Accident report from 76th Precinct

Below is the response we've received from the 76th precinct regarding the accidents on Sunday. We apologize for earlier reports that suggested that pedestrians were hit, but were working with very limited and unofficial reports at the time. In any case, this corner has had a number of accidents in recent memory and is dangerous for drivers and pedestrians.

Here is the information on the accidents you requested, based upon my review of the reports prepared by the responding officers.

At approximately 1:05 PM, there was a 2 car accident on Summit and Columbia Streets, no one was injured. As you are probably aware, that intersection is controlled by a 3-way stop sign. 3 vehicles approached the intersection at about the same time, and all stopped at the signs. The vehicle on Summit Street proceeded straight. The two vehicles on Columbia Street then entered the intersection, the vehicle that had been travelling South bound on Columbia Street attempted to make a left turn onto Summit Street and was struck by the vehicle that was travelling North bound.

At approximately 1:25 PM there was a 2 car accident on President and Columbia Streets in which 6 people were injured. I noticed that on your blog, someone posted that there were pedestrians involved. This is not the case. One of the vehicles was occupied solely by the male driver, and the other vehicle had 5 occupants, all female, ranging in age from 13 - 35 . In this accident, both vehicles were travelling in opposite directions on Columbia Street, one of the vehicles attempted to make a left turn onto President Street, and was struck by the other vehicle, which was going straight. The vehicle that was continuing straight subsequently crashed into some bushes.

I hope I have provided the details you were looking for. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of further assistance.

As you may be aware, the 76th Precinct Community Council meets on the first Tuesday evening of every month except July and August. Our next meeting is on Tuesday November 3rd at 7:30 p.m. at the 76th Precinct Station House, 191 Union Street between Hicks and Henry Streets. The meeting is open to everyone.

Captain Kenneth E. Corey

Commanding Officer, 76th Precinct

Oct 21st: Friends of Firefighters' annual fundraiser

Friends of Firefighters is hosting their second annual fundraiser event October 21st at the restored firehouse at 199 Van Brunt Street. This year we are honoring Jim Fassell and George Martin as well as the officers and members of Engine 202/Ladder 101, Lt. Kevin Dermody of Engine 82, and FF Bob Fraumeni of Ladder 147.

George Martin is the retired team co-captain of the New York Football Giants who founded A Journey for 9/11 and walked 3,003 miles across America to raise several million dollars to benefit the 9/11 responders. Jim Fassel, another former New York Giants Football coach, founded the Fassel Foundation, an organization that assists families in the New York Metro area whose lives have been impacted by sudden, unexpected tragedy or illness.

The event includes live music, food prepared and served by firefighters, and a silent auction.

Friends of Firefighters is a non-profit organization that provides long-term support to FDNY members and their families.

To accommodate growing needs for help, we recently moved our operations into an old horse-and-carriage firehouse, which the firefighters are working to restore and renovate. Their commitment to this restoration project underscores the importance of our place in the community as a completely private resource for the support they need.

For more information about Friends of Firefighters please see www.friendsoffirefighters.org.

information session at Everyday Athlete: H1N1 Demystified

H1N1 Demystified
Facts and fantasies about seasonal flu
Thursday October 22, 7PM
Confused & Stressed out about H1N1 Vaccination and/or Flu ?
Ask Questions; Get Answers
Jordan Glaser (M.D., Infectious Disease / Internal Medicine)
Special Populations- Children - Pregnancy

If plan on attending please let us know in advance.
you can register online (click here)

Suggested donation of $10.
Everyday Athlete is located at 136 Union Street.

COWNA's recent attempts regarding President and Columbia

Frederick from COWNA sent us some information regarding their attempts over the past several months to get the DOT to take action at the corner of President and Columbia St (because as we all know, yesterday's accident was the most recent among many). Here is a what he told us:

The Public Services Committee [of COWNA] wrote a letter to the DOT, CB6 and the 76^th Precinct in late June in which we proposed a traffic light or at least a stop sign at Columbia and President. The DOT did not reply in any form to this letter, but the 76^th Precinct wrote back on July 1, claiming that they forwarded the letter to DOT. Leroy Branch of CB6 also called back and claimed that they would mail our letter to DOT. There has been no further signs of activity from the DOT despite a reminder being sent in September. The 76^th Precinct also stated that a DOT study indicated that there was no need for a traffic light at Columbia and President.

COWNA has also demanded a copy of the DOT traffic study of Columbia Street, since we frankly assume that their data is dated and not relevant to the way traffic developed over the course of the last two or so years. We wanted to read the traffic study both from the viewpoint of traffic density and emissions, since we still would like to establish a baseline level of traffic and emission levels before new businesses, most notably Phoenix and any traffic related to new construction in Red Hook, may have an effect on overall traffic. The DOT replied to the request for the study on August 20. They claimed that they sent our request for the Columbia Street Traffic Study to the Department of Design and Construction. As of last week, we had not received a copy of the study.

Obviously the DOT has not been very responsive up to this point, and now someone else is hurt because of it. Will this finally compel them to do an updated study? If not a traffic light or stop sign, can we at least get additional speed limit signs, children crossing signs, removal of parking spaces from near the corners, neckdowns, or anything else to help the situation?

