On the one-year anniversary of the death of Ella Bandes on sunday, hundreds of supporters of stricter traffic safety measures came together in Brooklyn to rally for the elimination of traffic deaths in New York City.
The rally at the intersection of Myrtle, Wyckoff and Palmetto avenues was initially planned as a rally to honor Bandes, a 23-year-old who was struck last year by an MTA bus and later died. According to a press release from the advocacy group Right of Way, Bandes’ family has been working since her death to make the intersection safer for pedestrians.
“We have been pleading with the city to fix this intersection ever since,” said Bandes’ mother Judith Kottick in a press release. “And still nothing has been done.”
The family was also joined by politicians and other leaders, including Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who said Brooklyn would push for lower speed limits.
The vigil also served as a rally for Vision Zero, an initiative originally started in Sweden, that focuses on the guideline that “no loss of life is acceptable,” according to their website. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his implementation of “Vision Zero” in early January.
According to numbers gathered by the group Right of Way, almost 300 New Yorkers were killed in traffic incidents in 2013.