​Activists Honor East Village Cyclist Killed By A Truck​ Driver

EAST VILLAGE, NY — Activists honored an East Village cyclist on Monday weeks after the cyclist was killed in a Midtown hit-and-run.

Activists with Families For Safe Streets of Transportation Alternatives and the New York City Ghost Bike Project placed an all-white ghost bike in memory of East Villager Chaim Joseph, 72, at the corner of 45th St. and Eighth Ave. in Midtown. Joseph was killed in a hit-and-run early last month while cycling in Midtown.

"May the ghost bike in memory of Chaim, at 45th and 8th in Manhattan, remind us all of the sanctity of human life and of our need to slow down and respect all living beings, as Chaim did," Families For Safe Streets wrote in a Facebook post.

"A precious life cut way too short," the post said.

Activists learned of Joseph's kindness, commitment to social justice, generous spirit, and respect, the post said.

While installing the memoriam bike, the post said activists watched an "endless stream of left-turning drivers cut pedestrians and cyclists off in the crosswalk," referencing a driver's left-hand turn that resulted in Joseph's death.

Joseph, who police say lived on First Ave. and St. Mark's Place, was cycling northbound on Eighth Ave. just before 6 a.m. Feb. 4. When he turned left onto West 45th St., a Western Star truck also turning left hit Joseph, police said at the time.

The driver drove away from the intersection. Joseph was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Days after Joseph died, police were criticized for ticketing cyclists in the area where he was hit. One activist told Patch she saw an officer push a man off his bicycle.

The city's Vision Zero data shows that 20 people have been injured between 2014 through the end of January 2019 at the intersection where Joseph was killed. A pedestrian died in 2009 at the intersection.

As of Tuesday afternoon, police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.