More than 50 local residents, elected officials and families who have lost loved ones on Ninth Avenue staged a New Orleans-style funeral procession, complete with a 6-member marching jazz band, to hang memorials at the site of each recent fatality, and rally for stronger enforcement of traffic laws and equal justice for all road-users.

On Ninth Avenue between 45th and 36th Streets, drivers struck and killed six pedestrians in recent years. The most recent victim was 61 year-old art restorer Susanne M. Schnitzer, killed on April 9, 2009 in a hit and run. The driver was found, but never charged. 23 year-old Fabiola Grande-Coyotl who was seven months pregnant, 55 year-old retiree Nina Petrov, 34 year-old professor Douglas Dibble, 70 year-old actor Randolph Walker and 23 year-old nutritionist Sabina Paradi are among the other victims. Ninth Avenue in Hells Kitchen, with its many accesses to the Lincoln Tunnel, remains one of New York City's most dangerous streets for pedestrians. The community was once festering with crime, but in a recent survey 70% of the residents said they fear for their lives when they cross the street, while only 5% are scared of crime.

The march was attended by families and friends of six crash victims, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, State Senator Tom Duane, Assembly Member Richard Gottfried, Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, Council Member John Liu, Manhattan District Attorney Candidates Richard Aborn and Cyrus Vance Jr., Hells Kitchen Neighborhood Association, CHEKPEDS and Transportation Alternatives.

"My heart goes to all those who have lost loved ones in pedestrian traffic incidents in this part of Manhattan. The loss of life and loss to injury of pedestrians needs to stop," says Bodo Parady, father Sabina Paradi who died after two months in a coma following a 2007 crash.

"We've been clamoring for years to get stepped up enforcement of traffic laws, but as pedestrians we are treated as the lowest class on our own streets," says Christine Berthet, cofounder of the Clinton Hell's Kitchen Coalition for Pedestrian Safety. "Traffic agents routinely wave cars through red lights at great risks to pedestrians and children, instead of giving out summons to careless drivers and protecting the vulnerable."

"The Port Authority treats Ninth Avenue as a highway to the Lincoln Tunnel," says Kathleen Treat, chair of Hells Kitchen Neighborhood Association. "Drivers behave accordingly, as if there should be no pedestrians there. Deliberately mixing seven entrances to a highway with a highly residential and commercial avenue creates a public hazard."

Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives calls on District Attorneys to toughen their stance on drivers who drive dangerously. "Until we treat a crash scene like a crime scene, the most dangerous drivers will continue ignoring laws requiring them to yield to pedestrians. I call on Albany to pass the Hayley Ng and Diego Martinez Law so we can hold drivers accountable for loss of live and untie the hands of our justice system when it comes to traffic crime."

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