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Delancey & Essex Deemed One Of NYC's "Deadliest" Intersections
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Aug 2, 2011
Modified Aug 2, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Aug 2, 2011
Modified Aug 2, 2011
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Any pedestrian who has crossed Delancey Street at Essex Street knows that hustling to beat the all-too-short light can be a harrowing experience. The Daily News calls the intersection "among the deadliest in New York," and the evidence bears this out: between 1998 and 2010, pedestrians and cyclists were involved in 134 out of 523 accidents, including 3 fatalities, according to the the state's Department of Transportation records.
After 51-year-old Patricia Crockett was struck by a sanitation truck on May 10 at the infamous intersection, State Senator Daniel Squadron, city councilmember Margaret Chin and Transportation Alternatives released a joint statement urging the city to fix the "unacceptable" conditions at the intersection. Crockett's family is suing the owner and driver of the truck, and their high-profile attorney Sanford Rubenstein says, "I believe it is the most dangerous intersection on the East Side of Manhattan." Rubenstein has also given the city notice of a $20 million suit against it for Crockett's death.
Through a statement, the agency says it is improving the situation at the thoroughfare: "Pedestrian countdown signals will [also] be installed helping pedestrians to avoid being caught in the crosswalk when the light changes." But looking at this map of recorded injuries and fatalities in the area (the data only runs through 2005) it doesn't appear that Essex & Delancey is the only troubling intersection. Cars speeding down Delancey with reckless abandon are a huge part of the problem.
CNBC.com editor and native New Yorker John Carney agrees. He was struck at Allen & Delancey in a hit and run back in 2007, and severely broke his leg. "Cars are just flying down Delancey, all those intersections are dangerous," Carney says, and he points out that drivers attempting to make a left turn off Delancey don't really have a good view of traffic in the opposing lane or of pedestrians crossing the street. "There needs to be a dedicated turn signal, or a more graduated lighting pattern. My dad told me growing up to 'never trust that you have the right of way,' and that's totally applicable when you're walking down Delancey."
Tagged
cycling
delancey street
department of transportation
dot
essex street
Lower East Side
pedestrian fatalities
transportation alternatives
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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