Pols, Residents Hail New Columbia Waterfront Traffic Signal
Columbia Waterfront lawmakers including City Council Member Brad Lander, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, State Sen. Daniel Squadron, Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon yesterday joined parents, children, and neighbors from throughout the neighborhood in celebrating an announcement from the NYC Department of Transportation to install a traffic signal at the intersection of Columbia and Carroll Streets.
“I’m thrilled that NYC DOT is planning to install a traffic signal at Carroll and Columbia,” said Lander. “This is great news for everyone in Columbia Waterfront who is tired of risking their lives every time they cross Columbia Street. Thank you to neighbors in the area for making their concerns clear to DOT, and organizing around keeping our streets safe.”
The decision by NYC DOT to install a traffic signal comes at the end of a neighborhood led campaign to improve pedestrian safety conditions at the intersection.
The intersection of Columbia and Carroll Street, sits at the center of a stretch of Columbia Street between Union and Summit with no stop lights, stop signs, speed bumps, and few crosswalks. Families must cross the intersection to get to and from PS58, Red Hook Playgroup, the B61 stop, and Mother Cabrini Park. Neighbors have long expressed concern about cars speeding off the BQE and driving dangerously in the residential neighborhood.
Residents said they felt the absence of traffic control measures at this intersection of Carroll and Columbia Street presents “a daily threat” to the lives of community members, in particular sighting the 50 preschoolers from the Red Hook Playgroup, aged two to five years old, who cross Columbia Street daily to travel to and from Mother Cabrini Playground.
The intersection saw multiple traffic accidents last fall. On November 4, 2015, two cars collided at the intersection of Carroll and Columbia, sending one of the cars onto the sidewalk. On Wednesday November 11, 2015, a yellow cab collided with another car, sending the taxi crashing into a street tree, serious injuring three people, and harming two others.
Following the crashes, the above mentioned lawmakers sent a letter to the DOT urgently requesting a traffic signal at Carroll and Columbia Street.
“Although this stoplight is long overdue, I’m happy the DOT has agreed to place one at this very dangerous intersection. This will help ensure the safety of our communities’ most vulnerable citizens,” said Simon.
“Too many cars come off the nearby BQE highway in a rush using Columbia Street as an alternate route. This creates a dangerous situation that has resulted in accidents. Installing this signal is a good first step that combined with other measures means a safer Columbia street for all our neighbors, especially children. I applaud the community for coming together to achieve this goal,” said Velazquez.
“Getting the green light for a stop light at Carroll and Columbia is great news for a safer crossing in Carroll Gardens,” said Squadron. “Carroll and Columbia’s proximity to parks, schools, and childcare centers made this intersection a local priority.”
City Council’s Progressive Caucus Kick Off Bike To Work Week
Brooklyn City Council Members Antonio Reynoso, Brad Lander, Carlos Menchaca and Robert Cornegy Jr., this morning are kicking off Bike to Work Week with a 9 a.m. bicycle trip from Brooklyn Borough Hall to City Hall.
This 3rd annual event aims to bring representatives from across the City to share their local perspectives and priorities for supporting the “exploding popularity of cycling with more than 750K New Yorkers riding regularly, a growth rate of 49% in last five years.,” according to the NYC Department of Transportation.
Event sponsors hope to bring cyclists together to celebrate and build community for a practice that promotes a healthy lifestyle, environmentally sustainable behavior and a viable transportation option within a congested and overburdened system.
Despite these advantages, there is still tremendous room for improvement in the areas below which participants will be championing at this event.
- Increasing Awareness: Expanding education programs and resources throughout the city
- Developing Infrastructure: Planning and investing in bike routes across all boroughs
- Ensuring Safety: Assist campaigns highlighting cyclists experiences for effective prevention
Eugene Rallies For Summer Youth Funding
Flatbush City Council Member Mathieu Eugene, Chairman of the Youth Services Committee, is calling on his colleagues and youth advocates to join him in a rally today to urge Mayor Bill de Blasio to restore crucial summer camp program funding for more than 34,000 children in neighborhoods all across the city.
In less than two months, School’s Out New York (SONYC) summer programs are scheduled to start–but these programs have still not received funding in de Blasio’s Executive Budget.
If the funds for summer camp programs are not immediately restored, providers will have to cancel these programs. This will impact children throughout the five boroughs, and working families will be especially impacted since they rely on these programs and may not be able to afford other accommodations for their children–especially with such short notice.
“All children deserve to have a safe place to spend the summer while they learn and play. Many parents can’t afford private summer camp programs, so our city’s programs are the only chance for many children to attend summer camp,” said Eugene. “These crucial summer camp programs have helped our children tremendously, and I will continue to fight to make sure that these programs are a priority for our city.”
The rally is slated for for 1 p.m., today on the steps of City Hall in Lower Manhattan.
Lawmakers Town Hall On Controversial Clinton Avenue Proposal
Fort Greene/Clinton Hill lawmakers Assemblyman Walter T. Mosley, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, Senator Velmanette Montgomery and City Council Member Laurie Cumbo will host a town hall meeting to discuss the City’s proposed Clinton Avenue lane.
The controversial Department of Transportation proposal to add a parking-protected bike lane to Clinton Avenue and turn the thoroughfare into a one-way street for vehicular traffic has sparked a heated debate among Clinton Hill residents.
The proposed two-way bike lane would run along Clinton Avenue for 2.2 miles between Flushing and Gates avenues.
The DOT project would turn Clinton Avenue, now a two-way street, into a one-way northbound street, with one travel lane, a parking lane and a pedestrian island, which the city agency says would calm traffic, shorten pedestrian crossing distances and make the street safer for families, seniors and children.
The Town Hall is slated for between 6-8 p.m., tomorrow, May 17 at Brown Memorial Baptist Church, 52 Gates Avenue in Clinton Hill.
Schumer Wants More Funding For Children With Autism
U.S Senator Charles E. Schumer last week called for full funding of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which helps provide special education and related services to millions of children with autism and other developmental disabilities across the country.
Specifically, this act provides funds to state and public agencies in order to address all needs related to the country’s most vulnerable populations. Despite the need for these funds, Schumer explained that IDEA has never received a full appropriation.
In fact, in Fiscal Year 2016, federal funding for IDEA Part B, which provides special educational services to children, fell short by approximately $17.85 billion. Moreover, a report recently issued by the Office of Autism Research Coordination and the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee suggested a lack of funding for research related to autism-related services.
“There’s no better investment than one that provides children with access to a quality education, but right now, millions of children living with developmental disabilities are simply not getting the services they need to succeed,” said Schumer.
“For far too long, federal funding for special educational services has fallen short by tens of billions of dollars. With millions of children living with autism and other developmental disabilities, it’s time to provide full federal funding towards the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which will help our nation’s children thrive and help countless families breathe easy knowing their kids have the services needed to succeed.”
