Tomorrow night is New Year's Eve and though the town seems empty now, New York City, and Times Square especially, will soon be filled with celebrating folks. So naturally, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly wants people to remember to please, not fire their firearms into the sky to celebrate 2012. "Obviously, we urge people not to do that. The bullets come down and hit people," he told reporters Thursday. Guns aren't firecrackers! more ›

DOT uses / Money from drunk driver fines / To buy new haikus! Today DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan unveiled the first of 216 safety signs featuring colorful artwork and haikus. The signs will be installed at a dozen high-crash locations near cultural institutions and schools citywide, using state money collected from DWI fines. Haikus for safer streets! We can't wait to hear what cantankerous NY Post columnist Steve Cuozzo has to say about this! ("In the good old days / Cars ran poets down like dogs / Wrote rhymes with their blood.") more ›

In keeping with the tabloids' "fresh" narrative concerning the battle in public parks between heartless cyclists vs. vulnerable pedestrians, the Daily News visited Prospect Park with a radar gun last weekend and "clocked bikers going as fast as 31 mph—even through a red light at a crosswalk." And like the NYPD, they have no respect for journalism: " 'Move from here! Move from here!' one cyclist clad in racing gear yelled at a reporter who was not even in a bike-only lane." more ›

A Fordham sophomore who is paralyzed from the neck down after a fall from his lofted bed is suing the school for not installing guardrails. Last February, after a night of drinking, 20-year-old Kei Usami fell almost four feet from his bed and fractured his spine. According to the Post, his lawsuit also alleges that the schools volunteer EMS medics transported him without a neck brace, exacerbating the fracture. more ›

Since September the city has had pedestrian safety managers on each of the East River bridges, an experiment set to end on November 26th when the DOT will review the $80,000-a-month program. But as far as the cyclist-hating Post is concerned, the program is already a total dud. They say that commuters have already decided the program isn't working, while quoting one cyclist, who had, according to their report, one collision. Now, we've been a bit skeptical of this whole thing ourselves, but just to be sure we decided to head over there yesterday to see what some of those glorified crossing guards had to say for themselves. more ›

The 21-month-old baby girl who was shot in the face in the crossfire of a Staten Island shootout last week was released from the hospital yesterday. Little Samyah Bailey lost an eye in the shooting, but doctors say she made a "miracle" full recovery otherwise. Now the Daily News reports that family members say they have nowhere safe to take her now: "We don't want to go back. We don't have nowhere to go. They want us to go back to the same area. That's foul. That's not right," father Michael Bailey said as he cradled Samyah (the News also has pictures of the brave toddler's distressing injuries). more ›

The "turf war" for Brooklyn's playgrounds continues, and not just in Crown Heights. One Park Slope playground is reportedly infested with young men who curse loudly, smoke marijuana and call themselves Top Notch Gentleman (TNG)—after the little ones have had their time to play, naturally. And mom's around the Park Slope Playground are not amused. more ›

Brower Park in Crown Heights is ground zero for what the Daily News is calling a "turf battle" between residents and roving bands of teenagers who "skip school, smoke pot, and drink alcohol during the day." 13 people have been shot in the area this month, including Denise Gay, who was killed. While an NYPD spokesperson claims they "will do whatever it takes until they stop shooting," they acknowledge that "these kids are trying to take over the park. It's a problem." more ›

A 24-year-old cyclist was killed in Williamsburg last night by a SUV at the intersection of Rodney Street and Borinquen Place. Around 8:25 p.m., Nicola Djandji was biking with a friend eastbound on Borinquen. As he began to take a left on Rodney, he was struck by a woman in a Toyota Highlander traveling westbound, according to the NYPD. Djandji was found unconscious and unresponsive at the scene, and was pronounced dead on arrival at Woodhull Hospital. It's unclear whether he was wearing a helmet. No charges have been filed against the driver, and the investigation is ongoing. more ›

In the wake of last week's fatal cycling accident on Delancey Street, State Senator Daniel Squadron and City Council member Margaret Chin released a statement today urging the the DOT to address the safety nightmare for pedestrians and cyclists that Delancey has become. "Each tragedy is a clarion call that we need more pedestrian safety improvements now," Squadron says. Noting that the perilous conditions on Delancey cannot remain so, Chin calls the number of accidents along the thoroughfare "unacceptable." more ›

Prompted by the cycling death of Marilyn Dershowitz, who was killed last month on West 29th Street in a below-ground corridor by a 7-ton truck, the Department of Transportation is proposing a system of bike lanes in Chelsea that would run east to west on 29th and 30th streets. Members of CB 4 asked the agency for a "safe bike route west of Eighth Avenue," but the DOT specifically wanted to use West 29th and 30th streets, DNAinfo reports. CB 4's transportation co-chair says, "The safety of the bicyclists is our primary concern." more ›

According to the UK's Telegraph, a "finding" in the British Medical Journal states that cyclists shouldn't be forced to wear helmets, because "they may give up cycling altogether and lose the health benefits of regular exercise." Wow! British Medical Journal? Findings? Excuse us while we shake our luxurious mane in this deliciously dangerous breeze! But what's the science behind this proclamation? A poll of 1,439 people on the BMJ's website "believed that the use of cycle helmets by adults should not be mandatory in the UK." Ah, those internet commenters/poll users: always looking out for our health. more ›

