Jiayi Zheng’s death renews calls for a safer Third Avenue

On August 29, 28-year-old NYU Langone nurse Jiayi Zheng was killed in a hit-and-run at 55th Street and Third Avenue. She had just finished an overnight shift at NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn and was walking home, about six blocks away, when a driver struck her in the crosswalk and fled. As of Sept. 22, no arrest had been publicly reported. Zheng is the second NYU Langone employee to be killed in a traffic crash on this stretch of Third Avenue since nurse Clara Kang was struck by a motorcyclist at 56th Street and Third Avenue in 2020. Local advocates and residents have called for safety changes on Third Avenue for years.

In 2023, the New York City Department of Transportation presented initial concepts for a safety redesign of Third Avenue between Prospect Avenue and 62nd Street. Community Board 7 backed a road-diet option in February 2024 that would reduce the avenue from three moving lanes to two in each direction, add parking-protected bike lanes and create painted pedestrian islands, but implementation was repeatedly delayed. Five days before Zheng’s death, the city announced a broader BQE plan that included advancing the Third Avenue redesign in Sunset Park.

After Zheng’s death, City Council Member Alexa Avilés, State Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes and State Senator Andrew Gounardes sent a letter urging DOT to return to the community with a more concrete safety plan. “Every month of delay is another month of preventable risk to our neighbors who live, work, and go to school along this corridor,” they wrote, calling for a redesign and safety plan intended to protect pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. DOT did not respond to The Sunset Post’s request for comment.

Sunset Park resident Jorge Muñiz-Reyes has seen the consequences of traffic violence on Third Avenue firsthand. In 2019, his neighbor, 27-year-old Fernando Trejo, was killed in a hit-and-run at 51st Street and Third Avenue, just blocks from his home. “A lot of blood and pain has been spilled on that roadway,” Muñiz-Reyes said. “The actions that have been promised have been many but the actual safety results have been few.”

The danger along Third Avenue has a long history. Peña Herrera Playground, between 46th and 47th Streets, is named for Maria Herrera, her four-year-old son Andy, her sister Dilcia Peña and Herrera’s unborn child Ricardo, who died after an off-duty police officer drove drunk through the intersection of 46th Street and Third Avenue in 2001. In 2019, 85-year-old Brendan Gill was killed at 39th Street and Third Avenue. In 2025, 80-year-old Kex Un Chen and 59-year-old Faqiu Lin were believed to be on their way to a nearby food pantry when they were killed in a hit-and-run at 52nd Street and Third Avenue. DOT logged 14 fatalities on this stretch of Third Avenue between 2016 and 2023.

Parents are particularly concerned about children crossing the avenue. Local parent Esteban Rodriguez pointed to 59th Street and Third Avenue, where schools sit on both sides of the BQE. “I think [Jiayi’s death] is on the mind of all of the parents who send their kids to these schools,” Rodriguez said. “It is a tragedy waiting to happen.”

Asked about crossing guards at 59th Street, the NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Information said the 72nd Precinct has three school crossing guards at Third Avenue and 59th Street and that the department regularly reviews community needs for school crossing posts. The statement added that vacancies can change with fiscal planning and that the NYPD continues to recruit and hire crossing guards.

On Aug. 31, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the city would move forward with the stalled Third Avenue redesign and provide more information. Residents continue to press for a final design and implementation timeline. Muñiz-Reyes said the issue reaches beyond any one intersection or crash. “If we can’t protect the safety of people going to schools and hospitals, that’s a community failure.”