︎ AUDIO TESTIMONIALS FROM NEIGHBORS
How do the residents of Ridgewood experience the unmarked intersection of Stanhope St and Fairview Ave?
Here’s what ten of our neighbors have to say.
Testimonial 1
“It is very bad around here. There's no crosswalk, no stop sign, no light. They don't stop for the pedestrian. You have senior citizens that don't walk so fast. And if you're walking with kids, baby carriages, they don't care. They'll run you down! I've always lived here my whole life. 51 years. That's my daughter, she goes to the high school right there. Oh, I wouldn't cross here. I'd be taking my life in my hands.” -Charlene Stubbs, lifelong resident of Ridgewood
Testimonial 2
“I find it really difficult to cross the street here with my two kids. They're 11 and 7, and we find that the cars turning here at this intersection turn very quickly and they don't slow down and it makes crossing all down the street difficult. I would love to see a crosswalk, at least and I would definitely love to see a stop sign. Traffic calming in general has been sorely lacking in the past few years here in New York City and it's one of my highest priority issues as a voter.” -Annie Hart, mother of two, resident of Ridgewood
Testimonial 3
“Oh, it's bad. It's been like this over years. Every time I cross the street, I come from the supermarket or I cross the street from the park, I can never make it. There's like ten cars coming back and forth, not even— more, they just don't stop going and going. Sometimes you have to force yourself in the street in order for them to stop so we can cross. I have three kids. 10, 7, and a one year old. It's impossible. It's not safe. There's always kids in the park, kids coming out of school, and they can never cross the street because there's so many cars.” -Hennessy, mother of three and lifelong resident of Ridgewood
Testimonial 4
“One day when I was coming back from the post office on a rainy day, I was walking behind a gentleman who I saw on the line, and when I was coming back, he was on a stretcher, and I believe he got hit by a truck turning on the street and he died. And I was only, you know, a block behind him. It could have been me. It was terrible. He was just my neighbor. It's terrible. And with my child, whenever I'm walking around here, I always avoid this. I always walk on the park side of the street and cross down there. I always tell babysitters and people that I know that they need to avoid that intersection. And everyone drives really fast right here too. We really need a crosswalk and some more safety around here. It's too dangerous to ignore it. This is our neighborhood and we can't walk across the street.” -Will Scott, father and Ridgewood resident
Testimonial 5
“Our neighbor was killed by an Amazon truck. I've almost been hit myself walking across the street by speeding cars and trucks. So at this point I don't walk across the street at all. I have a 19 month old baby and whenever we have a babysitter or anybody around we beg them not to cross the street here. Same with my mother or father or anybody who's visiting. It's just really dangerous.” -Leah Kyrone, mother and Ridgewood resident
Testimonial 6
“The lack of crosswalks, the lack of public safety, pedestrian safety predominantly, is an issue that we've seen holistically across the district. Everybody deserves to be safe whenever they're crossing a street. These are communities that often get left behind. It's just a matter of political will and making the push forward. That's what I want to fight for.” -Juan Ardila, candidate for NY State Assembly District 37
Testimonial 7
“Sometimes you have to wait many minutes to cross. Oftentimes I end up waiting with many people who accumulate over several minutes before they're allowed to cross.” -Sam Weinberg, Ridgewood resident
Testimonal 8
“I fear for the people's lives. I won't stop crossing here because, they hit me, I'll bleed all over them, that's the end of it, I don't give a damn no more. I've been living here for 65 years, and I must say this is the worst corner. This block has been complaining for over 20 years. With the park here, you know, you got kids coming out all the time running across the street. Cars here, do not slow down. They do not stop. If they see you walking with a cane, or wobbling and having trouble walking, they step on their frickin' gas and they aim for you. And they've always speeding through here. Really they do have to do something about this corner. Something needs to be done because it's only going to get worse, it's not getting better.” -Ruth Lowe, resident of Ridgewood for 65 years
Testimonial 9
“I'm always coming to Grover Cleveland. I have a little dog and we just are scrambling, always, to get across and it's really stressful. We'll peek out, sometimes we try to go a little farther down to avoid the left turn, because that's where it gets really crazy. But then we're peeking out from the cars and I have my dog and he goes ahead, I have to yank him back. It's just... it's very stressful.” -Amy Odin, dog owner and Ridgewood resident
Testimonial 10
“This is a real, real dangerous area. There is a school here, there is a park here, and there are senior citizens crossing here, children crossing here. I'd like to come here with my mother-in-law, she's 89 years old, but she can't. She can't because unfortunately, it's really difficult to cross this intersection. It's supposed to be a limited speed area for the drivers, but they don't do this. Sometimes they go 50, 60 miles per hour. They cross without looking, without stopping nothing. She cannot cross so fast, so we prefer her to stay home. This is a very important issue for for everybody here.“ -Tasque Oajazamin, Ridgewood resident
