Results tagged “boulevardofdeath”

Last night, a man crossing Queens Boulevard at 44th Street was hit by an unmarked police car. The Daily News reports witnesses say the pedestrian Evelio Villa, 47, and his girlfriend had the right of way and the car went through a red light—"This guy was flying. He went like a bat out of hell. There was no screeching brakes, no tire marks, nothing." However, a police union source tells the paper that the car from the 109th Precinct had the green light and that Villa was intoxicated (another police source says the car turned on its sirens when it saw Villa). Villa's girlfriend says the car was going slow but actually accelerated as it approached, "I tried to grab him, but by that time he was in the air." Villa is in stable condition at Elmhurst Hospital with a fractured shoulder and the police officer driving the car has not been charged.

Queens Boulevard, dubbed the "Boulevard of Death," was the scene of yet another fatal accident yesterday. This time, a cement truck hit a woman in her 60s as she was crossing the street towards the Queens Center Mall, scattering the contents of the victim's purse into the street. Witnesses at the scene say that the truck was turning from Woodhaven Blvd. just and hit the woman just as she entered the crosswalk trying to beat the light. The same witness told the Daily News that the cement truck was going about 20 m.p.h. The victim's name was not released, but the police said that she may have stumbled as she crossed the street, falling under the truck's wheels.

Rego Park and Forest Hills have been home to Uzbeki immigrants for so long that many residents and outsiders now refer to the area by the collective name Rego Parkistan. By our count there are at least a half dozen kosher kebab joints between the Boulevard of Death and 108 Street. All of these spots feature flat swordlike skewers upon which have been impaled meat, fish and the occasional vegetable, as well as such "national dishes" as plov, a heartier take on pilaf. Gothamist recently visited Zhemchuzhina, one of the newer entries in this somewhat crowded field.

Yesterday, a five people were injured on Queens Boulevard at 47th Street when a Jeep Cherokee slammed into a Honda. The Jeep, which witnesses describe as trying to beat a red light, lost control and hit the Honda. The Honda, which had been making a turn onto Queens Boulevard, was crushed from the impact and then "plowed up onto the crowded sidewalk, pinning a 16-year-old boy against a lamppost."

Officer Crossing, by mdpny on Flickr. Tag yours with "Gothamist" if you want us to use them.

The amNewYork cover story is about dangerous intersections in the city. Queens Boulevard, aka the "Boulevard of Death," has only had four fatalities in the past three years, but there have been a number of pedestrian injuries on Grand Concourse in the Bronx and at Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn. Grand Concourse has had 35 pedestrian injuries during the same period, while Eastern Parkway had seven pedestrian deaths in 1999 and 2005, not including many pedestrian injuries.

Last night, a man was crossing Queens Boulevard at 67th Avenue when a silver SUV hit him without stopping. The 59 year old man had been returning home from Yom Kippur services, and Queens DA Richard Brown said, "I'm troubled. I went to temple myself today. It's the most important day of the Jewish calendar, and apparently he was on his way home from temple after observing the holiday, and to have this happen to him is just a terrible tragedy." Police are looking for a silver Nissan SUV with either broken windows or windshield as the victim remains in critical condition at Jamaica Hospital.

We had heard some wire reports of a fatal bike accident on West Houston and LaGuardia, and NY1 just had an update. A cyclist headed down LaGuardia and was trying to squeeze between a truck and van in the construction area. He fell off the bike and got caught under the truck, with a wheel going over his head.

Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives

Here's the Department of Transportation's safety tips, plus Gothamist on Queens Boulevard, aka The Boulevard of Death, and a pedestrian death at 6th Avenue and 23rd Street. Also in 1910: The women's baseball team, the New York Bloomers, was formed.

Newsday speaks with a woman who is crusading to get an overpass built over Queens Boulevard. Sharon Bush, whose daughter was killed crossing the street, which is nicknamed "Boulevard of Death," quit her job to rally overpass support full-time saying, "I have nothing but time now. I'm not going to let my daughter be collateral damage." According to Newsday, there have been 84 deaths since 1993 at the intersection, thoush none this year. The Department of Transportation says the "Quik Curb" plastic barriers, which keep cars in specified turning lanes (and there are 12 lanes total on Queens Boulevard), and traffic signals that give pedestrians more crossing time are helping. But Bush doesn't think it's enough, pointing out that an overpass was built quickly for the upcoming Republican Convention. Though the DOT notes that the convention paid for the $1 million bridge, Gothamist has to wonder what is stopping the city from building an overpass besides money. Process? Bureaucracy?

The Post, Daily News, Newsday, and the Times all recount the grisly history of Queens Boulevard as an accident between two SUVs caused the one pedestrian's death and the other's injuries. The News reports that the injured victim's boyfriend ran out to help, only "to find [his girlfriend] lying in a bloody heap." The Times says the nickname "The Boulevard of Death" came to be when"more than 70 pedestrians were killed in accidents there from 1993 to 2001." Christ. Even though there have been three deaths since safety improvements on the boulevard in 2002, isn't that three too many, Newsday says the Department of Transportation is planning a review of the intersection and accident.