Greenfield Calls For Additional Crossing Guards As Part Of Vision Zero Effort

The following is a press release from the offices of City Councilman David Greenfield:

As an immediate first step in the ambitious Vision Zero plan to end traffic deaths in New York City, Councilman David G. Greenfield, a member of the Council’s Transportation Committee, is calling on the NYPD to hire more crossing guards to make sure that every public and private school is adequately monitored each morning and afternoon. Councilman Greenfield’s request comes after he attended a Council Transportation Committee hearing this week on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero proposal, which contains 63 specific initiatives and recommendations to make city streets safer for pedestrians, drivers, passengers and cyclists.

NYPD Transportation Bureau Chief Thomas Chan said at Monday’s hearing that the department has approximately 200 unfilled crossing guard positions out of roughly 2,300 total slots, meaning that many dangerous intersections near public and private schools across the city are currently unsupervised. In light of the fact that at least two children have been killed while walking to city schools this year, and the reality that many of the mayor’s Vision Zero proposals will take time to implement, Councilman Greenfield is now pushing for the immediate hiring of additional crossing guards to be deployed at the most critical locations as soon as possible.

“One of the most important things we can do to immediately improve pedestrian safety in New York City is to make sure that every child is as safe as possible while walking to school. As a parent, it is frightening and disturbing to hear that so many schools in our city, both public and private, are currently not provided this basic and critical safety measure. The mayor’s Vision Zero plan contains many great and ambitious ideas, many of which will take time to implement. Hiring more crossing guards is a great first step that we can immediately take to help end senseless and preventable deaths on our streets,” said Councilman Greenfield.

This issue is especially pressing for Councilman Greenfield, whose southern Brooklyn district is home to the fastest growing youth population in the entire city and includes nearly 100 public and private schools. With that in mind, he has worked closely with local schools and the Department of Transportation to improve safety on nearby streets, including the installation of traffic signals and speed bumps at vulnerable locations. He has also been at the forefront of the Vision Zero movement in New York City, especially the push to lower the speed limit on residential streets.

During the hearing, NYPD officials noted challenges in recruiting candidates for crossing guard positions, including the pay, which ranges from $9 an hour to $12 an hour, and the schedule, which features a five-hour workday with a break in between the morning and afternoon shifts. However, Councilman Greenfield believes that an aggressive hiring campaign, including public advertisements, would result in enough candidates, and is asking the mayor to ensure there is readily-available funding to pay for the new hires. He is also proposing to raise the starting and maximum pay if necessary in order to attract viable candidates.

“On behalf of every parent and child in New York City, I will continue working with all of my colleagues in government until the streets near every school are staffed by a crossing guard. This is a simple but critical component of Vision Zero, and recent tragedies have shown that we cannot wait any longer to act,” added Councilman Greenfield.