Closing NYC’s Street Safety Gaps Starts With Better Data and a Commitment to Equity

New York City has made real progress on street safety. Since adopting Vision Zero in 2014, traffic deaths have fallen to a record low and are down 31% overall. That’s a major achievement and proof that focused public policy, smart infrastructure, and citywide commitment can save lives.

But the progress has not reached every neighborhood equally.

A new analysis from Tech:NYC and the Center for an Urban Future’s Project for Livable Streets research initiative finds that the communities facing the greatest danger on city streets are disproportionately lower-income communities of color. Many of these neighborhoods have also received fewer of the proven street safety tools that are already working elsewhere across the city. Read the full report, the first in the series, here.

In other words, New York City knows how to make streets safer, and now it needs to make sure those solutions reach the places that need them most.

The street safety gap is stark

The report finds that serious crash risks remain concentrated in neighborhoods outside Manhattan, especially in communities that have historically received less infrastructure investment.

A few key findings stand out:

• Canarsie and Flatlands have the city’s highest serious crash rate, with 84 serious crashes per 10,000 residents — nearly double the citywide average of 47.

• Eight of the 10 highest-risk neighborhoods are lower-income communities of color.

• Serious crashes have increased in 35 of the city’s 55 community districts since 2021.

• Neighborhoods seeing sharp increases include Canarsie and Flatlands, Sunset Park, South Ozone Park, the Rockaways, and parts of eastern Queens.

This is because tools to address these problems have not been deployed evenly.

Over the past decade, New York City has expanded street safety interventions that make a measurable difference, including street redesigns, speed cameras, leading pedestrian intervals, and protected bike and bus lanes. 

When used at scale, these interventions can save lives. 

A more equitable approach to livable streets

The report lays out three steps city leaders can take:

1. Refocus the next Streets Master Plan on high-need neighborhoods: The next Streets Master Plan, covering 2027 to 2031, should prioritize neighborhoods with above-average crash rates and worsening safety trends.

That means using serious crash and fatality data to guide where infrastructure goes. The city should focus on outcomes that matter most, like reducing harm in the neighborhoods where residents face the greatest danger.

2. Replace opt-in programs like slow zones with automatic eligibility based on crash data: Programs like neighborhood slow zones often require residents to apply through NYCDOT. But that creates an uneven playing field, as communities with organized advocacy networks are more likely to know about these programs, navigate the process, and secure improvements.

Instead, the city should automatically qualify neighborhoods with above-average crash rates for slow zones and other proven interventions. That approach should be paired with meaningful outreach to residents, parents, seniors, small businesses, schools, and other trusted local voices.

3. Create a Street Safety Rapid Response Team: The city should create a dedicated interagency team focused on neighborhoods where serious crashes remain high or are getting worse.

Housed in City Hall through the Mayor’s Office of Vision Zero, this team could coordinate faster responses across agencies, including redesigning dangerous corridors and intersections, expanding traffic calming, improving enforcement, supporting community outreach, and tracking results publicly.

Why this is a tech issue

Street safety is also an economic competitiveness issue. 

New York City’s tech sector depends on attracting and retaining talent from across the country and around the world. People choose where to build their lives and careers based on more than job opportunities alone. They look for places that are dynamic, livable, connected, and safe.

That means the quality of New York City’s streets matters for the future of the tech ecosystem.

A safer, more livable city helps make New York a stronger place to support the workers and families who live here; recruit the next generation of engineers, founders, operators, and creative talent; ; build companies across all five boroughs; and compete with other global innovation hubs for people and investment.

For New York to remain a leading tech capital, it has to be a city where people want to live. Closing street safety gaps is part of that equation.

Read the full report from Tech:NYC and Center for an Urban Future and here.