WHEREAS, the mission of the Independent Neighborhood Democrats (IND) includes “develop[ing] ongoing projects and programs that will involve and enrich the people of the 52nd Assembly District;” “translat[ing]” civic activity into positive political activity;” and “develop[ing] coalitions of neighborhood organizations and groups in order to foster a greater civic and political voice for our community;” and
WHEREAS, New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law §1202 mandates “Daylighting” of intersections by restricting curbside parking within 20 feet of an intersection, except for in New York City, which is exempted as a city with more than 1 million residents; [1] and
WHEREAS, daylighting has proven to be among the most impactful strategies used to improve pedestrian safety, as seen in cities such as Hoboken, which has not had a single pedestrian fatality in the last 8 years; [2] and
WHEREAS, by permitting parking on streets up to the point where crosswalks are located, New York City traffic laws don’t adhere to §1202, and in doing so, create a hazard for pedestrians that are not present elsewhere in New York State; and
WHEREAS, publicly available crash data confirms that 17% of pedestrian fatalities nationally occur at intersections; [3] and
WHEREAS, that data does not account for the high density of traffic intersections in New York City; and
WHEREAS, while New York City has implemented Vision Zero with the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and reducing injuries to pedestrians, there continue to be an unacceptable amount of injuries and fatalities within Brooklyn, where there were 27,800 vehicle crashes, 16,557 injuries, and 65 fatalities; [4] and
WHEREAS, one pedestrian injury and one pedestrian fatality are both one too many; and
WHEREAS, the use of curb extensions is a key element of daylighting that is already a NYCDOT best practice used to enhance visibility at intersections, calm traffic, and force turning vehicles to reduce their speed; and
WHEREAS, full daylighting to a limited extent has already been incorporated into NYCDOT roadway improvement projects; [5] and
WHEREAS, the timeframe and pace of improvements will not improve safety at most intersections with the immediacy that is needed to address high rates of injury and death, as the NYC law going into effect in 2025 will require NYCDOT to install daylighting at 100 intersections per year, a very small fraction of the 47,000 intersections present in New York City; [6] and
WHEREAS, daylighting should be prioritized in locations where vulnerable pedestrian populations are present; and
WHEREAS, Introduction 1138 “would prohibit standing or parking a vehicle within 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection, and require citywide community education and outreach efforts with regard to the change” and “also amend section 19-175.8 of the administrative code to set a requirement for the Department of Transportation to implement daylighting barriers at a minimum of 1000 intersections per year.” [7] Therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that Independent Neighborhood Democrats requests that the New York City Council pass, and the Mayor sign, Introduction 1138, legislation to remove New York City’s exemption from New York State’s requirement for daylighting at all intersections.
[1] “NYS Open Legislation,” NYSenate.gov, accessed September 25, 2025, https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/VAT/1202.
[2] Jeff McMurray, “New Jersey City Hasn’t Had a Traffic Death in 7 Years. Here’s How,” AP News, March 2, 2024, https://apnews.com/article/hoboken-zero-traffic-deaths-daylighting-pedestrian-safety-007dec67706c1c09129da1436a3d9762 .
[3] National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “Traffic Safety Facts.” US Department of Transportation, June 2025. https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813727 .
[4] CHEKPEDS. “NYC Crash Mapper, by CHEKPEDS.” NYC Crash Mapper, 2025. https://crashmapper.org/#/?cfat=true&cinj=true&endDate=2024-12&geo=borough&identifier=Brooklyn&lat=40.65264340548722&lng=-73.90846252441406&lngLats=%255B%255D&mfat=true&minj=true&noInjFat=false&pfat=true&pinj=true&startDate=2024-01&vbicycle=true&vbusvan=true&vcar=true&vmotorcycle=true&vother=true&vscooter=true&vsuv=true&vtruck=true&zoom=12 .
[5] New York City Department of Transportation. “NYC DOT Unveils New Intersection Design It Will Implement in Select Areas to Better Protect Pedestrians, Cyclists,” June 12, 2025. https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pr2025/nyc-dot-unveils-new-intersection-design.shtml .
[6] Cuba, Julianne. “New Law Requires ‘Daylighting’ At 100 Intersections Each Year — After ‘Study.’” Streetsblog New York City, April 28, 2023. https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2023/04/28/new-law-requires-daylighting-at-100-intersections-each-year-after-study .
[7] New York City Council. “Int 1138-2024.” Legislative Research Center, December 5, 2024. https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7042017&GUID=9852E69D-218D-431F-A2C1-2C2F5FCD04DD .