A rider of an e-bike remains in critical condition at Jacobi Medical Center following a serious collision in Throggs Neck on Saturday. The news comes just one week after the 7th Annual Bronx “Ghostbike” Memorial Ride was held, a bike tour spearheaded by Transportation Alternatives in memory of cyclists killed on the borough’s streets, and just two days before new speeding violation rules, announced in May, went into effect.

 

Effective Aug. 1, tickets will be issued to drivers caught traveling 10 mph above the speed limit, now captured on speed cameras that are operating 24/7, following sustained calls by NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) officials. While this is good news, as previously reported, funding is still needed to not only expand the hours of operation of speed cameras, but to ensure that there are actually cameras installed in the vicinity of every public school across the City.

 

In reference to the latest Throggs Neck bike accident, DOT officials said that on Saturday, July 30, at around  9.01 a.m., police responded to a 911 call regarding “a bicyclist” who had been struck at 2777 Schley Avenue at Throggs Neck Houses.

 

“Preliminary investigation determined that vehicle #1, a 2019 Nissan Pathfinder, was traveling southbound on Schley Avenue when an e-bike entered the southbound lane from the sidewalk and collided with the right fender of the Pathfinder,” a DOT spokesperson said. “The operator of the e-bike was transported to NYC Health and Hospital/Jacobi in critical condition. The vehicle did remain on scene. The NYPD Highway Investigation Squad is investigating.” It is currently unknown if speeding was a factor in relation to the incident.

 

As previously reported, Ghostbike memorials consist of installing silvery-white painted bikes and flowers at the sites of fatal bike accidents and bike tragedies in order to raise public awareness about the need for greater protection for cyclists, and in memory of the victims, many of whom are often immigrant, delivery workers.

 

Transportation Alternatives is one of many groups which supports what has become a citywide tradition. The organization’s mission is to reclaim New York City’s streets from the automobile, and advocate for better cycling, walking, and public transit for all New Yorkers. The group also advocates for the safety of cyclists and the expansion of bike lanes throughout the city.

 

Sadly, Ghost Bike memorials have become more and more common in The Bronx. Kevin Daloia is an avid cyclist and one of the volunteers who organizes the Ghostbike memorials and participates in the annual memorial bike ride tour. “Little did I know, that I would be putting up four new ghostbike street memorials in the last four weeks,” Daloia told the Norwood News, in reference to a spate of recent fatal bicycle incidents in the borough.

 

The Annual Ghostbike Memorial Ride is a bike tour during which participating cyclists stop at the various ghostbike memorial installations to remember the victims who were killed there. This year, the event got underway at Randells Island Connector Bridge on Sunday, July 24, on one of the hottest days of the year, and on the final day of the recent heatwave for what was dubbed a “two-hour slow ride,” by Daloia.

 

While the purpose of the Ghostbike Memorial Ride is really to remember cyclists rather than riders of electronic bikes, it’s currently unclear if the latest incident in Throggs Neck involved a manually operated bike or if the rider was using the e-bike’s motor at the time the incident occurred. Norwood News has reached out to DOT for clarification.

 

According to the website, bicycletowork.com, electric bikes function as normal bicycles when the motor is off, so riders can simply ride an electric bike the same way they would a traditional bicycle when the motor is switched off or if the battery is dead. “[They] can also ride the bike normally by simply switching the pedal-assist function to zero,” an extract from the website reads.

 

This year, twenty riders took part in the one-way memorial bike ride which ended on Tremont Avenue near Bruckner Boulevard, on the border of Pelham Bay and Throggs Neck, according to Daloia. The group comprised those who he described as some of the borough’s biggest advocates for traffic safety, Transportation Alternatives Bronx, Ghostbikes.org, and Deliveristas de Nuevo York. The exact bike route can be viewed here or here.

 

During the annual cycle, the group braved the scorching heat and made stops at four recent memorial sites, as well as a few from years past, according to Daloia. “We will have family members at some locations holding a vigil, and we will dedicate the plaque at others,” he said before the event. “We will stop and reflect on traffic safety, rampant Hit & Runs, and justice for the victims.”

 

So far in 2022 alone, there have been five fatal accidents involving cyclists in the borough. The first victim was Carlos Martinez, 53, of East Harlem who, on Thursday, May 26, was hit by a tow truck at the intersection of Bruckner Boulevard and East 136th Street in Mott Haven. DOT officials said at around 12.54 p.m., police responded to a 911 call regarding a motor vehicle collision involving a cyclist who had been struck at the intersection, located in the 40th Precinct.

 

“Upon arrival, officers observed a 53-year-old male bicyclist, unconscious and unresponsive, with trauma about the head and body. EMS responded to the location and transported the aided male to NYC Health & Hospitals/Lincoln, where he was later pronounced deceased,” they said.

For dog owners. For all New Yorkers.

