By Bill Parry
A candlelight vigil held on the Queens-Brooklyn border drew 150 pedestrian safety advocates despite wind chills near zero Sunday.
The gathering marked a year since the death of Ella Bandes, 23, who was struck by a B52 bus at a notorious intersection where Myrtle and Wyckoff avenues and Palmetto Street all merge in Ridgewood.
Dozens of speakers, including elected officials, medical experts and spiritual leaders, joined the members of four families who lost children to vehicular collisions.
Standing by a banner that listed the nearly 300 pedestrians or cyclists killed by vehicles in New York City last year, Bandes’ mother, Judith Kottick, said, “Our lives are totally shattered and we’ll never be the same. It’s heartbreaking that this many people are dying on our streets. It’s a walking, biking city and drivers don’t pay attention. Everyone’s always in such a hurry.”
Make Queens Safer co-founder Cristina Furlong said, “The chaos of the intersection was palpable with police corralling pedestrians, buses making turns sharper than 90 degrees, traffic lights tucked under the elevated trains, cars speeding through them with no traffic calming measures besides white paint in one crosswalk.”
Keegan Stephan, an organizer with Right of Way, agreed, saying, “I had heard about the dangers of this intersection and I don’t scare easily, but there’s no room for pedestrians with all the buses.”
In the year since Bandes’ death, Kottick has pleaded with the city Department of Transportation to do something about the intersection.
“There have been six additional accidents since July, and while the DOT is studying and planning changes, no interim measures are being implemented,” she said.
That may be starting to change.
DOT spokesman Scott Gastel said, “We installed pedestrian countdown signals at this intersection last October. Furthermore, we are developing a safety proposal to be presented to local community boards this spring, which would include a sidewalk extension as well as paint and bollard treatments to shorten crossing distances and improve street alignment at the intersection.”
When Kottick learned of the DOT’s plans on Monday afternoon, she said, “I am thrilled that the DOT is taking it seriously and I’m incredibly grateful that they are working to fix the problems. We hope they’re able to make those changes before someone else gets killed or seriously injured.”
Kottick added that she was touched by the enthusiasm at Sunday’s vigil despite the subfreezing temperatures.
“We were so moved, but it was also devastating to be back at that intersection. We hadn’t been there since Ella died,” she said.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718.260.4538.
