Jersey City activists and residents held a rally outside of City Hall before bringing their demands for improved traffic safety before the city council in light of the death of six-year-old Eli Bender.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
“Enough is enough!” exclaimed James Seymour, of the advocacy group Traffic Reform Warriors.
“Enough is enough!” the crowd replied.
He called for more Jersey City police officers enforcing traffic laws and ticketing offenders.
“Parents should feel like it’s safe to take their child across the streets,” Safe Streets JC member Dana Haymon said.
“This is a profound failure! This is a failure of the city government to properly fund the Department of Infrastructure.”
Haymon added that their goal is zero pedestrian deaths next year, also arguing that red light cameras monitoring people would improve people’s safety.
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop previously expressed concerns about state law and privacy when presented with their demand at a roundtable in 2022 with advocates following the death of Phillip James Delancy, who was killed in a hit-and-run.
“Eli’s death was preventable … We all deserve to be safe in our city,” Haymon added.
Bike JC and Safe Streets JC member Tyler Newcombe argued that many intersections are known to have preventable accidents and echoed the sentiment to enforce the speed limi and red lights, also calling for drivers with tinted windows to be ticketed.
Additionally, Mandy Spangler, a founder of JC Heights Parents, noted that blue pinwheels were provided by the Bender family in honor of Eli since his favorite color was blue.
She also called for a more dedicated police traffic safety team in the city to patrol the streets.
Activist Gina Davison said four people have died in the city via car crashes or some version of traffic violence in recent months.
“The mayor was not there. You know which of you didn’t show up. Many of you continue to hide behind this dais. Some of you even were on a ticket with Steven Trump!” she exclaimed.
Davison also highlighted the March vote of no confidence against Public Safety Director James Shea and noted Councilwoman-at-Large Amy DeGise supported it. She asked her if she still supported that vote, to which DeGise said yes.
Davison also asked Ward D Councilman Yousef Saleh if he still supported Shea since he abstained on the matter.
“The truth is a vote of no confidence,” Saleh began before Davison briefly interrupted him.
“A vote of no confidence has no effect,” Saleh finished, to which Davison denounced him to applause from the crowd.
“I have questioned Director Shea from this dais many times. It’s on the cameras,” Saleh replied.
Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) activist Cameron Orr also expressed dismay about the city’s traffic safety efforts.
“Vision Zero. Ineffective. The infrastructure put up is falling apart. Last year, I was hit by a car. It’s actually common in Jersey City,” adding that drivers routinely think that “they’re the most important person” and do not care about who else is on the road.
“It is time to listen and it is time to act. We need real accountability,” added Jersey City Moms and Jersey City Parents Executive Director Tere Fox declared.
Samuel Ortiz Sr., of the Traffic Reform Warriors, reiterated that that several have died due to crashes or traffic violence recently and listed demands that included improved street lighting and street calming efforts.
“This is extremely impactful… It’s bothering me to the core… I feel your pain and I’m on your side,” stated Councilman-at-Large Daniel Rivera.
“I’d like to have a special meeting next week. I’d like the public safety director to be there … so we can start tackling this ASAP,” he explained to applause.
Acting Corporation Counsel Brittany Murray said it was possible to arrange such a meeting.
“Despite being here six years, I have never seen a traffic cop,” Vlad Darie Dobru exclaimed.
Furthermore, Kevin Davis said he leads bike tours, and what happened to Bender could easily happen to any of them.
He praised Saleh for being receptive to his proposal to lower the speed limit and also called for wanted more police officers enforcing traffic laws on the beat.
Ward E Councilman James Solomon said that to lower the speed limit, they require approval from the State of New Jersey, which was something he wanted to do.
“We will look to get it completed as quickly as possible,” he explained to applause.
“This tragedy was preventable … We need more than just plastic to protect us,” Haymon argued during public portion.
The council took no formal action related to traffic safety enforcement at the meeting.
