officers have been charged for assault and police misconduct after they were caught on tape beating Kahreem Tribble, a 16 year old teenager with their fists and a gun (see video below). David Afanador and Tyrane Isaac were caught on a video chasing and catching the teenager on a Crown Heights street. After the boy surrendered, one of the cops is seen throwing a punch at the boy’s face before his colleague joined in, whipping his head with a drawn pistol.
Brooklyn DA Kenneth Thompson said the video was troubling and “if any police officer has crossed the line – we have to hold him accountable”.
Afanador was charged with felony assault and misdemeanor counts of criminal possession of a weapon and official misconduct. He faces up to seven years in prison.
A woman who was crossing a Brooklyn street suffered serious personal injury after she was hit by a driver who fled the accident scene.
Two witnesses said the car ran a red light on Fourth Avenue, then struck the woman and sped away from the scene. They said “She landed on its windshield, flew up in the air and landed on the ground. The car just left,” .
The woman was in serious condition with an open skull fracture and was hospitalized.
4 people suffering minor personal injuries were hospitalized and 10 other residents as well as a crew of firefighters responding to a sick person were evacuated from a Bronx Building in which Carbon Monoxide was building up.
The firefighters were responding to a call for a cardiac arrest which turned out to be an asthma attack induced by the CO leak. Because carbon monoxide is invisible and odorless firefighters didn’t suspect that CO built up in the building when they arrived.
Thankfully the EMS crew arrived just after them and their CO meters started to ring. Everybody was evacuated from the building and a few residents suffering minor injuries were hospitalized.
87 year old Anthony Ledic and his 89 year old wife Milenka were exiting the BJ’s Wholesale Club in Queens, NYC, when the fatal car accident happened. Anthony Ledic lost control of his station wagon and struck another car before slaming into the light pole. The impact was so violent that the couple died at the scene of the accident.
Read more in the NY Daily News
New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog