NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – More people have died in crashes on New York City roads so far in 2021 than in the first half of any year under Mayor Bill de Blasio, according to a new report.
The report, released Wednesday by Transportation Alternatives and Families for Safe Streets, says 2021 has broken records for the number of hit-and-runs, as well as pedestrian and motorist deaths.
Overall, 124 New Yorkers have been killed in fatal crashes through June 30, the deadliest first six months of any year under de Blasio, according to the report. The number had risen to 136 by July 19.
The first half of 2021 was the deadliest yet for pedestrians under de Blasio, with 64 pedestrian deaths through June 30 and 69 through July 19.
It was also the deadliest first half of a year under the mayor for motorist deaths, with 52 killed through June 30 and 58 killed through July 19, the report said.
Eight cyclists have been killed in fatal crashes through June 30, with half of those fatalities in the Bronx, which has seen its deadliest first six months during de Blasio’s tenure, according to the report.
The report also cited an investigation by Gothamist that found 47 fatal or near-fatal hit-and-runs in the first six months of the year, which it says is the highest total since at least 2015.
“More people are dying on Mayor de Blasio’s streets because he failed to quickly and aggressively scale the safety solutions of Vision Zero that he knows work, instead choosing to deliver piecemeal projects and unfulfilled promises,” said Danny Harris, executive director of Transportation Alternatives.
De Blasio responded to the report at his Wednesday briefing, saying the coronavirus pandemic has caused more people to use their cars over mass transit, resulting in more traffic deaths.
“We’ve seen a horrible impact of this pandemic. Beyond all the other horrors that we’ve seen with the loss of life from the disease, we’ve seen a loss of life from crashes,” the mayor said. “The pandemic caused people to feel uncomfortable on mass transit, they got in their cars, and in too many cases, people were speeding or were victims for whatever reason of someone who used their car recklessly.”
“This needs to be reversed, period,” de Blasio said. “We, for six years before the pandemic, proved we could decrease crashes, decrease injuries and deaths with forceful measures. Vision Zero works, it will work again, but it requires a few steps. It means getting people out of their cars, which means making people feel comfortable coming back to mass transit. And the recovery in general helps get people wanting to go to mass transit.”
“It also means congestion pricing,” the mayor added, echoing calls he’s made in recent days for the measure to move forward. “If we’re going to disincentive car use, particularly individual car use, and get people back to mass transit and make mass transit better so people want to be in those subways and buses, we need congestion pricing. And the state of New York and the MTA are doing essentially nothing to move it forward, and that’s got to end. We’re going to keep investing in Vision Zero—more speed cameras, more enforcement, more bus lanes, more bike lanes. We’re going to go farther and farther. We’re going to set records this year. But we need congestion pricing to really get to where we need to go.”
In its report, Transportation Alternatives said traffic violence was rising even before the pandemic, with pedestrian deaths increasing year-over-year in 2018 and 2019.
Among the measures the report calls for is the implementation of "NYC 25x25," a plan to reclaim 25% of the city’s street space from cars. It also calls on de Blasio to "fast-track life-saving street redesigns on dangerous corridors across the five boroughs."
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