{"id":378686,"date":"2026-10-21T06:28:31","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T06:28:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/378686\/"},"modified":"2026-10-21T06:28:31","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T06:28:31","slug":"sunset-park-community-rallies-after-third-avenue-traffic-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/378686\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunset Park Community Rallies After Third Avenue Traffic Death"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Local residents host community safety walk demanding immediate action and long-term redesign.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>Sunset Park community members, elected officials, school leaders and local business owners rallied on Oct. 18, demanding the city add safety improvements to Third Avenue.<\/p>\n<p>Third Avenue in Sunset Park remains the site of many traffic fatalities \u2013 since 2014, drivers have killed <a href=\"https:\/\/transalt.org\/press-releases\/statement-from-transportation-alternatives-after-a-hit-and-run-driver-kills-a-nurse-while-crossing-third-avenue\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">six pedestrians and five cyclists<\/a>. In August\u00a02026, Jiayi Zheng, a nurse at NYU Langone Hospital in Sunset Park, was <a href=\"https:\/\/abc7ny.com\/post\/brooklyn-nurse-jiayi-zheng-killed-sunset-park-hit-run-sparks-renewed-calls-safety-improvements\/19771216\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">struck and killed<\/a> by a car on the avenue after leaving her shift.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know it, I know it, and everybody in Sunset Park knows it, too: Third Avenue is a death trap,\u201d said State Senator Andrew Gounardes. \u201cCrossing the street shouldn\u2019t mean putting your life at risk. It\u2019s past time to redesign Third Avenue to make it truly safe for everyone who uses it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>More than 270 local residents, business owners and more have signed a <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSeAxaNIqChDLyQc1hJTLtKenUGiLsfHOS6DlfLddFXMY2Uong\/viewform\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">public letter<\/a> calling on the New York City Department of Transportation to create improvements along the corridor.<\/p>\n<p>They outline three priorities in the letter: Public updates on the design of the corridor, immediate improvements such as better lighting, high-visibility crossings and curb extensions, and a long-term plan to redesign the avenue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c18-wheeler trucks navigate through a corridor without sufficient lighting or protections for the people who share the space with them,\u201d said Elizabeth Yeampierre, executive director of local organization UPROSE. \u201cImmediate infrastructure investments must be made to ensure everyone is safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Although NYCDOT has presented a plan to redesign the street\u00a0in 2023, they have yet to take action, according to a press release from the Office of State Senator Andrew Goundares.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur community has waited long enough for safer streets,\u201d said State Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes. \u201cThe City must stop delaying and move forward with immediate safety improvements and a comprehensive redesign that puts people first. We need action now, before another life is lost.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Local residents host community safety walk demanding immediate action and long-term redesign.&#13; Sunset Park community members, elected officials,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":378687,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-378686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}