Traffic & Transit
Shoes Lined Outside Mayor's YMCA To Protest 22 Traffic Deaths
"Not one more," said a sign placed by safety advocates outside Park Slope YMCA alongside 22 pairs of shoes representing traffic deaths.
PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Twenty-two pairs of shoes lined the sidewalk outside Park Slope YMCA with a message for its most famous visitor: "22 killed by cars in 2020 (so far)."
Mayor Bill de Blasio likely didn't see the protest Monday morning — someone removed it within "minutes," Streetsblog New York reported — but the group behind it quickly spread photos on Twitter.
This morning we placed 22 pairs of white shoes at the Park Slope YMCA, one for each of the people killed in the first two months of this year. #visionzero pic.twitter.com/wjS0nSN1Cb
— Take the Streets (@takestreetsnyc) March 2, 2020
Take the Streets NYC took credit for the protest, which occurred after two traffic deaths in Brooklyn last week took the lives of children. The group declined a request for an interview, but their website simply sums up their stance:
Find out what's happening in Park Slopefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"The cars are killing us."
De Blasio has championed "Vision Zero," a spate of measures designed to reduce traffic deaths to nil. Take the Streets NYC affixed "#visionzero" to signs displayed alongside the shoes.
Find out what's happening in Park Slopefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"Not one more," stated one sign.
Another sign at the protest used de Blasio's own words to make a point.
"Our society can't prioritize its cars over its children," it stated, quoting the mayor.
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