![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/day-care-center-crash.jpg\")
The fence at Baby Steps daycare that was destroyed by a driver, who also mangled a memorial for a cyclist killed in 2017 and then drove onto the lawn, where children attendees of the daycare regularly play. Photo: Jessica Finn<\/p>\n
Parents want the Department of Transportation to install a traffic light at the intersection of Alderton and Fleet streets after multiple crashes last year. But parents are more frustrated than ever after a March meeting with the agency and Queens Community Board 6 resulted in no changes and no response from the department.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the lawn that, every single day, my son and his friends play,\u201d said Nick Weiss, a parent of a 4-year-old and a 1-year-old. The crushed fence has yet to be replaced. \u201cDoes a child have to die before the DOT does something?\u201d<\/p>\n
The driver that crashed into the fence also collided with a memorial for a cyclist killed by a motorist in 2017 at the intersection, mangling the white, \u201cghost bike.\u201d Over the past decade, drivers have caused 33 reported crashes, according to city statistics<\/a>, causing eight injuries and the death of the cyclist, Yau-Teg Fung, 84.<\/p>\n The danger is hiding in plain site: Alderton and Fleet are both two-way streets that intersect with four-way stop signs. Dense foliage lines Alderton, which cascades downhill to the intersection. Meanwhile, drivers use Fleet Street as a shortcut between the busier Woodhaven and Yellowstone boulevards. Weiss said drivers often speed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Parents have been complaining for years, said Jessica Finn, another parent. She said most drivers do not stop at the intersection or, at best, come to a rolling stop. She watched the intersection for 10 minutes recently and reported that 80 percent of the drivers didn\u2019t come to a full stop at the intersection.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cStop signs just aren\u2019t cutting it,\u201d she said. Weiss added that when he\u2019s crossing Fleet Street with his child in a stroller, drivers swerve around him to continue moving through the intersection, which he crosses every day because the day care center comprises two buildings on each side of Fleet Street.<\/p>\n Of his son, he said, \u201cI hold his hand extra tight\u201d when they cross that street.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe have near-misses almost daily,\u201d he said. He said the intersection has been one of his biggest stressors as a parent, since his children were initially enrolled in early 2024.<\/p>\n Finn added that parents \u201care asking for literally anything else that DOT is able to provide to make this intersection safer\u201d due to the sheer volume of children crossing the street. The intersection is not only home to the daycare center, but is near both P.S. 174 and the Forest Hills Youth Athletic Association.<\/p>\n The area\u2019s Council member has not been a consistent voice in support of DOT street safety measures, but in this case, he\u2019s all for changes.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen families repeatedly raise concerns about safety, the city has an obligation to listen,\u201d Council Member Phil Wong (D-Maspeth) said in a statement. \u201cWe need to do more to protect pedestrians, especially children, and DOT must take a fresh look at this intersection and move quickly on meaningful improvements.\u201d<\/p>\n That said, parents don\u2019t always like what DOT offers: In 2016, the agency discussed converting Alderton Street to a one-way, the Queens Chronicle<\/a> reported. Residents, however, weren\u2019t happy with this solution, and Finn said some feared it would only cause drivers to move faster.<\/p>\n DOT has told parents that the intersection doesn\u2019t meet federal standards for a stoplight, according to Finn. In addition, DOT said that the intersection only has light traffic and hasn\u2019t been the site any serious injuries over the past five years.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Ring-camera-footage-of-the-driver-running-their-car-into-the-fence-and-up-onto-the-lawn-of-the-dayca.jpeg\")
Ring camera footage of the driver running his car into the fence and up onto the lawn of the daycare center.<\/p>\n