On Monday 8/1, speed cameras will begin issuing violations 24/7/365. #Drive25 and always yield to pedestrians and cyclists. pic.twitter.com/xDNonpURRn

— NYC DOT (@NYC_DOT) July 29, 2022

 

They added that a preliminary investigation determined that a 2001 International tow truck, driven by a 62-year-old man, had been traveling along Bruckner Boulevard with a truck tractor in tow, and was approaching the intersection of East 136th Street while the cyclist was traveling in the same direction, also approaching the intersection. “At the intersection, the bicyclist failed to properly navigate the roadway, and the bicyclist fell to the ground,” DOT officials said.

 

They said that as the tow truck was passing alongside the cyclist, he fell under the front driver side tire of the truck tractor which was being towed by the tow truck. The driver of the tow truck was not injured, they said. There are no arrests and the investigation was ongoing by the NYPD Highway District Collision Investigation Squad.

 

The second victim was José Angel Victoriano, 26, of Carter Avenue from the Mount Hope section of The Bronx, who, on Tuesday, June 29, was hit by a car at 149th Street and St Ann’s Avenue on the north Mott Haven border. According to DOT officials, at around 11.54 p.m., police responded to a 911 call regarding a motor vehicle collision involving a cyclist who had been struck by a vehicle at the location, also in the 40th Precinct.

 

DOT officials said, “Upon arrival, police observed a 26-year-old male with severe head trauma. EMS also responded and transported the male to NYC Health & Hospitals/ Lincoln, where he was pronounced deceased.” They added a preliminary investigation determined that the 26-year-old victim was riding an e-bike and traveling southbound on East 149th Street when, at the intersection of St Ann’s Avenue, he collided with a 2013 Chevrolet Impala, which was traveling westbound on St Ann’s Avenue.

 

They added that the 21-year-old male driver of the vehicle remained at the scene and was not injured, and that the NYPD Highway District Collision Investigation Squad was investigating.

 

The third victim was Tiburicio Castillo who, on June 29, was allegedly beaten to death for his bike at 149th Street and Brooke Avenue on the north Mott Haven border, also in the 40th precinct, as reported at the time by The Daily Mail.

 

The fourth victim was Cristian Castelan who, on July 3, was killed at 172nd Street and Metcalf Avenue in Soundview in a hit and run incident by a driver who had allegedly stolen a car.

 

DOT officials reported that on Sunday, July 3, at 2.57 p.m., police responded to a report of a collision at the referenced location, which is located in the 43rd Precinct. “Upon arrival. officers discovered an unidentified male with severe trauma to his legs, DOT officials said. “EMS transported the male to Jacobi Hospital where he was pronounced deceased. A preliminary investigation revealed that a white 2015 Jeep SUV was travelling northbound on Metcalf Avenue, and made a left turn onto East 172 Street, where it struck the unidentified male who was riding on a bicycle heading westbound on East 172 Street.”

 

They said after being hit, the cyclist struck a parked vehicle and was ejected from his bicycle. “Immediately following the collision, the driver exited the Jeep and fled the location in a different vehicle that was present at the scene,” DOT officials said. The investigation is ongoing by the NYPD Collision Investigation Squad.

 

The 5th victim was Wenntwen Porgho, 43, of Sherman Avenue, located east of the Concourse section of The Bronx and west of Morrisania. DOT officials said on Wednesday, July 20, Porgho was hit by a car at the intersection of Williamsbridge Road and Bronxwood Avenue in Allerton. They said at 10.05 p.m., police responded to a 911 call of a motor vehicle collision involving a cyclist at the referenced intersection, located in the 49th precinct.

 

“Upon arrival, officers discovered a 43-year-old male unconscious and unresponsive, lying in the roadway with severe body trauma,” DOT officials said. “EMS responded to the location and transported the victim to NYC Health + Hospitals / Jacobi, where he was pronounced deceased.”

 

 

They added, “Further investigation by the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad determined a 30-year-old male was operating a Subaru sedan traveling southbound on Bronxwood Avenue. While attempting to make [a] left-hand turn onto Williamsbridge Road, [when] he struck a 43-year-old male operating a bicycle, traveling northbound on Bronxwood Avenue.” According to DOT, the driver of the vehicle remained at the scene, there are no arrests, and the investigation is ongoing.

 

As reported, Victorio Hilario-Guzman, 37, a delivery bike rider who was struck and killed by a “hit and run” driver on Sept. 23, 2020 was the fourth bike delivery person to be killed on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx at that stage in 2020, and the seventh bike rider killed in the Bronx that year, a potential consequence of an increase in food and home deliveries amid the onset of the pandemic and related shutdown.

 

 

However, another potential reason, according to Transportation Alternatives, is excessive speeding by drivers. The group says there were zero bike collision deaths in the borough in 2019. The 2019 DOT annual report which covers cyclist fatalities for that year backs this up. In 2020, there were nine.

 

Extracts from the 2019 and 2020 reports are attached as some of the attached tables are difficult to read. The annual report for 2021 is not yet available online for comparison. Norwood News contacted DOT to see when the statistics will be released.

