The gospel of Vision Zero is being preached far and wide, with the city's deadliest thoroughfares lining up to receive slow zone treatment. But how else, besides press conferences, can advocates get the message across? By blaring it out of a police van, which is probably parked in a bike lane.
According to the tipster who sent it to us, the above video was taken on Wednesday around 4 p.m. on the corner of Leonard and Grand streets in Williamsburg. After 20 minutes of repeating the message—which praises Mayor de Blasio and urges drivers to slow down in both English and Spanish—the van scooted down the block to Lorimer and Grand, where it continued its auditory assault "much to the dismay and detriment of local shop keepers and residents."
Why this tactic? We reached out to DOT, who told us to ask the NYPD, who did not respond to our request for comment, but instead sent officers to round us up for internment in one of their Vision Zero Reeducation Camps, where we'll be liveblogging the rest of the holiday weekend.
