East Village resident Meipui Chow Leon, 73, was killed late yesterday afternoon by a van while crossing East Houston Street at Avenue B, according to published reports.
The Lo-Down reported that she was walking north in the crosswalk from Clinton Street to Avenue B.
Per DNAinfo:
That's when the driver of a 2011 Ford van, who was attempting to take a left from a southbound lane of Avenue B, plowed into her causing serious bodily trauma, police said.
An EVG reader, who took the above photo, said that four ambulances were at the scene at one point. According to witnesses, the van belonged to Whole Foods. DNAinfo reported that "the driver stayed on the scene, and was later cited for failure to yield and failure to exercise due care."
Clinton Street was closed until 9:30 last night, The Lo-Down noted.
As usual in this town, killer drivers don't get so much as a slap on the wrist and the cops are too busy ticketing cyclists for running reds at three-way stops to put any fear into dangerous motorists.
ReplyDeleteSo sad. That stretch of Houston is like a racetrack. I wish they could put in speed bumps or something to slow people down.
ReplyDelete"Failure to yield and failure to exercise due care" - how about manslaughter?! This makes me so angry; what will it take to make NYPD do their goddamn jobs?
ReplyDeleteAmen. The taxi driver who jumped a curb in midtown last week and severed the right leg of a British tourist had 9 points on his record and three serious moving violations, for which he was fined a grand total of about $450. Unless and until these perps--and they are perps--are fined real money and, in some egregious cases, do jail time and have their licenses revoked, this sort of stuff will continue. What has to happen is for the cost/benefit calculation to change in a big way. Every day I see at least one cabbie speed up through a yellow or even red light, because he thinks the benefit to him outweighs the cost. Blame it on the criminal entity known as government.
ReplyDeleteBill the libertarian anarchist
That's sad. When feasible, I use the subway entrance at 1st Avenue to cross -- down one side and up the other.
ReplyDeleteAs for cabbies... I feel TLC could deal with this if they had the balls. NYPD has to step up enforcement and actually ticked to speeding / running reds / reckless driving. And then TLC should suspend a cabbie for a week after EACH violation. They'd calm down very fast, but that of course assumes that NYPD and TLC would put some effort into encouraging safe driving, which they never will. And I have a strong feeling that a higher proportion of NYC police officers drive cars than among the general population, which is why they tend tend to let things slide if they see motorists breaking the law.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. So sorry to hear about this, and also about this week's horrible accident in Midtown.
ReplyDeleteWith speeding taxis, the risk/reward scenario depends on speed, fares and tips, when it ought to be about safety first, shift pay(?!) plus tips. Same with delivery vehicles. I'm sure there is a lot of talk about safety, but there is also the "profit motive"... and unfortunately, pedestrians, especially older people, are not a significant part of the equation.
I would like to hear what the mayoral candidates have to say about this... maybe?!
This is incredibly sad, and all too common. It's only Saturday, and we've had 3 accidents at this intersection this weekend. People come off the FDR and are still doing highway speeds. The traffic from the Williamsburg backs up onto Clinton, and those folks are always in a panic to make the right onto Houston to get out of the Clinton street jam. There are no traffic cameras, like they have over at Houston and Ludlow. We have cameras all around the intersection for building security, and we routinely capture accidents. We call the police, and they express no interest in the footage. 2 weeks ago, we had a car on video hit a citibiker.
ReplyDeleteI feel this, and think this, too when I'm crossing in New York..."Really, how bad would it be for this driver bearing down on me to to hit me? what are there strong disincentives?"
ReplyDeleteIts so wrong on so many levels. And its no way to live.
This sounds like Delancey Street where you had to cross a whole highway in one ten second light. I wish NYC would change it's laws to where people aren't considered as disposable road kill by cars.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course someone made this as a case to propagandized rogue bicyclists and justify them running through red lights. Tells you their self-involved nature. Dangerous operators of a vehicle are dangerous, regardless of the mode of transportation.
ReplyDeleteCondolence to Ms. Leon's family.
It won't happen, but what would really improve Houston Street would be to narrow it and remove one lane going in each direction. Force drivers to stop thinking of it as a crosstown freeway and make it a normal city street.
ReplyDeleteI almost got hit by a taxi driver yesterday around that area on Ave. B.
ReplyDeleteHe saw me, and instead of slowing down, yielding, or even honking his horn, he SPED up.
He nearly hit a CROWD of men and women crossing the street alongside me. And he even had the nerve to curse at me immediately after almost killing several people.
I used to live on the corner of Houston & Clinton. I always referred to that street crossing as as a game of FROGGER. I am amazed more fatalities haven't occurred.
ReplyDeleteAnon 5:34 PM: That's how New York's finest keep crime rates down!
ReplyDeleteAnon 7:11 PM: Yes, any moving thing can be dangerous. But you're delusional if you agree with NYPD prioritizing ticketing cyclists over car drivers. Scofflaws in both groups deserve tickets, but it's sickening that NYPD goes almost only after cyclists (low hanging fruit; look at speeding ticket statistics published after the tragic incident on 2nd Ave) rather than car drivers, who KILL and MAIM hundreds of NYers each year. Great priorities, NYPD.
