Community calls for safe streets
CB8 and local politicians tired of reckless drivers on Independence Avenue
BY JASON COHEN
Elected offi cials and residents
in Community Board 8
are sick and tired of the reckless
driving, speeding and
drag racing on Independence
Avenue from West 232nd
Street to West 239th Street.
On Thursday, Sept. 17,
Councilman Andrew Cohen,
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz
and community members
spoke about the rampant disregard
for safety on the road.
There are supposed to be
three speed humps on Independence
Avenue in this
area, however they were removed
in July during road
milling and have not been reinstalled
by the Department
of Transportation (DOT).
“Every night you can see
from the marks on the street
people are coming here doing
doughnuts, making noise
and driving very fast,” Cohen
said. “We’re begging DOT
to take action and NYPD to
enforce the traffi c laws.”
Obeying the speed limit is
one of the issues politicians
have brought up, but in 2013,
they fought to have the area
deemed a neighborhood slow
zone with a 20 mph speed
limit. Independence Avenue
has two schools (P.S. 24 and
M.S./H.S. 141, Riverdale/
Kingsbridge Academy), a
library (Spuyten Duyvil
Branch of NYPL), several
religious institutions, Seton
Park and Riverdale Playground
between West 232nd
Street and West 239th Street.
Dinowitz, who lives
nearby on 237th Street, said
during the past few months,
he had heard people racing
and speeding all night. The
elected offi cials said they
had spoken with the NYPD
and DOT, yet nothing had
been done.
“This is really a situation
where someone could get
killed,” he stressed. “DOT
must take steps in order
to protect people. We need
speed enforcement on this
strip. It’s not only on Independence
Avenue, we’re getting
complaints from all over
our district.”
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,18 SEPT. 25-OCT. 1, 2020 BTR
In addition to putting the
speed humps back, Dinowitz
suggested a speed camera at
one of the schools.
The assemblyman said he
understood cops were overwhelmed
with the rise in
shootings, but is still “dissatisfi
ed” with how they
were treating the racing and
speeding there.
Several residents attended
the press conference and expressed
concerns about the
reckless drivers.
John Dougherty, who lives
at 232nd Street and Riverside,
said the souped up cars are
racing all night and it needed
to end. He urged the DOT to
put the speed humps back.
“The noise is so loud you
can’t hear your family members
at the dinner table,”
he said.
One person who attested
to the speed demons on the
road was Charlie Amabile,
11, who was hit by a car two
weeks prior while riding his
bike. On Sept. 11, Amabile
was biking with his dad Michael
down Van Cortlandt
Park Avenue to soccer practice
and a FreshDirect truck
was double parked on Waldo
Avenue. With the right of
way, they passed the truck
and suddenly two cars came
speeding by turning off Manhattan
College Parkway and
the second one clipped him,
breaking his hand.
“It’s obviously extreme
here on Independence
Avenue,” Michael
said. “It’s something we’ve
witnessed throughout
the neighborhood.”
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and Councilman Andrew Cohen speak
about the speeding and racing in CB8. Photos by Jason Cohen