Safe Streets March honors victims of traffic violence on World Day of Remembrance

Every year on the third Sunday in November, communities around the world hold events for World Day of Remembrance, honoring people who have lost their lives in traffic crashes.

On Sunday, November 16, the Sunset Park–based organization Get Women Cycling will lead the Safe Street March, beginning at 3:45 p.m. at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, in front of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Many participants will be walking their bikes as the group proceeds down Fifth Avenue to 44th Street for a short remembrance.

The march is organized with support from the Sunset Park Business Improvement District and Brooklyn Community Board 7. A social hour will follow from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Sunset Stoop.

The urgency of this year’s march is underscored by recent tragedies: over the summer, two pedestrians, 80-year-old Kexun Chen and 59-year-old Faqiu Lin, were crossing the Third Avenue corridor on their way to the City Harvest Mobile Market when a driver running a red light struck and killed them before fleeing the scene. The driver was later arrested. In early October, a 75-year-old pedestrian, Judith Byron, was hit at Seventh Avenue and 41st Street by a driver who ran a red light and fled. She was taken to Maimonides Medical Center, where she died. Police said the SUV was traveling northbound and possibly silver. No arrest had been announced as of publication.

Ángela Azzolino, Program Director and founder of Get Women Cycling, said Sunset Park has long been overlooked when it comes to investments in safer streets. “Sunset Park notoriously has been an area that has not received a lot of funding or a lot of infrastructure changes for safety improvements,” she said. “We have seen a large number of collisions and serious injuries, and fatalities, that could have been prevented.”

The Sunset Post had the opportunity to speak with Azzolino at Internet and Coffee, just a few blocks from where October’s tragedy occurred, and in the same building where she grew up.

Azzolino said she launched Get Women Cycling after working in bike shops and seeing the limited services that were being provided for women and non-gender-conforming folks. “We had to start figuring out ways to help this demographic find what they needed,” Azzolino said. She and her team began offering personalized consultations, workshops, and group rides, helping women and femme-identifying riders choose bikes, learn basic maintenance, and ride safely. The group also partners with neighborhood bike shops to improve customer experiences and promote businesses that support cycling-friendly practices.

Over time, Azzolino said, the mission expanded beyond access and education to include a reckoning with safety itself. Years of crashes and close calls have made her increasingly uneasy about urging people to bike in a city where riding remains perilous. That shift began after one of her members was struck twice by cars while riding. “I can preach all I want about the benefits of bike riding,” she said, “but I can’t tell you there’s no risks.”

She now partners with local driving schools to brief students on how people walking, biking, or using mobility devices actually move on city streets. She’s also launching askMO, a digital platform that collects residents’ street-safety experiences and connects them with vetted resources, public comment opportunities, and plain-language explanations of current rules. “We want Sunset Park to be our testing ground,” Azzolino said, “to see how we can improve this tool and get people engaged.”

Among her priorities this year is shifting away from punitive crackdowns on cyclists, delivery workers, and e-bike riders and focusing instead on infrastructure, consistent rules, and education. She argues that ticketing and bike seizures often criminalize lower-income workers trying to get around, while larger vehicles continue to dominate street space. Azzolino said the focus should be on problem-solving and street design that actually keeps people safe.

Each year, at the end of the march, participants read aloud the names of neighbors lost to traffic violence in the past year, a list that continues to grow as new tragedies occur. Azzolino hopes this year’s walk will not only honor those lives but also build momentum for long-delayed safety improvements throughout Sunset Park.