Queens Boulevard: Complete Street Campaign Rally
Last February, 22-year-old Asif Rahman was hit and killed by a truck while riding his bicycle on Queens Boulevard. Though the infamous "Boulevard of Death" is a lot safer than it used to be, it still produces far too many injuries. According to the chart below from crashstat.org before Queens Boulevard underwent some street redesign there were about 150 cyclist and pedestrian injuries. Now, roughly 100 bicyclists and pedestrians are struck on the Boulevard each year. Asif's family, Council member Jim Gennaro, and Transportation Alternatives held a press conference yesterday, calling on New York City government to transform Queens Boulevard into a "complete street," with a physically-protected bike lane and safer pedestrian crossings. Queens Council Members John Liu and Eric Gioia also signed on to a letter urging Mayor Bloomberg to complete Queens Boulevard.
[intro music]
Curtis Anderson: [00:06] I live out here in Queens and I use Queens Boulevard quite often, even though it’s a very dangerous street, because it is the most direct route from out here in Queens to Manhattan.
Helen Ho: [00:16] I grew up crossing Queens Boulevard everyday, running across Queens Boulevard everyday actually, trying to catch my school bus. And so I had the lights perfectly timed but when I was growing up this was known as the Boulevard of death.
Noah Budnick: [00:29] Queens Boulevard is a scary place for people to travel and unfortunately we know this all too well by the tragic deaths that have occurred here. We are launching our campaign to turn Queens Boulevard into a complete street that’s safe for pedestrians, that has protected bike lanes for cyclists and that is safe and inviting for anybody who wants to travel down it.
James F. Gennaro: [00:51] This is not going to protect you by itself on Queens Boulevard. You need more than this helmet, and if you’re going to use bicycles for transportation, you’re going to use the major roads.
Noah Budnick: [01:04] Asif Rahman was cycling here on Thursday, February 28th, and he was hit by a truck. There’s a ghost bike here placed by the Street Memorial Collective to remember him and to call attention to the need for safe streets and for complete streets here on Queens Boulevard.
Lizi Rahman: [01:23] You know my son has been riding his bicycle for a long time and he has been riding his bike all over the city, not just only in Queens, he was riding in Manhattan all the time, going to Downtown Manhattan from Jamaica. So he was an experienced biker and very expert. I said we have to get a bike lane on Queens Boulevard. It might not bring my son back, but I will know that my son gave his life for a good cause. For him I will do this and it will help save the other bikers in the future.
James F. Gennaro: [01:59] Asif used his bicycle not just for recreation, which is terrific, but for transportation. This is the way the city wants to move. The Mayor has put this forward as policy, has come forward with a three year, 200 mile plan and also a much more extensive plan by 2030. But the three year 200 mile plan does not include Queens Boulevard. Why not?
Moumita Rahman:
[02:26] It often takes a death or two or three for things to really
move. But sometimes at the force of the community and the backing
of local politicians is strong enough, sometimes we don’t need to
wait for the news of the next death, of the next fallen son, of the
next dead friend. Please write to our Mayor. Please contact
your local Councilman and please continue to advocate for this necessary
addition to our streets.
[music]
