News

Day of remembrance held for traffic victims

November 23, 2020 Jaime DeJesus

Marchers call for safer streets in Sunset Park.

Share this:

A march was held in Sunset Park on Sunday, Nov. 15 during World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. The event was organized by Get Women Cycling, a group that offers education, engagement and services for bicycle commuters.

“We honor our fallen victims of traffic violence as we march down Fifth Avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn to advocate for safe street passage for all commuters on World Day of Remembrance,” the organization said. “There is much work to be done to guarantee safe passage for all on our streets. It starts here. It starts with our communities.”

“We are here today to remember the fallen and make sure that not one more cyclist is taken from our community,” said Melissa Del Valle Ortiz, who represented U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez. “We don’t want another victim, whether it’s a nurse who’s traveling home from a long shift of serving our community or the young 15-year-old food delivery worker trying to make it to his next point of delivery.”

In October, Clara Kang, a nurse at NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, was killed in a collision with a motorcyclist while riding her bike on 56th Street. She was 31.

“I stand with our community to advocate for safer streets and remember the too many lives lost,” said Cesar Zuniga, chairperson of Community Board 7. “The solutions exist. We need the will and leadership to prioritize the lives and safety of our community members. Enough is enough.”

According to Councilmember Carlos Menchaca, every two hours a New Yorker is seriously injured or killed in a traffic crash, and nearly 40,000 people in the U.S. die in traffic accidents every year.