The streets of New York seem to get more dangerous every day. Having lived in the City the better part of my adult life I think I can track the incidence of increased pedestrian accidents back to the days when I first started seeing a dramatic increase in the number of people driving SUVs, and other over-sized vehicles, in the city. We constantly hear about people who have been run over by a bus, or a truck, or by some other street behemoth. Just yesterday, a city sanitation worker was struck and killed by a delivery truck while on the job in Queens. He was standing beside his rig at the corner of 35th St. and Ditmars Blvd. about 7:30 a.m. when he was hit by a milk truck and pinned between the vehicles. An 11-year-veteran and father of two daughters – ages 1 and 4, he is the 10th sanitation worker to die in the line of duty since 2002. City lawmakers should consider adopting a new set of rules and regulations for any driver who operates a vehicle over a certain size within the five boroughs.
As someone on the outside looking into the way the city is governed, there are always moments when the logic behind certain moves to cut costs by the powers that be that seems to defy logic. The Daily News reported today that the FDNY is facing drastic cuts – even the possibility of closing firehouses. FDNY officials and Mayor Bloomberg’s staffers have met to negotiate the upcoming budget, and, while it’s a last resort, firehouse closures are “on the table,” Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano told The News. The FDNY has been told to expect significant cuts to close the budget gap. Much of the FDNY’s budget goes toward day-to-day operations – meaning any cuts would sting. “Firehouses are paramount to fire protection,” said Al Hagan of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, which is vehemently opposed to closing any firehouse. One way or the other the city is going to pay, particularly in situations where the safety and lives of its residents are at stake. The city will either allocate whatever budget is necessary to police the streets and put out fires, or it will end up paying damages to citizens who are injured or killed as a result of the city’s negligence that are imposed by the courts.
I noticed a story in The New York Times today about a metal factory in East New York, Brooklyn. The story was accompanied by a photo of a worker in the factory. It almost looks like a picture from an old postcard from the 1920s and 30s.
In Shakespeare’s dark comedy Measure for Measure the author posits the question: “The temptor or the tempted, who sins most, huh?” In an ironic communication breakdown, the state Legislature passed a law banning texting while driving, but government agencies still send out text alerts to thousands of commuters. Should the text-reading driver injure someone with his or her car, who are we to blame? What would the civil courts do in these situations? What would trial lawyers have to say about this? The law, which took effect Nov. 1, prohibits the use of electronic devices – anything from iPods to smart phones – while driving. More than 25,000 New Yorkers subscribe to Notify NYC, which is run by the city Office of Emergency Management and the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. Launched in May, it alerts subscribers via e-mail, recorded phone message and text message about emergencies in the city. Notify NYC is not the only government-run message alert service that provides transportation-related information to the city’s drivers. The state Department of Transportationsends out text messages and e-mails through TransAlerts, which monitors traffic snarls on state highways and transportation networks. The state and city are not the only ones providing services at odds with the new law. There are a growing number of companies that help drivers find city parking places also text.
Careless accidents by the dozen happen to people every day in New York. Some are worse than others. Some are due to negligence and law suits ensue. Others are just accidents where no one is to blame. All are unfortunate. Yesterday, a young worker plummeted down an elevator shaft to his death on the upper West Side on Wednesday. The unidentified 24-year-old landed on top of the elevator, which was at or near the first floor of the six-story building on W.104th St., police and residents said. Cops ruled the man’s death an accident and were investigating the possibility he may have been electrocuted before he fell. The dead man’s partner said he was walking down the stairwell when he heard sickening banging sounds as the man tumbled down the shaft. “It was like nothing I had heard before,” he said.
The United Airlines jet that made a lopsided emergency landing at Newark Airport on Sunday suffered only minor damage. But much more important is the fact that miraculously none of the 53 passengers and crew members aboard was hurt. The 68-ton Airbus skidded to a safe stop on the runway on just its nose and left landing gear. “There was only minor damage,” said FAA spokesman Jim Peters, adding that the right engine covering and wing will need repairs. But no people will need medical attention or legal representation. A crisis situation involving catastrophic injuries and death was avoided. The FAA will investigate why the right landing gear didn’t come down and lock into place. Passengers broke into cheers and applause on Sunday when the plane came to a safe stop. United Flight 634 from Chicago had been routine until it approached Newark, its final destination. “The pilot did a beautiful job,” said passenger Jim Falk, 40, of Middletown, N.J. He should be commended and given an enormous bonus given what he saved United. He deserves far more than any of those feckless investment bankers who are sure get more than commendations for last year.
