by Joby Jacob

Jewel Avenue has always had its share of problems. Recent news however, compels me to write you and urge you to ask DOT to undertake a corridor-wide study of this street.

According to the website Crashmapper.org (which makes NYC’s Vision Zero data easier to access), in just the 6 year period between Jan 2012 and Aug 2019 there have been 3 pedestrians and 1 motorist killed on the section of Jewel Ave. between Queens Blvd and Utopia Parkway. In the same period, 21 cyclists, 124 pedestrians and 558 motorists have been seriously injured. (In this case I am including 69th Ave west of the Grand Central Parkway as it is a one-way pair with Jewel.)

Looking at just the fatalities,

• The motorist was killed near 141st St on the afternoon of January 15, 2018 in a crash that injured two other motorists.

• One pedestrian was killed at 136th St on the evening of November 6, 2013

• Abdul Jamil was killed at 150th St on May 7, 2018

• Ruizhen Dong was killed at 152nd St on November 5, 2018

• And as you know, Elou Rakhminov was killed at 140th St on the night of September 21st only 7 months after his wife was severely injured at 147th St and Jewel Ave.

Furthermore, the sections of Jewel Ave and 69th Ave between Grand Central Parkway and Queens Blvd in CD6 fall within DOT’s Senior Pedestrian Focus Area.

Additionally, looking at the cyclist injuries:

• Over half of the injured cyclists on this corridor, were injured on 69th Ave and Jewel Ave in Queens CD6 (where there is no bike lane)

• Five injuries occurred at Jewel Ave and Main St

• Four injuries occurred at Jewel Ave and Kissena Blvd

We have had four fatalities in just the last 24 months and an unbelievable number of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists that have been injured on Jewel. Sadly, this tracks with what we’ve seen throughout the city where the number of fatalities on certain corridors has gone up drastically this year. It makes me sad to know that is part of that story. Recently the mayor promised to prioritize fixing some streets as part of his “Green Wave” plan and I urge you to take action so no family has to go through what these families are going through right now.