Outside City Hall on Wednesday, advocates read the names of people killed on city streets.
And this year, bicycle and e-bike deaths are up 70%. Seventeen riders have been killed so far this year compared with 10 at this point last year, according to city data.
Now, after four people were killed by hit-and-run drivers in just five days, protesters lay down in City Hall Park to represent the lives lost.
“I just think of the families. I think of the heartbreak that your loved one is never coming home,” Transportation Alternatives volunteer Chong Bretillon said.
Paulina Tec Choch, Angelo Camara and Mamadou Diallo were all riding bikes. Destiny Murrel was walking in a crosswalk. In each case, the driver left the scene.
“What we’re asking for in a comprehensive, systemic plan from City Hall to stop the carnage,” Transportation Alternatives senior director of communication and strategy Alexa Sledge said.
Advocates credited the Mamdani administration with moving some stalled street safety projects forward, but said they want more protected bike lanes and tougher action against reckless drivers.
But the broader picture is moving in the opposite direction. The city said overall traffic deaths remained near historic lows through the first half of the year.
The administration points to street redesigns, new and widened protected bike lanes, and an expanding network of automated enforcement cameras.
“I support any initiative that we have to reduce the number of crashes around the city and to ensure there is no longer a hierarchy of safety based on what mode of transit you’re using,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Monday.
For advocates, the measure of any new plan is whether another name has to be added to the list.
“No matter what bike you’re choosing, as long as it’s a safe and legal bike, you should be able to get to where you’re going safely, legally and alive,” Sledge said.