What is this woman doing behind the wheel of a car? Don’t let her get away with this because she’s beautiful. Definitely not, I say. The two joggers she plowed into with her car on Staten Island yesterday should sue her tank top off. “I blacked out at the wheel. I can’t believe I hit a person,” Gypsy Porfirio, 34, told a cop after the Tuesday car crash. Right. She can’t believe it. Like it’s some big mystery. She knew damn well not to drive while intoxicated and on drugs. What will it take for these morons to learn their lesson about drinking and driving? Porfirio, an aspiring model, cried during her arraignment in Staten Island Criminal Court yesterday on charges of assault, drug possession and driving under the influence. She was freed on $150,000 bail. I think they should have held her in the tombs at Rikers for a couple nights. Porfirio told an officer at the crash scene that an hour before, she took “two Xanax, one Ambien and one Percocet,” said a criminal complaint. Little good her admission is going to do Daniel Kelley, 23, a special-education teacher, who suffered life-threatening head and chest trauma in the accident on Hylan Boulevard near Lipsett Avenue in Annadale. The other jogger, Gina Siclari, 18, suffered a broken ankle. Cops found 45 oxycodone pills and 15 alprazolam pills on Porfirio, whose lawyer said she had a prescription for the drugs. Like that matters.
I was reading today that construction fatalities dropped dramatically in the city last year, but accidents and injuries rose, city statistics show. There were three fatal construction accidents last year compared to 19 in 2008 – an 84% drop and the lowest rate in four years. In 2007, 12 people died in construction accidents; 18 died in 2006. Buildings Commssioner Robert Limandri on Thursday credited the drop to stepped-up enforcement and increased oversight. It seems to me that a lot of the credit for the apparent improved safety standards for workers should go to New York personal injury lawyers who, through their bar association, and in some cases individually, have fought hard to protect the lives of the men and women who work in these dangerous jobs. Nevertheless, the number of reported construction accidents jumped to 224 in 2009 from 151 the year before – even though new building permits were down by one-third. Reported injuries climbed to 246 from 178. The Buildings Department said the higher accident rates were due to better reporting by contractors. I also think that the employees themselves are more apt to call a lawyer if they’ve been injured, which I suspect has a lot to do with better reporting practices by the contractors. If a lawsuit is filed by a worker, the contractor has no choice but to report an accident, which may have otherwise gone unreported, especially in cases involving immigrant workers who often keep their injuries quiet so as not to lose their jobs.
All the news just seems too repeat itself in this city. For all the good it will do I can’t help but rage at the sheer stupidity and mindlessness of some people, and neither can the news media keep from writing about them. Just yesterday it was reported that a 5-year-old special education pupil was left alone on a school bus in Brooklyn for an hour in freezing temperatures while the bus driver and matron went for breakfast. The plight of kindergartner, a student at Public School 255 in Homecrest, drew the attention of the driver’s wife, who alerted him to get back to his bus. According to the girl’s father, his daughter, who is developmentally delayed, came down with a fever after the “nightmare” incident. ”That was enough to give me a heart attack,” her father said. I hope it’s enough to get the poor man a good lawyer so he can sue the pants off the callous couple. The negligent pair were arrested Monday and charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
News reports of frigid winds that whipped through the city on Sunday, knocking bricks off a Brooklyn building, reminded me of my first apartment in Manhattan more years ago that I am willing to admit. If bricks went flying in my old neighborhood chances were good they were coming from my roof. The building was located right off Riverside Drive and 76 St. where it can get pretty windy come January. But, my landlord was this lazy lout who did almost nothing to maintain the building. He ended up having to pay a ton of money in damages when, you guessed it, a brick flew off his roof during a Nor’easter and hit someone down on the street. According to the article, Department of Buildings inspectors found problems at two other buildings and ordered a protective shed installed before families could return. It might not be a bad idea for local residents to alert landlords to problems with their building before someone gets hurt. Using terms like: “Your building is an accident, and a lawsuit, waiting to happen,” might actually get the owner to take some action.