Day: August 11, 2025

After another fatal crash on Morgan Avenue, locals are again urging the city to redesign the dangerous thoroughfare.

A 56-year-old man was killed by the driver of a large Freightliner truck as he crossed the avenue near Sharon Street just before 8 a.m. on Aug. 6, according to the NYPD. The victim, whose name has not yet been released, suffered “severe trauma” and was pronounced dead on the scene. Police said the driver remained on the scene, and was not facing charges as of Aug. 11.

It was the fourth fatal incident on Morgan Avenue since 2022. 

“We know that Morgan Avenue is dangerous,” said Juan Serra of Friends of Cooper Park at an Aug. 8 vigil. “Many of you have been out here time and time again.”

In 2022, neighbors launched the “Make Morgan Safe” campaign after 30-year-old delivery worker Danny Vidal was killed by a truck at the intersection of Morgan Avenue and Meadow Street. Months earlier, a driver was killed in a crash just a few blocks north, per city data. 

Serra said the group had gathered hundreds of suggestions for improving Morgan Avenue, including adding a protected bike lane, crosswalks, and daylighting, and sent them to DOT in a letter. After Vidal’s death, he said, elected officials swore something would be done, but nothing was. 

In 2023, 56-year-old cyclist Eugene Schroeder was killed in a hit-and-run at the corner of Morgan and Johnson avenues, and data show that dozens of cyclists, drivers and pedestrians have been injured on the avenue in the past three years. 

“So today we’re here because another neighbor is dead, run over by a truck just crossing the street in front of this beautiful park,” he said. “It didn’t have to be this way, because Morgan is prioritized for trucks over people’s lives. It will not change until we have a comprehensive redesign of Morgan with a safe, protected bike lane, crosswalks and daylighting, with real enforcement against abuse.”

Morgan Avenue, which runs from Norman Avenue in Greenpoint to Flushing Avenue in Bushwick, is a designated truck route, and crosses through the nabe’s Industrial Business Zone.

But the avenue directly abuts residential areas, and near Sharon Street, at the scene of the Aug. 26 crash, runs alongside Cooper Park. Though police said the victim was crossing east-west “outside of the marked crosswalk,” there is no east-west crosswalk at the intersection of Morgan Avenue and Sharon Street, only one running north-south across Sharon Street. 

“I don’t come to this park because I don’t have a safe way to get here,” said Greenpoint resident Meryl Laborde. “Our neighbors deserve to be able to use this street to get to Bushwick, to get to work, to visit their friends.”

Greenpoint resident Heidi Vanderlee said that while Morgan Avenue is a direct route from Greenpoint to Bushwick, navigating the road is “harrowing,” and that construction leaves pedestrians and cyclists without a clear path of travel. 

In 2023, the Department of Transportation hosted a “street improvements workshop” to discuss potential improvements on Morgan Avenue, Metropolitan Avenue, and Grand Street. The following year, local elected officials sent a letter to DOT with a laundry list of concerns and suggestions related to Morgan Avenue, according to StreetsBlog.

But the avenue has not been touched, and DOT has not indicated it has any plans for a major redesign of the thoroughfare. The agency did not respond to Brooklyn Paper’s request for comment. 

“We need our elected officials to support us, they promised that they will do something to fix this, they’ve been promising us since 2022 that we won’t have anymore deaths on Morgan Avenue, and then they do nothing to keep that promise,” Laborde said. 

In a statement, local assembly member Emily Gallagher said she was “devastated” by the crash.

“Far too many preventable crashes have taken place on Morgan Ave in recent years,” she said. “We must do more to ensure walkers, cyclists, and drivers are able to use Morgan Ave safely. I will continue working with local electeds and NYC DOT to increase protected bike lanes and visible crossings here and around the city.”

NYC planted 200 new trees in Greenpoint and Williamsburg. Councilmember Restler plans to fill every tree bed in District 33 by 2027.

The post Hundreds of new trees planted in Greenpoint, more to come appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

Congressmember Hakeem Jeffries reported for jury duty at Kings County Supreme Court, Civil Term, in Brooklyn last week. 

The post ✰PREMIUM <br>Hakeem Jeffries reports for jury duty at Brooklyn Supreme Court appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.