Public Employee Press

NYPD should release its data on traffic accidents

Board of Education Employees Local 372 came out strongly in support of a bill introduced by City Council member Jessica Lappin to require the New York Police Dept. to disclose weekly precinct-by-precinct figures on crashes, fatalities and moving violations, just like it does for murders, rapes and robberies.

“This would provide pertinent data concerning traffic and pedestrian issues,” said Local 372 Executive Vice President Santos Crespo April 27 at a hearing of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee.

Several of the School Crossing Guards Local 372 represents have suffered serious injuries on the job protecting schoolchildren at dangerous intersections. In 2001, SCG Betty Davis was killed in the line of duty as she approached her post at Linden Boulevard and Cross Island Parkway in Cambria Heights. School Crossing Guards Clara Giraldo and Joan Gasparro were seriously injured when they put themselves in harm’s way to save the lives of two students from P.S. 150 in Sunnyside, Queens.

Supporters of the bill, including the Transportation Alternatives group, hope it will push the NYPD to focus on traffic problems with the same vigor that they approach crime. “They have these statistics,” said Lappin. “We just want them released so people will be empowered to make their communities safer.” The NYPD is opposed to the proposal.

“Local 372 commends the City Council members who support this amendment for stepping up to the plate,” said Crespo. “There is no greater cause than the safety of our city’s school children and the unsung heroes who protect them.”