Community demands action after deadly crash on Third Avenue

On Wednesday, neighbors, advocates, and elected officials gathered at 60th Street and Third Avenue for a rally demanding long-overdue safety improvements to what many called one of the most dangerous stretches of road in Brooklyn.

The rally was sparked by the deaths of two pedestrians at the corner of Third Avenue and 52nd Street. The victims, 80-year-old Kex Un Chen and 59-year-old Faqui Lin, were crossing Third Avenue near 52nd Street in the early morning hours of Friday, July 11, when they were fatally struck by a car that ran a red light. The driver fled the scene but was later arrested by police on Staten Island.

Since 2018, more than 80 New Yorkers have been killed or seriously injured along the Third Avenue corridor, which runs from Prospect Avenue to 62nd Street. According to NYC Open Data, there were an average of four injuries per week between 2019 and 2021 along the corridor.

Jane Martin-Lavaud, a member of Families for Safe Streets, demanded the city act to make New York streets safer.

"I'm here today as someone who's been a part of this battle since my daughter was struck and killed 12 years ago," said Martin-Lavaud, who lost her 24-year-old daughter Leonora to a drunk driver in Gravesend. "Looking and listening from where we’re standing, this city has been designed to move cars, and people take that for granted. I know we’re not getting rid of cars, but there’s a whole toolbox of remedies that can be applied."

Martin-Lavaud cited a range of safety measures—from speed and red light cameras to better lighting and clearer pedestrian zones—as proven tools the city could deploy.

In 2023, the Department of Transportation proposed sweeping changes to the corridor, which included reducing the number of traffic lanes, expanding sidewalks, and creating a shared-use bike path connecting Red Hook and Sunset Park. Work was started on the bike path between Hamilton Ave. and 29th Street as part of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, but all other improvements have been delayed until at least 2026, according to DOT officials.

"The city told us there was going to be a pause in the project, but it was going to be an indefinite pause, and I don’t know what that means," said Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes. "It’s been months later. No one is giving any answers."

DOT and the Adams administration have said that they are seeking further community input.

Mitaynes says the stalling is part of a larger pattern of dangerous rollbacks by Mayor Adams, citing a safety redesign of McGuinness Boulevard in Greenpoint that was also abruptly halted.

"It's not just in Sunset Park—the mayor has been stopping safety measures throughout the city," Mitaynes said.

She sees the rally as a sign that residents and community leaders not just in Sunset Park, but across the city, are ready to come together to demand change.

"We need to build up the outside power we’re going to need to push this lame duck mayor," she said. "He’s about to go into reelection. He has a lot of pressure to prove what he has accomplished, and folks here are thinking about that as they get ready to go back to the polls."

Kai Lo, an advocate with Homecrest Community Services, also urged the city to take action: "We want the city to do something, not just to talk. We want the figure of traffic accidents down to zero, as the mayor said before. Enough is enough."

The neighborhood has seen the benefits of "road diets." In 2012, on Fourth Avenue, the city narrowed the roadway from six lanes to four and eventually installed protected bike lanes, improved crosswalks, and pedestrian islands. According to the Department of Transportation, these measures led to a 29% decrease in pedestrian injuries.

You can submit your own suggestions for improving safety along the corridor here.