Bill the libertarian anarchist wrote:
ReplyDelete"Unless and until these perps--and they are perps--are fined real money and, in some egregious cases, do jail time and have their licenses revoked, this sort of stuff will continue. "
Fair enough, and I completely agree but then you say:
"Blame it on the criminal entity known as government."
Now, if you're an anarchist, and presumably wish to do away with this "criminal entity known as government", how will said fines and prison sentence be imposed?
Regards,
East Villager
I strongly doubt that individual cops are en masse deciding to not go after traffic violators. I'm pretty sure that the absence of traffic enforcement is decided from above and the likely motive for that is to avoid paying cops overtime when they have to appear in court when someone contests a traffic ticket. Penny-wise and pound-foolish ("pound of flesh" in some of these cases).
ReplyDelete953 Pm, the only delusional people are bicyclists who think that they should not stop at red lights, ride the wrong way, disregard and not yield to pedestrians who have the right of way, and think that they are no more dangerous than drivers of cars and that the law and police should just ignore them and pay attention and give tickets to ONLY the drivers of vehicles. Delusional. Please.
ReplyDeleteAnon 12:04 AM: When is the last time a cyclist killed a pedestrian in NYC, care to remind us?
ReplyDeleteNYPD's priorities are egregiously wrong. They should be ticketing both; if they don't have the resources, they should be targeting car drivers who kill and maim. Maybe you or someone you know will be next.
A bicyclist may not have killed a pedestrian, that doesn't mean they're a menace, but they definitely have caused far more injuries to pedestrians and have been getting away with it because they just speed up, cowards that they are. Some accidents are caused by bicyclists, pedestrians and drivers avoiding those running through red lights, not obeying the traffic signs, and going the wrong way. Keep being delusional and self-involved and self-entitled.
ReplyDeleteAnon 12:14 PM: Please provide a citation for your claim that cyclists have caused more injuries to pedestrians than cars have.
ReplyDeleteWhy are you calling me "delusional and self-involved and self-entitled"? Did I not say TWICE that cops need to ticket everyone who breaks the law? Practice your reading comprehension. Fact is that 3,000 lb cars have been practically weapons on the streets of NYC. Your blind hate for cyclists and blind love for motor vehicles apparently make it okay in your book that NYPD doesn't even bother giving out speeding tickets to drivers, while speeding is one of the most common causes of accidents in NYC.
To go back to the case of this poor woman, do you think it's appropriate that the driver got a summons for causing this woman's death and will pay no consequences whatsoever? You keep bringing everything back to cyclists who had nothing to do with all the accidents Grieve just posted about, but conveniently ignore the outrageous lack of charges for a negligent driver who KILLED a woman.
shmnyc said...
ReplyDeleteThat's sad. When feasible, I use the subway entrance at 1st Avenue to cross -- down one side and up the other.
_________________________
I always do that! That's why I have an unlimited card; any subway I can enter and cross streets below rather than above ground, I do. (Of course, I ride the subway seven days a week, too, so it works out.)
But seriously, I'm scared of NYC drivers to the point that—when I'm not giving them the finger—I avoid them like the plague.
8/25 1:21PM,
ReplyDeleteHe can't provide a citation for his claim because he just made it up.
See the study cited by EVG several months ago from the NYU Langone Medical Center.
Nothing in this reporting indicates that a TLC licensed driver was involved. So, we got off the subject a bit.
ReplyDeleteBut, since we are there, I'd like to add to those kicking about enforcement by the TLC. For those of you who do not know, there is a proliferation of "T" plate vehicles in the city over the past few years and it is growing. You motorists can note the license plate of the vehicle in front of you. The vehicle can be any color, not just the former black Lincoln Town Cars. And they can be any size. You will notice that those vehicles (plates begin with "T", then 6 digits, then "C") are driven by the most unskilled, inexperienced, unthinking, discourteous drivers on our streets.
Years ago complaints to the TLC which licenses these drivers along with Yellow/green can drivers were heeded, resulted in actual appearances before a judge by the offending drivers, and the complainants were invited to participate at those hearings. And the results were almost always a fine and other punishment. Now complainants are totally discouraged from active participation and, when attempting to follow up on a complaint, are told that the case is "closed" with no info as to fines levied, nor to any other action taken against the offender.
So, do we think these awful drivers can police themselves? If you believe that I have a bridge to sell you. A long while back taxi & limo drivers complaints were handled by the NYPD. I am uncertain why the restructuring was done, but right now it is, to say the least, ineffective.
I encourage you to call 311 and report the offenses you witness (take the plate #, note the date and exact time, and be precise about the direction in which the vehicle was traveling and the intersecting streets, and the complaint referral number so you can follow up on it). This will require your patience but maybe things can be made to improve. These drivers are getting away with their bad behavior because we are letting them.
Bobby