Testimony From Families for Safe Streets Before the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on the City Budget

New York City Council Hearing Testimony on the FY23 Preliminary Budget

Debbie Marks Kahn, Founding Member of Families for Safe Streets

Testimony before the Committee on Finance and Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

March 16, 2022

Good morning. My name is Debbie Marks Kahn. I am a Founding Member of Families for Safe Streets. Our group is made up of New Yorkers who have lost loved ones or who have been critically injured in traffic crashes. We are a club that nobody should ever have to join.

I am only here still because of sheer will. Every minute of every single day is excruciating living without my only child Seth Kahn who was the joy of my life —  pure light and love and fun. He was smart, charming, creative, and talented.  When he called me at night to say he loved me and we'd speak again tomorrow, I could have never imagined that would be the last time I'd hear his voice.  On November 4, 2009, Seth walked out of the subway, picked up a cup of coffee, waited for the light to change, walked across the street in the crosswalk and was killed by a speeding bus driver who made a left turn right into him. After being knocked down, he yelled for the bus to stop but it kept coming. Our city robbed us of our child. A multi-ton bus on our dangerously designed streets squashed my 22-year-old son’s life. I became a founding member of Families for Safe Streets and currently sit on the Steering Committee. We work with leaders like you to ensure no other families have to experience the anguish we have experienced.  

In recent years, the New York City Council has been a leader in the mission to achieve Vision Zero. Advocacy by members of this body have helped make city streets more equitable, accessible, and safe. Council Members have also stood by our members at vigils and memorials during some of the darkest days of their lives.

This year, FSS is respectfully making four requests in the upcoming budget: 1) Funding for the NYC Streets Plan; 2) Funding for Vision Zero; 3) Funding for FSS Support Services; and 4) Funding for the Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program. 

Right now, New York City faces a horrific traffic violence crisis. 2021 was the deadliest year on our streets since 2013. The numbers show no signs of slowing down in 2022. Already this year, crashes have killed 56 people – including 27 pedestrians, like my son Seth. With these numbers, we are very likely to exceed last year’s horrific records.

But with specific investments in next year’s budget, the City Council can be a leader on Vision Zero and to help save lives on our streets. 

First, we urge the Council to fully fund the NYC Streets Plan, with $170 million in funding for its first year. This forward-thinking approach to street design was approved by overwhelming support by the previous Council, and we urge you to equip DOT with the resources needed to achieve the plan’s annual benchmarks. The plan’s benefits must be equitably distributed to residents in every corner of the five boroughs to make streets safe. 

Second, we urge the Council to bolster funding for DOT’s Vision Zero work. This funding should be dedicated to projects that redesign streets for safety, and will help the Adams administration reach their previously-announced commitment to strengthen 50 percent of bike lanes with concrete protection and raise 100 crosswalks across the city.

Third, we respectfully request your attention to the Families for Safe Streets application for $100,000 in Council funding for our critical support services, including multilingual direct services, vigils and peer mentoring.  No one should have to go through this nightmare alone, and FSS provides diverse programming and support to help families and survivors through their most painful days after crashes and for years down the line.

Beyond funding critical lifesaving Vision Zero redesign work, we implore the Council to fund additional programs to get reckless drivers off the road, most crucially, the Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program (DVAP). We also believe this legislation should be strengthened.

As members of Families for Safe Streets, we are tormented witnessing the devastating consequences of serial reckless drivers on our New York City streets. In September, three-month-old Apolline Mong-Guillemin was killed by a driver who had racked up 91 camera-issued violations since 2017. Just this month, a driver with 120 violations crashed into and destroyed a war memorial in Park Slope. This car had significantly more speed safety camera violations than needed to trigger a mandatory safety class under the DVAP. In fact, it had some of the highest number of violations out of any car in New York City. But this driver was not notified until three months after NYC DOT began sending out DVAP notices. This delay is unconscionable, especially when we know it could make the difference between life and death. More funding must be allocated for DVAP to avoid any delay in notifying reckless drivers and getting them into NYC DOT’s critical safety courses. 

To make matters worse, this car had been cited for multiple parking violations after failing to pay hundreds of dollars in earlier fines. But traffic agents just continued to write tickets, instead of using their authority to get this car off our streets. We need to ensure agencies work together and have the funding to more quickly get reckless drivers off the road. And with 40 percent of speed camera violators having cars registered out of state, authorities must also address illegal registration, too.

The Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program must also be strengthened legislatively. The Council should lower the threshold at which drivers are required to take a safety course or face impoundment. Last month, 99-year-old Holocaust survivor Jack Mikulincer was killed by a driver of a car that had amassed ten school-zone speeding tickets and four red-light tickets since 2016. However, this driver faced zero consequences before killing Mikulciner because the previous administration watered down former Council Member Brad Lander’s original legislative language of the bill. Initially, after five camera-issued speed safety zone violations in a year, drivers would have been required to take a safety course. The finalized legislative language raised this to fifteen camera-issued speed safety zone violations. We should be making it easier, not harder, to identify and correct the behavior of reckless drivers, especially as traffic violence spikes. And, in the case of the driver who killed baby Apolline in September, if behavior does not change after completion of the remedial class, the legislation needs teeth for additional action to prevent reckless driving.  If needed, we would encourage the Council to work with state legislators in Albany to ensure the City of New York has all the tools necessary to get reckless drivers off the road as effectively and efficiently as possible. 

We thank you for your commitment to safe streets throughout the five boroughs. With necessary funding to key programs and a renewed focus to getting reckless drivers off the road, we know we can save lives and reach Vision Zero. No more families should go through the nightmare we at Families for Safe Streets know too well.

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