Interactive Map Shows City's Most Dangerous Streets for Pedestrians
TEACHERS UNITE FOR BETTER FOOD If you happen to see roughly 1,000 New York City schoolteachers flocking to the Broadway building of the United Federation of Teachers the morning of Saturday, Oct. 22, do not be alarmed-The Food Bank for New York City is just hosting its annual daylong nutrition education training program at 52 Broadway to help these urban educators teach children the importance of healthy eating habits.
WALL STREET CHIN HOLDS STAKEHOLDERS MEETING
At the end of last week, Council Member Margaret Chin called a meeting of community stakeholders to discuss the concerns of Community Board 1 residents with representatives of Occupy Wall Street and learn about OWS' new "Good Neighbor Policy." Elected officials, including Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, State Sen. Daniel Squadron and CB1 Chair Julie Menin, attended.
Local elected officials advocated for the dissemination of copies of the Good Neighbor Policy to the group assembled in Zuccotti Park as soon as possible, and Community Board 1 reiterated the need for a dedicated phone number and email for residents to log complaints with OWS directly. Local elected officials urged Occupy Wall Street representatives to identify individuals to monitor the drumming on-site and to adhere to the two hour a day limit as is called for in the policy.
"Now that the Good Neighbor Policy is in place, it is time for Occupy Wall Street to show they are serious about following through with the stipulations they have agreed upon as a body," said Chin."This is their opportunity to be responsive to the surrounding community. If they fail to institute serious changes, they will lose the support they now enjoy."
"It is imperative to respect the protesters' First Amendment rights and the needs of the local community," said Menin. "The two are not mutually exclusive, and the Good Neighbor Policy is reflective of that."
A copy of the approved "Good Neighbor Policy" is available at nycga.cc/category/news.
EAST VILLAGE P.S. 94 GETS SENSORY ROOM
State Sen. Daniel Squadron joined P.S. 94 students, teachers and families to open the school's new sensory room. Squadron and Assembly Member Brian Kavanagh, working with school leaders and Council Member Rosie Mendez, successfully secured Department of Education funding for the room, a critical resource for students with autism. The room will allow students to explore and develop senses and skills through touch, sound and light. P.S. 94 is located on East Houston Street.
CITYWIDE INTERACTIVE MAP SHOWS CITY'S MOST DANGEROUS STREETS FOR PEDESTRIANS (see inset)
Last week, Transportation Alternatives (TA) released the first of a series of "crash map" reports derived from CrashStat.org, TA's interactive online map of motorist crashes in New York City. The first crash map report, called "Walking in Traffic Violence," charts motorist crashes with pedestrians, breaking down the data by community district to give a historic view of road safety.
"We've all experienced the epidemic of dangerous driving in New York City," said Paul Steely White, executive director of TA. "Despite the tremendous efforts made by the DOT to redesign streets for safety, behavior behind the wheel puts people in harm's way every day."
According to the map, built using New York State Department of Motor Vehicles data from 1995 to 2009, the neighborhoods with the most motorist-pedestrians crashes in each borough are:
1. Midtown Manhattan (Manhattan Community District 5), 8,604 crashes
2. Jamaica, Hollis, St. Albans (Queens Community District 12), 4,741 crashes
3. Flatbush, Ditmas Park, Midwood (Brooklyn Community District 14), 3,920 crashes
4. Concourse, Highbridge, Mt. Eden (Bronx Community District 4), 2,938 crashes
5. North Shore (Staten Island Community District 1),1,944 crashes
To learn more about the number of pedestrian accidents in your neighborhood, visit CrashStat.org. Photo: CrashStat.org provides an interactive map to look up the frequency of pedestrian accidents in any New York City neighborhood. (Screen still courtesy of CrashStat.org)