Death spurs safety push along Coney Island Ave.
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced
a plan to enhance
traffi c safety along Coney Island
Avenue in response to a
deadly crash that claimed the
life of a cyclist in Midwood
earlier this month.
“This was a heartbreaking
tragedy, and we’re taking action
to make this corridor safer
for everyone,” de Blasio said.
“Starting immediately you’ll
see enhanced NYPD enforcement
of reckless driving, while
DOT accelerates the installation
of nearby bike lanes and
other safety measures. We will
not rest until we reach Vision
Zero.”
As fi rst reported by AM New
York , de Blasio ordered the Department
of Transportation to
install pedestrian islands and
new left turn signals, in addition
to lengthening pedestrian
crossing times at intersections
along the bustling north-south
thoroughfare between Park
Circle and Brighton Beach Avenue,
according to mayoral
spokesman Seth Stein.
Transit offi cials will pay special
attention to intersections at
avenues L and C, Dorchester
and Quentin roads, and Ditmas
and Crawford avenues, each
of which will benefi t from at
least one of the aforementioned
safety enhancements, Stein
said.
In the near term, both police
and transit workers will step
up enforcement along Coney Island
COURIER L 16 IFE, AUG. 30-SEPT 5, 2019
Avenue, while the mayor’s
offi ce also promises to install
new, unprotected bike lanes
within the next two years somewhere
nearby Coney Island Avenue
and Avenue L, according
to Stein.
A spokeswoman for Department
of Transportation did not
immediately respond to questions
regarding where the new
cycling paths would be placed,
or explain how the new proposal
differed from the Green
Wave bike lane expansion de
Blasio announced in July,
which already lists the area
near the deadly Midwood crash
as a priority zone.
The rapid safety push comes
in response to the death of Park
Slope cyclist Jose Alzorriz, who
was stopped at Avenue L when
18-year-old Umar Mirza Baig
blew through a red light and Tboned
another car there , which
then smashed into the biker.
Police cuffed Baig on Aug.
21, and he was indicted on a
laundry list of charges that include
reckless manslaughter,
criminally negligent homicide,
and two-counts of assault, court
documents show.
One transit advocate
slammed hizzoner’s proposal
for not going far enough, saying
the city must install protected
bike lanes that separate
cyclists from traffi c using
parked cars, bollards, or other
forms of physical barrier.
“It’s absolutely outrageous
to look at a street that’s designed
like a highway and then
throw up your hands and say
we can’t do anything to make it
safer for the most vulnerable,”
said Thomas DeVito, a spokesman
for advocacy group Transportation
Alternatives.
The city has given southern
Brooklyn the shaft when
it comes to cycling infrastructure,
according to DeVito, who
said it’s high time in the wake
of Alzorriz’s death that transit
offi cials extend additional
bike routes into the borough’s
southern reach.
“Coney Island Avenue
runs through neighborhoods
that have borne the brunt of cyclist
fatalities this year, southern
Brooklyn has experienced
it the worst,” he said.
The city previously upgraded
the bike lanes on Ninth
Street in Park Slope to include
buffers and parked cars between
bikes and traffi c last
year after Staten Island motorist
Dorothy Bruns ran a red
light and struck and killed two
children who crossing Fifth
Avenue a few months prior.
The city plans to paint bike lanes near Coney Island Avenue during the next two years in response to the death
of cyclist Jose Alzorriz at the intersection of Avenue L on Aug. 11. Photo by Steve Solomonson
ADVERTORIAL
Kathy Ioannou: Life begins at 50
Brooklyn, NY – It’s been said that life begins at
40, but for this Brooklyn mom it’s more accurate
to say that life truly began at 50. That’s because to
celebrate her 50th birthday in 2012, Kathy Ioannou
from Dyker Heights decided to run the New York
City Marathon. The punchline: she wasn’t a runner.
Ioannou, a mother of three, was determined to
celebrate that special milestone birthday in a way
that embodied her renewed health and passion for
living an active lifestyle. Five years later, in April
2019, after completing the London Marathon, she
became one of the elite group of runners who has
completed the six World Major Marathons: NYC,
Chicago, Boston, Berlin, Tokyo and London.
Like every journey of a thousand miles, Ioannou’s
journey started with one step: she quit smoking.
“In 2007, I quit smoking after an 18-year nicotine
addiction,” she says. “I started eating healthy and
became physically active by joining a gym. Those
decisions might have saved my life.”
Looking back, Ioannou admits that her family
history and unhealthy habits increased her risk
for heart disease and stroke but through running
and better nutrition, she began seeing her blood
pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar numbers
improve. According to the American Heart
Association, these are key indicators of ideal
cardiovascular health.
“I truly wanted to regain my health for my
children and to be around for them for as long
as I can,” Ioannou said. “I encountered obstacles
that could have kept me down but just like the
little engine that could, I believed in myself, stuck
to my training plan and my goals and kept my
commitment to myself.”
Thanks to Ioannou’s example, her family has
adopted much healthier habits as well.
“I have gotten my family involved in yoga and
have tried to help them with smoking cessation
techniques,” she said. “My family has also adopted
much healthier cooking methods and we have
incorporated a lot more vegetables, fruits and foods
high in antioxidants and healthy nutrients.”
Earlier this year, Ioannou was recognized by the
American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women
movement for her commitment to improving her
health and inspiring the people in her life, receiving
the New York Lifestyle Change Award.
“I want to encourage other women and my
community in Brooklyn to take control of their
health,” she says. “When I first started running in
2014, I couldn’t imagine ever running more than
a 5K. I now have more energy than many of the
30-year-olds I run with and I can keep up with all
age groups at the gym. I feel strong on the inside.”
Ioannou says her life is happier, more satisfying
and she is no longer a hostage to nicotine or a
sedentary lifestyle.
“If I could share one message, it would be this:
it’s never too late to make a lifestyle change.”
When Ioannou is not running marathons around
the world, she stays active by walking and hiking
with her daughter and sons. She is committed
to celebrating life the way it should be – with all
of her heart.
“If we all work together to help each other live
healthier lives, imagine what a difference we
can make in the fight against heart disease,”
Ioannou says.
Kathy Ioannou is now a volunteer with the
American Heart Association. She encourages
communities to get active and get healthy. You
can start your journey to improved health by joining
the Brooklyn Heart Walk on Sunday, September
15 in Coney Island. For more information visit
www.brooklynheartwalk.org
/www.brooklynheartwalk.org
/www.brooklynheartwalk.org
