NYC Traffic Deaths Hit All-Time Summer High For De Blasio: Study

New York City NY

06 October, 2021

5:03 PM

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NEW YORK CITY — Traffic deaths on New York City's streets hit a summer-high for Mayor Bill de Blasio's time in office, a new study found. All told, 77 people died from June to August, according to the Transportation Alternatives study. The summer traffic death toll surpassed the previous record — 73 — during de Blasio's administration set in 2016, the study found. De Blasio's "Vision Zero" — his safe streets initiative with the goal of zero traffic deaths — is in crisis, the study argues. "New Yorkers need a mayor who can prevent cars from killing babies in strollers and essential workers on bikes," Danny Harris, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, said in a statement. "With fatal crashes reaching record levels under his term, Mayor de Blasio has squandered the success he achieved on street safety." New York City's streets this year are on track to be the deadliest in all of de Blasio's time in office — 200 people have died so far. The dramatic decline in safety for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists prompted ongoing outrage among advocates, a high-profile New York Times story and reinvigorated pushes for safety measures such as high-speed cameras and protected bike lanes. De Blasio has pinned the blame on the coronavirus pandemic, but the Transportation Alternatives study notes that traffic deaths were on the rise in 2018 and 2019. The study found Brooklyn in particular is gripped by a wave of traffic deaths. This summer, 23 people died in crashes across Brooklyn — the most of any summer during de Blasio's terms, according to the study. Overall fatalities in Brooklyn by the end of September hit 63, which is 40 percent more than the average during de Blasio's administration, the study states. "Brooklyn has had more fatalities in the first nine months of this year than it did for all twelve months of 2020, 2018, 2017, and 2016," the study states. The study argues the next mayor must commit to proactive street safety measures, including NYC 25x25 — a plan to give back 25 percent of city streetspace to people rather than cars by 2025.