Deadly Long Island City Street Needs Safety Fixes, Won Says

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — A dangerous street outside the Queensbridge Houses where at least two people have been fatally struck by drivers must be redesigned with safety in mind, a neighborhood lawmaker told the city.

The stretch in question is 40th Avenue between 10th and 12th streets, where at least 22 people have been injured in 19 crashes since 2011, according to city data.

That includes two reported deaths, the most recent of which happened last month, when a man riding an electric scooter collided with the driver of a Nissan sedan at the corner of 12th Street, according to authorities.

While police initially said the man was in critical condition, CBS2 reported this week that he later died — identifying him as Darnell Orr, a father of two who lived in the Queensbridge Houses.

Nearly a decade earlier, in 2013, a police officer responding to a 911 call fatally struck 24-year-old Japanese college student Ryo Oyamada with a police cruiser as he crossed 40th Avenue between 10th and 11th streets. After evidence emerged that the officer had turned off the car's lights, Oyomada's family reached a settlement with the city in 2017.

Now, City Council Member Julie Won is asking the city to step in, writing an Oct. 13 letter to the Department of Transportation requesting two new speedbumps along those two blocks and a stop sign on the corner of 10th Street and 40th Avenue.

"After receiving community feedback, I am strongly advocating for these safety measures to be implemented, which will increase community and traffic safety, preventing the number of vehicular accidents surrounding Queensbridge."

Residents told CBS2 that more measures were badly needed, noting that drivers constantly ignore an existing stop sign on the corner of 12th Street.

In a statement, a Department of Transportation spokesperson said that the agency is "in active conversation with the Council member and [is] exploring possible safety enhancements at this location."

Related coverage: Long Island City Crash Critically Injures Scooter-Rider, Police Say