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After several pedestrians were injured and a few died in car accidents on West End Avenue, the New York City Department of Transportation installed mid-avenue islands at two dangerous intersections and narrowed the avenue from four lanes to two in mid-November last year.  Since then, data from the NYPD show a significant decrease in car accidents at both the intersections of West 95th Street and West 97th Street.  A ban on left turns at both intersections between 7:00 and 9:00 am as well as police reinforcement on West End Ave also helped in reducing the number of crashes.  Cooper Stock and Jean Chambers (see previous blog) who both died on West End Ave before the redesign was implemented, were killed by drivers making a left turn. Both victims were in the crosswalk and had the right of way. John Chambers, Jean’s husband, told DNA Info that the island are making a big difference in protecting pedestrians lives. He said that the islands are slowing down drivers and preventing them from making a dangerous sharp turn. He believes that if the islands had been installed earlier, his wife may still be alive. Read the complete article in DNA Info

A 50 year old pedestrian was seriously injured after being hit by a bus in Manhattan. 50 year old Devan Snipner was in the crosswalk  when he was struck by a double-decker sightseeing tour bus making a left turn from West 4th Street onto 6th Ave. According to witnesses, one of the pedestrian’s legs got crushed under the bus. Snipner was transported to the hospital in critical condition. According to the Gothamist he is now in stable condition. The driver stayed at the scene and so far hasn’t been charged. The police are still investigating the cause of the accident.

Picture courtesy of Google Map: the pedestrian was crossing on 6th Ave when the bus coming from West 4th made a left turn and hit him

A 62 year old woman and a 52 year old man were hit by a car after the driver lost consciousness and his car jumped the curb in front of the Apple store at the intersection of 59th street and 5th Avenue. The two pedestrians as well as the driver and the passenger of the car were injured and taken to the hospital. Midtown North has one of the highest concentration of pedestrian activity in New York City. The sidewalks are crowded with locals, commuters and tourists.  Between 2009 and 2013 there were 2684 auto accidents involving pedestrians that resulted in 23 deaths and 252 personal injuries.

A woman driving a SUV lost control of her car and crashed into a supermarket in Flushing, Queens, NYC, injuring several people. A cashier was transported to the hospital in critical condition and several shoppers were injured. Police are still investigating why the SUV crashed into the supermarket.

A 37 year old woman was killed in a construction accident in New York on Tuesday. Tina Nguyen was walking on a West Village sidewalk when a four foot-by-eight foot piece of plywood flew into her right side and slammed her against the wall of a building located at  175 West 12th street . She was pronounced dead upon her arrival to the hospital. The piece of plywood was blown off a security fence across the street that surrounds a construction site where a 200-unit condominium complex, the Greenwich Lane, is rising on the site of the former campus of St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan.

The site, located at 1 Seventh Avenue and developed by the the Rudin Management Company and Global Holdings, has 11 open violations issued between last may and November. In August 2014, The NYC Building Department received a complaint that debris falling from the building struck someone in the head.

Yesterday workers were seen securing the fence and the New York City Building Department issued a full stop-work order for the construction site. The contractor, Turner Construction Company was also issued Environmental Control Board violations for a failure to safeguard property and for failing to provide plans for its construction fence.

In February 2013, a 64 year old female resident of a New York nursing home was sexually abused by a 42 year old male nurse.  After the case was adjourned several times (see previous blog), Nanic Aidasani pleaded guilty Monday at the Bronx Supreme Court to endangering the welfare of an elderly person and sex abuse. The plea will send him to jail for six months. He will also be registered as a sex offender and be stripped of his nursing license.  The family was happy that the case was finally closed but they found the sentence too lenient. Read more in the NY daily News

Last December, Jean Bonne-Annee was crossing a road in Brooklyn,  when he was struck and killed by a New York City MTA bus making a left turn. The driver, Reginal Prescott, was arrested and charged with violating the Right of Way Law. The Right of Way Law was introduced last August in New York as part of the Zero Vision initiative to reduce personal injuries and deaths related to traffic accidents in New York City. After several bus drivers were arrested for violating this law, the Transport Workers Union, TWU Local 100, got  angry at the City Council. The union is currently lobbying for MTA bus drivers to be excluded from the law (see article in Transportation Nation).

Reginald Prescott was supposed to appear yesterday in front of the Broolyn Criminal Court but his arraignment was cancelled.  The spokeswoman for Brooklyn prosecutors only said that the case was still under investigation however Peter Donohue of the Daily News is questioning whether the District Attorney Ken Thompson may bow to pressure frrom the bus drivers’union and dismiss the case. Read more in the New York Daily News and in Streetblog