Dec 12, 2014 2 min read 70 Ocean Parkway

Following Mohammad Naiem Uddin’s Death, DOT To Meet With Community On Thursday, January 8 At PS 130

Councilman Brad Lander and other neighbors gathered for a vigil for Mohammad Naiem Uddin last week.

Following the death of Mohammad Naiem Uddin, the 14-year-old boy who was killed last month by a hit-and-run driver at E. 7th Street and Caton Avenue, numerous neighbors have said something needs to be done to address pedestrian safety in an area plagued by dangerous traffic conditions.

To do so, Councilman Brad Lander let the community know yesterday about “the steps we are taking – to honor Naiem’s memory – toward safer streets in Kensington/Windsor Terrace and beyond.”

The councilman said these steps include:

A community meeting with the city Department of Transportation, including DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg, on Thursday, January 8 at 6:30pm at PS 130 (70 Ocean Parkway). During the meeting, DOT officials, legislators, and others will discuss the steps that the city will take to make the streets safer – both around the area where Naiem was hit and more broadly in Kensington and Windsor Terrace. Several weeks before Naiem’s death, Lander sent this letter to the DOT, identifying the needs for improvements at E. 7th and Caton – where a new school, PS/IS 437 is being built, as well as nearby. At the January 8 meeting, the DOT will present plans to address these concerns. Everyone is welcome to attend the meeting, but you’re asked to RSVP here.

A meeting with Naiem’s father and other family members, Lander and Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson, who the councilman said “promised us that his office is moving swiftly to conduct a thorough and rigorous investigation of the incident which claimed young Naiem’s life.” In his letter to the community, Lander said that “accountability for the driver – who failed to yield (Naiem was in the crosswalk, with the light) and who left the scene, after getting out of the car – is required. The unfortunate reality is that in the vast majority of cases where drivers hit, kill or seriously injure pedestrians, nothing happens at all.” Still, Lander said the DA “spoke with real compassion for the families of crash victims, and I know that he is committed to insuring justice and accountability in cases like Naiem’s where death or serious injury is the result of collision.”

Community organizing for safer streets. In addition to the work of Windsor Terrace Safe Streets, a grassroots group that has recently surveyed about 500 neighbors about the area’s most pressing street safety issues, another group was recently formed to address traffic concerns in the area: KWT Safe Streets, which was created following Naiem’s death. To get in touch with these groups, you can email Windsor Terrace Safe Streets at Windsorterracesafety@gmail.com or go to KWT Safe Streets’ Facebook page.

A former MS 51 and current Brooklyn Tech High School student is launching a youth council to help tackle street safety concerns. “The Youth Council can count on the support of the Education and Outreach Division of the Department of Transportation, Transportation Alternatives, the principal of MS 51, and my office in their organizing effort,” Lander said.

And, remember, if you would like to help Naiem’s family directly, you can do so by making a donation through PS 130, from where Naiem graduated, here.