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Delancey Street Named After 12-Year-Old Killed In Traffic
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Aug 3, 2014
Modified Aug 3, 2014
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Gothamist
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Aug 3, 2014
Modified Aug 3, 2014
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Next to the perilous drone of Delancey Street traffic, elected officials and family members gathered earlier today to rename a stretch of Clinton Street after Dashane Santana, the sixth grader who was killed two years ago by a van at the mouth of the Williamsburg Bridge. "She always told me that she would take me out of the projects, buy me a house with a great big kitchen so that I could cook for the whole family," Santana's grandmother, Teresa Pedroza said. "I want to hold her so much right now. She deserved this."
Santana's death was one of many that shocked the city's collective conscience and helped galvanize what would become Mayor de Blasio's Vision Zero platform.
"She has done so much at the early age of twelve," Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer said in her remarks, pointing to the pedestrian islands and longer crossing times that were installed on Delancey in 2012.
Pedestrian fatalities have also been central to a new state law that will allow the City Council to lower the speed limit.
A source familiar with the DOT's plans says that parts of the Bowery and the entirety of Sixth Avenue will be designated as arterial slow zones in the near future, though Delancey Street is not yet on that list.
(left to right) Councilmember Margaret Chin, Dashane's grandmother Teresa Pedroza, Dashane's mother Shamika Benjamin, and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and on the far right, Councilmember Rosie Mendez (Gothamist)
The DOT is already targeting many of the city's most dangerous roads as arterial slow zones, meaning a 25 mph speed limit, new traffic signal timing, and increased enforcement by the NYPD. Some are set to go into effect tomorrow.
"You see the cars coming off that bridge," Councilmember Margaret Chin said, pointing to a wall of vehicles zooming off the Williamsburg Bridge. "They have to slow down. We've made tremendous improvements, but we're going to keep advocating."
Tagged
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Dashante Santana
dot
pedestrian fatalities
pedestrian safety
slow zones
vision zero
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
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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