 

Daloia told Norwood News he has raised the issue of bike safety at various Bronx community board meetings across the borough because he said the boards can influence DOT in relation to highway renovations that run through local jurisdictions. He added that three of the five incidents from 2022 were located Bronx Community Board 1, three of the five took place in the 40th Precinct, and four of the five were located in Congressional District 15.

 

 

Meanwhile, as previously reported, the “24/7 Speed Camera Agreement,” regarding the expansion of speed camera operation from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday to Friday to being operational 24/7 was announced in mid-May by Mayor Eric Adams. As reported, DOT officials had said that 59 percent of traffic fatalities occurred when the cameras were required to be turned off, making investigations more difficult. On Monday, in the context of the effective date of the new law, the mayor said, “Traffic safety is public safety, and today marks the start of a new chapter for traffic safety in our city. This is a promise made and promise kept.”

 

“Make no mistake about it, this is a major victory for New Yorkers that will save lives and help stem the tide of traffic violence that has taken too many,” the mayor added. “We are investing a historic $900 million in street safety and redesigning 1,000 intersections across the city – but we cannot do this alone, and my team and I have been working closely with our partners in Albany for months to get this done.”

 

According to DOT officials, speed cameras are currently in operation within a radius of 750 schools zones across the City, employing roughly 2,000 cameras. However, following a non-fatal shooting that occurred outside P.S. 8 in Bedford Park on June 8, calls were made by some parents to Bronx Community Board 7 to request that a letter be sent to elected officials to ask for funding for cameras to be installed in the vicinity of all public schools in the district, including P.S. 8, since it is not currently the case. It is therefore likely not the case in other community districts across the borough and city also.

 

Meanwhile, Norwood News reached out for comment on the recent cyclist fatalities to Bronx Community Board 1 (CB1) covering Mott Haven, Bronx Community 9 (CB9) covering Soundview, Bronx Community Board 11 (CB11) covering Allerton, District 8 City Council Member Diana Ayala covering Mott Haven, District 17 City Council Member Rafael Salamanca and District 18 City Council Member Amanda Farías covering Soundview, and District 15 City Council Member Oswald Feliz covering Allerton.

 

Jeremy Warneke of Bronx CB11 thanked us for the notification and said he usually gets notifications from the local precinct when a significant crime occurs in the district. “I don’t believe I was notified about this [Allerton incident] by them, but probably because this was or is being treated as an accident and not a crime,” he said.

 

We also contacted Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez (A.D. 80), who represents Allerton, and who is currently running for the State senate seat in S.D. 34, Assemblyman Kenny Burgos (A.D. 85), who represents Soundview, Assemblywoman Amanda Septimo (A.D. 84) who represents Motthaven, State Sen. Jamaal Bailey (S.D. 36) who represents Allerton, State Sen. Luis Sepúlveda (S.D. 32) who represents Soundview, State Sen. José Serrano who represents Mott Haven, Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) who represents both Mott Haven and Soundview, and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) who represents Allerton for comment, and will update this story upon receipt of any feedback.

 

Burgos responded, saying, “My heart breaks for the loved ones of Cristian and the four other victims. Each of these deaths were preventable, and I hope the driver is held accountable.” The assemblyman added, “As all cyclists deserve to ride safely on our streets; it’s clear that we must take further necessary steps. It’s imperative that more protected bike lanes are provided, and we must make sure that all drivers are obeying traffic laws. We owe it to our children and neighbors to keep them safe.”

Starting tonight, our speed cameras begin operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in New York City. Join us now in Manhattan. https://t.co/Pwqf3Q2VFz

— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) August 1, 2022

Meanwhile, Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81) who represents the Northwest Bronx, including parts of Norwood, reminded constituents of the new speeding law in his latest newsletter, saying, “The rates of severe injury or fatality for vehicle-pedestrian collisions is significantly higher at 35 mph as compared to 25 mph. According to a study conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, average risk of death for a pedestrian struck by a vehicle is approximately 10 percent at an impact speed of 23 mph, 25 percent at 32 mph, and 50 percent at 42 mph. Risks of severe injury are even higher at the same speeds, and these risks are substantially higher for older adults.”

 

Dinowitz added, “The citywide speed limit is 25 miles per hour, unless otherwise posted. We have several locations, including on Palisade Avenue and Independence Avenue, which have speed limits at 20 miles per hour as a result of neighborhood slow zones which I successfully fought for under the Bloomberg Administration.”

 

“I know nobody is perfect, but I really have very little sympathy for people who are getting multiple speed camera tickets,” Dinowitz said. “The best way to avoid a speed camera ticket is to not drive so fast.”

 

Editor’s Note: Since we published this story, Stein law offices reached out to share a guide on getting to school safely whether walking, biking, or riding the bus. It offers information and tips for students, including a special section focused on biking safety. It can be accessed here: www.steinlawoffices.com/getting-to-school-safely/.