If people are looking to do something more about this issue right away, we can start by making some phone calls to the DOT's complaint line at : 718-225-5368 (CALL DOT) OR Dial 3-1-1 (these are the numbers suggested on Transportation Alternatives)

Accident at Columbia and Summit St on 10/18

One of our readers submitted this photo of an accident that occurred on Summit St. and Columbia st. within moments of the accident that happened at Columbia St. and President St. around 12:30

We're not sure if this is related, or if its some strange coincidence. We'd also like to point out that the above accident doesn't appear nearly as bad as the one at President (Edit: which involved 6 injuries) but that the combination of the two at the same time is quite scary.

Some information on traffic safety from CB6

In the process of sending out a number of emails regarding yesterday's accident, we received the following response from Craig Hammerman of Community Board 6. We'll continue to post more information as we receive it.

The intersection of Columbia and President Streets has been studied in the past by the Department of Transportation (DOT) for the installation of a traffic control device. A signal study tests a total of 14 warrants, in accordance with the Federal Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, to see whether the intersection would qualify for a signal. Such things as pedestrian volumes, vehicular volumes, vehicular movements, accident histories, etc. are all taken into consideration. Regardless of whether one person or one thousand people ask for a traffic signal, DOT will respond the same way by performing a study. And once a study has been performed, DOT will wait 18 months minimum before going out to study the same intersection again.

It is my understanding that my office, the offices of Assemblywoman Joan Millman, State Senator Daniel Squadron, and likely others, have all requested signal studies at this intersection and that DOT has found the installation of a traffic signal at this location to be unwarranted. I do not know the last time it was studied, but if it was within the past 18 months that would mean it is not eligible for study at this time.

Traffic signals, I should point out, are not the only way to control traffic and improve safety at intersections. There are other measures that can be taken, which DOT may want to explore further. Removal of parking spaces at corners, or "daylighting", for example, is another way that visibility at intersections can be improved for approaching traffic. It would seem that the most effective way to go about improving safety would be to get DOT out there to look at the intersection to see, from an engineering perspective, which measures in their tool-box they believe are most appropriate.

Please do feel free to stay in touch with our Assistant District Manager, Leroy Branch, at adm@brooklyncb6.org who can be helpful in communicating and following up with DOT, if that is something the communtiy would like to pursue.

I hope this is helpful.


Best, Craig

P.S. Accident reports are taken and kept on record at the local police precincts, in this case the 76th Precinct. And, for purposes of signal studies, only "preventable" (and reported!) accidents would count toward the total that DOT would be looking at, meaning that if a traffic signal would have helped prevent the accident then that accident would count. If a motorist got into an accident due to some mechanical failure, for example, that would not count toward the accident history used to justify the installation of a traffic signal. And unreported accidents wouldn't count at all.


Craig R. Hammerman
District Manager
Brooklyn Community Board 6

Bad accident - President and Columbia St.

EDIT: Please submit photos or other details about yesterday's accident and other recent accidents along Columbia St. to us. We are in the process of compiling info and reaching out to various officials and groups to take action. Stay tuned for ways to get involved.

EDIT 2: We've heard word from the 76th Precinct that no pedestrians were involved, and that it was two cars. While this is a relief in one sense, it is still troubling that this corner seems quite prone to accidents.

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There was a bad accident on the corner of Columbia Street and President Street today
We have already alerted a number of elected officials about it and the ongoing danger that this corner has become, but are looking to do more.

Please let us know of any details you might have about this and other accidents, and we'll use that information to get elected offices in the loop as well as possibly help create an online petition or letter writing campaign.

Stumblebum Brass / When Clouds Clear @ Space 414 tomorrow

Lucky Gallery will be hosting an event tomorrow evening (10/16) in the garden of Space 414, featuring a film screening of the documentary "When Clouds Clear" and a musical performance by the Stumblebum Brass Band.

Check at more details at Lucky Gallery's site here and here

A trailer for the movie is here:



And a sample live performance by Stumblebum is here:

ARToberfest 2009: Fall Open Studio Tour

The Fall edition of the Carroll Gardens and Red Hook Open Studio Tour will be taking place on 10/24 from 11am-6pm. Check out the official site for more details, including a map of the studios that will be uploaded after October 15th.

"It Don't Pay..." Film Screening recap

On Sunday evening, a larger than expected crowd gathered in the empty lot next to Freebird Books to watch the movie "It Don't Pay to be an Honest Citizen." The movie was filmed in and around the neighborhood 25 years ago, and serves as a rare moving image account of what the neighborhood looked like in those days. Despite what turned out to be one of the coldest Autumn evenings this year so far, the crowd stuck it out until the end, laughing and clapping throughout.

After the film, Director Jacob Burckhardt spoke about the film, the neighborhood back then, and answered questions posed by audience members. Several local residents who appeared in the film and still live in the area also came out to the event and reunited.

Some audience members were unfortunately left standing, but stuck it out nonetheless. On the screen in the image above, the main character Warren yells down to the street below from his Woodhull st. apartment.


Some audience members brought their own dinners or drinks (including candle lighting and a tablecloth in one case)


After the film, Director Jacob Burckhardt and Freebird propietor Peter Miller discuss where some of the film locations were, and what remains or has replaced the buildings in each.

Burckhardt reunites with local residents who appeared in the film 25 years later.
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The NYTimes also wrote a piece on this event, and their camera and writing are admittedly much better than ours. Check out the post here.