A cyclist was struck and killed by a truck at the intersection of Gardner & Metropolitan Avenues yesterday morning around 8:30 a.m. Witnesses told police that the 29-year-old man attempted to pass the truck making a right onto Gardner, when the truck's bumper hit the bike's front wheel, sending the man under the vehicle, where he was killed instantly. "The bike was flying along and tried to cheat around the truck," a witness told the Daily News, "His skull was crushed." Police viewed surveillance video of the accident said that no charges will be filed against the driver, as the cyclist was at fault. more ›

Word comes today that the MTA is planning to install new safety shields in city buses to protect drivers from the violent passengers who attack them. more ›

A woman remains in critical condition after a car that was attempting to back into a Midtown parking space, jumped the curb onto the sidewalk and pinned her against a building. The incident occurred around 9 a.m. in front of the Seasonal Restaurant and Weinbar, at 130 West 58th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. more ›

In 2010, nearly a billion dollars worth of fireworks were sold in the US. This year stands to be even more successful, and for most of the country, they're becoming an essential (and legal) part of the holiday. Just not in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts or Delaware, the only 4 states that ban them. Long Island resident Eric Smith, who lost his arm trying to set off a mortar last year, says it's for a good reason. "Don't light fireworks. Don't trust them," he tells Newsday (paywall), "That one-in-a-million chance will get you. It got me." more ›

Great news for automobiles who need fresh air and green grass and don't have any other roads in New York City to drive on: Bloomberg wants cars to stay in Central Park! Despite the democratic bodies of CB 5 and CB 7's request for a two month trial run of their proposal to ban cars from Central Park from July to November (except for the transverse roads), the mayor's office told reporters that "We do not have any trial period coming online." Take THAT, popular sovereignty! more ›

In the wake of the death of 51-year-old Patricia Cuevas, who was struck and killed by a garbage truck crossing Delancey Street at Essex Street last Tuesday, state senator Daniel Squadron, city councilmember Margaret Chin and Transportation Alternatives said in a joint press release that they they would "ask the DOT to fix" the "unacceptable," unsafe conditions at the location in the Lower East Side, which Squadron calls "one of the most dangerous intersections in the city." more ›

Previously when a proposed Bay Ridge Parkway bike lane [pdf] was blocked, Council member Domenic Reccia blamed it on "safety," and said that "it would make the street even more busy." Last night, CB 10 gave no specific reason for voting down the proposal besides saying that cyclists should pay insurance. "I'm embarrassed," said one CB member, "that we rejoice—that some rejoice when they get a bike lane." Haw haw! Because there's nothing more rugged and robust than car-related death and injury. What kind of hippie wants their streets to be safe? more ›

The battle over pension reform is hitting the Internet: The Empire Center for New York State Policy, a non-profit arm of the conservative-leaning Manhattan Institute, wants to post the names of all people receiving police pensions in NY State. But retired NYPD officers object, saying the information could jeopardize their safety; one told NY1, "Is my family going to be threatened? Am I going to be receiving phone calls? It is just not right." more ›

While in Queens last night, Bloomberg bragged, "Today, a woman could walk in virtually every neighborhood in this city during the day and not look over her shoulder, and most neighborhoods at night." But many of the city's women question how a middle aged man living on the UES (and Bermuda) could know that. Carla Banks of Kingsbridge Heights said, "Bloomberg's trippin'. This isn't the upper East Side. He's definitely out of touch with what women deal with in the Bronx." Please let him get back in touch with the people by pulling a Bulworth. more ›

Yesterday afternoon an 11-year-old Long Island girl, Sarah Thalhammer, chased after her neighbor's dog—a poodle-Maltese mix named Ace Ventura—who was running across the partially frozen Great South Bay. (There are conflicting reports that she was being pulled by him while walking the dog for her neighbor). She fell through the thin ice at about 30-feet out, and recalls, "I was screaming, the water was up to my neck." more ›

Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe is warning New Yorkers about one of winter's many silent killers: ice. Don't become a statistic, people, the ice doesn't have to win! Not this year! That is, not if you follow the ice safety guidelines provided by Benepe (below) and exercise extreme caution (and/or less extreme common sense). While you probably won't fall through the ice at Wollman Rink, you can AND WILL if you dare venture onto the thin ice coating ponds and lakes. more ›

On Monday night, the Jets were pulverized by hated rivals the New England UGG Spokesmen in their worst performance of the season. What was initially billed as the battle for AFC supremacy turned into a Foxboro Massacre as tackles were routinely missed, the offense was non-existent and defense players went down with injuries. And proving how much bad luck the Jets seem to be having right now, even the journeyman safety they offered a roster spot to gracefully rejected them. more ›

Last month Governor Paterson signed legislation that required illegally converted loft buildings (think 475 Kent) to get up to code. According to the Brooklyn Paper, it was "designed to protect tenants in illegally occupied manufacturing buildings from landlord harassment and rental hikes, but would not prevent evictions if the building itself has significant safety violations"—it's known as the Loft Law. more ›

Though crime in the 75th precinct is significantly down from even 10 years ago, it's up 8% from last year, and East New York residents are worried. There are almost twice as many murders and rapes to date this year as there were last year, and Inspector Jeffrey Maddrey told the Daily News, "The gang issue is definitely prevalent in this community." Resident Julius Dennison summed up having to deal with violence as a 63-year-old in the neighborhood: "I'm too old for this nonsense." more ›

A subway commuter Tweeted this morning, "TSA is checking bags at 42nd street subway, wtf is that?" Yes, the Transportation Security Administration is working with the NYPD on subway bag checks. We spoke to TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis, who told us that the TSA is conducting a pilot program with the NYPD: more ›