Delancey & Essex Deemed One Of NYC's "Deadliest" Intersections

Delancey Street at Essex Street, via ibexclusive's Flickr

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."

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By Christopher Robbins in News on August 2, 2011 8:59 AM

Comments [rss]

1

We need to eliminate the bike lanes period!!! Tuna Loaf and his male companion sunsetslurper need to run over by a car for the sake of the world since ignorance can't be tolerated in this world.

TunaLoaf

Seems like you're the one with the male companion. Joesph Salerno has liked every one of your comments, and vice versa. Good luck with each other, fellas!

Joesph Salerno

I'm the anti bike lane guy and you are calling me a hipster. Maybe you need to focus on planing your wedding with your life partner

TunaLoaf

Hehe..."I'm the anti bike lane guy." Throw out a bunch of nonsense, Joesph, see what sticks. Fuggin hipster.

Joesph Salerno

" See what sticks"- I'm sure your life partner would agree.

TunaLoaf

Keep trying, Joesph.

Joesph Salerno

I certainly not attempting to try. Not interested in the alternative lifestyle

TunaLoaf

You seem to be obsessed with it, though.

purp

>I have a brother who works for the NYPD

Ahhh...it's becoming clear now

S.D.

But is Queens Blvd. still the 'Boulevard of DEATH!'??

Guest

"All of Delancey is like some sort of killing field."

Yes.

You can't even make it to the division in the middle of the road before the light starts to blink, it's insane. I don't understand how Delancey street has lasted that way for so long.

Militant Conformist

Expanding the middle divider in this area of Delancey street would be a nice start

cr17

All of Delancey is like some sort of killing field. The pedestrian street-level crossing on Clinton is absolutely the worst - it's like something out of Frogger. The second you step off the curb to when you get the Walk sign it starts flashing Don't Walk about 2 seconds later. You need to run to get accross the street, no other way about it, and the entire thing is disorienting as you're in the middle of a huge street with both small and big traffic cones everywhere (many of which are knocked over or blown around blocking your path). And if you don't get clipped by oncoming cars then you'll get it from cyclists either entering or exiting the bridge in the middle of the street, and it's not entirely their fault because bike lanes aren't supposed to dump out sidewalks although they do at the Williamsburg bridge. What's sorely needed is a pedestrian overpass.

MorganTsvangirai

Cars CONSTANTLY run lights and gun it down Delancey yet cops dont seem to do anything about it. There's at least one car every light change heading east on Delancey that runs through the red on where Suffolk intersects the street.

Spirit of 76

The cops don't do anything because there's nothing in it for them. Fines for moving violations go to the state, not the city.

Bernie_Geotz_Squirrel_Luv

Time to work on this. They did traffic calming measures on the Manhattan bridge. It took a while.
Haven't heard of any fatalities on that bridge for some time.

starrygordon

Delancey Street is a good example of the city's schizophrenia about automobiles. Drivers are encouraged to race on and off the bridge at high speed, but then on the city streets they're supposed to suddenly become careful citizens. Plus we have the amazing design of the Williamsburg Bridge, which dumps pedestrians, bicyclists and stray dogs in the middle of the highway on an island with a very short stop light (12 seconds last time I counted) at very long intervals to get off with. It's one of the dumbest street designs I've ever seen.

Gwinny

all excellent points.

apheliotrope

In addition the painted lines are faded so motorists have to guess at where they should be and jockey for position without regard to an orderly flow.