Adams Pledges To Redesign Dangerous Intersections — And Crack Down On Dangerous Drivers

Plus: Why don't subway platforms have safety shields? [FORWARD TO A FRIEND]( [VIEW IN BROWSER]( [DONATE]( [WNYC Politics Brief] Mayor Adams Pledges To Make Streets Safer With Better Design — And Police Enforcement Plus: Hochul's pledge to add cops and homeless outreach workers to the trains has only half materialized. Omicron-related service cuts are over. And an interview with the captain of a recently auctioned-off Staten Island Ferry boat. By James Ramsay --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- [Mayor Eric Adams stands on an above-ground subway platform] Seth Wenig/AP Mayor Eric Adams pledged Wednesday to redesign 1,000 intersections across the city to make them safer for pedestrians. He also promised to use the NYPD to crack down on drivers who don't stop at red lights and stop signs, and who fail to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. The Adams administration’s focus on safety at intersections comes days after [a 15-year-old girl was struck]( and killed by a school bus driver while she had the green light and was crossing an intersection. The driver was arrested and charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to use due care. The city notes that half of the traffic fatalities in the five boroughs take place at intersections. Last year, New York City had the highest number of traffic fatalities since 2013, when 279 people were killed by vehicles. "No matter how much we lean into Vision Zero, that vision was clouded by the number of deaths we witnessed in our city," Adams said yesterday. As part of this new plan, which the Department of Transportation said is slated to be finished in 2022, the city will add 100 raised pedestrian crossings, which make the crosswalk more visible and slow drivers down. Adams also wants to put 100 bike corrals at intersections and remove parking places where large vehicles can make it difficult for pedestrians and oncoming cars to see each other. The mayor, a former transit cop and then police captain, also plans to deploy the NYPD to increase enforcement of drivers and cyclists who fail to yield to pedestrians. A [new city law]( that went into effect this week requires vehicles and bikers to yield to pedestrians even if there is no stoplight or stop sign. "As we take a new approach to Vision Zero, we know intersections are where pedestrians and cyclists face the greatest dangers — and so we can and will make hundreds of crosswalks safer with a range of treatments, both new ones and more of those that we know work," said Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, who joined the mayor yesterday. "We will not be complacent or accept any life lost on our streets." Former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who vowed to reduce traffic deaths, completed 811 street design changes during his eight years as mayor. — [Reporting by Stephen Nessen]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- Hochul's Promised Plan For Homeless Outreach In The Subway Hasn't Left The Station [the Gimbels skybridge in Midtown] Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office More than a week before 40-year-old Michelle Go was [pushed]( in front a moving train at Times Square last Saturday, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan to bolster safety in the subways: More police officers patrolling platforms, and teams of mental health professionals to connect people experiencing homelessness, particularly those with mental illness, with resources. Since then, one part has come to fruition — about 1,000 cops are now working in the transit system. While Hochul said during her announcement that she was issuing a request "immediately" for proposals to fund an entity to run the homeless outreach program "right now," no request has yet been published. It is unclear what will be different with Hochul’s plan from previous outreach efforts. A [press release]( from her office indicated that these SOS teams, made up of "trained mental health practitioners," would be deployed to transition people, particularly those with mental illness or substance abuse disorders, into stable housing. These teams are expected to work in groups of eight to 10 people, and there will be 20 teams, according to Hochul’s executive budget. That amounts to just 200 outreach workers, which advocates said is too few people to make too much of a dent in the problem. Advocates said it will likely take several months for a contract to be awarded and teams to staff up. Even then, they fear, it's unclear how much of a difference outreach teams can make given the underlying problem: New York City's lack of affordable permanent housing for people currently experiencing homelessness. — [Reporting by Matt Katz]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- Here's What Else Is Happening Uneven drops in subway ridership in different neighborhoods point to the city's economic divide. During any given rush hour, subway platforms in Queens are packed, while it's almost a ghost town in lower Manhattan. The predicament for the MTA: Blue-collar workers continue to rely on subway service, but without the return of office workers to Manhattan, it'll be hard for the MTA to bring in the revenue return needed to fund the system. ([The New York Times]( The MTA resumed full weekday service yesterday after a month of omicron-related staffing shortages. The transit agency said it simply couldn't run full service with 21% of the subway workforce off duty because of COVID, but staffing was expected to bounce back about 7% this week. Ridership this week also rebounded to numbers close to what the system was seeing before Christmas. ([Gothamist]( Bronx residents are miffed that Gov. Hochul's Inter-Borough Express doesn't extend north of Queens. The new train proposal, which would use existing rail lines in Brooklyn and Queens and cut from Bay Ridge through the middle of Brooklyn and up to Jackson Heights, was pitched as a way to serve so-called transit deserts. While Metro-North plans to add some stops in the Bronx, some advocates still wish this new train line would continue north to Co-Op City, as one former proposal had recommended. ([Gothamist]( Other cities around the world use permanent shields that prevent people from falling onto subway tracks — why doesn't New York? After 40-year-old Michelle Go was fatally pushed in front of a train last Saturday, former MTA board members are lamenting that the agency has continued to balk at installing the kinds of protective doors or shields that could've saved her. MTA Acting Chair Janno Lieber conceded that "people are getting on the tracks at rates that are really unacceptable," but claimed that subway system's old age, combined with ventilation and accessibility issues, would make it hard to install new shields. ( [THE CITY]( The MTA is not imminently planning to reopen subway station bathrooms. The transit agency closed the public restrooms at 76 stations across the system at the start of the pandemic, and Lieber said this week that due to vandalism concerns, they're not scheduled to be reopened. "It is not the MTA’s priority to provide restrooms for the above-grade population ... who are struggling with housing issues and otherwise," he said. "We are a transportation agency." ([AM New York]( To meet New York's ambitious climate goals, people are really going to have to change how they drive. A state-commissioned panel of 22 experts determined that for New York to meet its mandate of cutting greenhouse emissions by 85% by 2050, nearly all cars sold by 2030 will need to be electric. In order to get everyone driving electric vehicles — or, crucially, using mass transit more often — the state will also have to make massive infrastructure changes. Here's a rundown of what'll need to happen. ([Gothamist]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- And Finally: A Staten Island Ferry Captain Remembers The Newly-Auctioned 'John F. Kennedy' [a Staten Island Ferry boat sets sail] Soeren Stache/Getty After [selling for $280,000]( to a mystery bidder at an auction on Wednesday, it's unclear what the future holds for the 58-year-old "John F. Kennedy" Staten Island Ferry boat. While its iconic orange hull is still in good condition, the listing noted that its inner workings had serious mechanical issues. (There's hope for a new life, however — even an old 1907 Ellis Island ferry [has become a floating home]( Before its retirement, however, the Kennedy was long considered one of the most reliable ships running between Staten Island and lower Manhattan – and one of its former pilots, Acting Senior Port Captain Kenneth Meurer, still remembers it fondly. "It was almost a nostalgic feeling running it, honestly, because of how old it was," Meurer said. "It was a nice old, warm boat, it was open and had a lot of space for everyone." [Read the full interview with Meurer, reported by Danny Lewis.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. 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