Day: July 22, 2025

Pedestrian fatalities remain high in Brooklyn even as the first half of 2025 was NYC streets’ second-safest six months on record, according to a new report released Tuesday from a transportation advocacy group.

New data from Transportation Alternatives and Families for Safe Streets found that during the first six months of 2025, traffic crashes in the city killed 90 people — making it the second-safest first half-year on record after 2018.

Representatives at Transportation Alternatives credit the onset of congestion pricing and investments in street safety infrastructure, such as protected bike lanes, in part for the decline in fatalities. 

No traffic fatalities in congestion pricing zone

According to the group’s research, “not a single driver, passenger, moped rider or motorcyclist” died in a crash in Manhattan’s congestion relief zone, which is located south of 61st Street. 

Overall fatalities in the zone are down 15% from the Vision Zero-era average and 40% from this time last year, the report shows. 

While fatalities in most of the other parts of the city have also dropped this year, there is one borough that remains especially deadly: Brooklyn 

Compared to the Vision Zero-era average, 24% more pedestrians and 11% more motorists were killed this year in Brooklyn. More than two-thirds of the 2025 traffic deaths in the borough were people killed while walking, according to the report.  

And, of the six children killed in 2025, the report shows, four were killed by cars in Brooklyn. Two of them died in April when a driver with a suspended license sped through an intersection in Midwood and collided with them; their mother also was killed in the wreck.

Ben Furnas, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, explained that statistics are particularly deadly in Brooklyn neighborhoods where street safety projects are stalling.

This includes the area of Bedford Avenue between Willoughby and Flushing Avenues, where the fate of a protected bike lane remains in limbo pending a lawsuit focused on safety issues and community concerns. 

“NYC can’t afford to rip up proven safety improvements like the Bedford Avenue bike lane or stall on critical infrastructure like the 34th Street busway, and decisions like these will mean more crashes, deaths, and serious injuries,” Furnas said. “Looking forward, the city can and should deepen its commitment to slower speeds, safer street design, and an unflinching focus on saving lives.”

What are the NYPD statistics?

Meanwhile, NYPD traffic statistics show a similar story. Total traffic fatalities are down 27% year to date compared to the same period in 2024. Traffic fatalities in Brooklyn North increased 15.4%, while the southern part of the borough actually saw a 25% decrease using the same time comparison. 

As for Vision Zero, Furnas said it is worth the investment and should be expanded.  

“When we invest in it, Vision Zero works. It makes New York City safer for everyone who lives here, regardless of whether you’re walking, biking, or traveling in a car,” he said. “This new data should be a call to action for all our elected leaders. Vision Zero is saving lives, and it’s time to invest more in these successes instead of moving backward.”

Furnas is calling on elected officials to keep safety improvements active, daylight intersections to improve visibility, and use the state’s Sammy’s Law more often, which lowers speed limits to 20 mph.