Astoria residents hold vigil on anniversary of delivery driver's death
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A “ghost bike” was installed on 35th Street near Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria on Friday, April 29, one year after delivery driver Xing Long Lin was fatally run over by a driver in the neighborhood. Eagle photo by Jacob Kaye
By Jacob Kaye
About two dozen Astoria residents and safe streets advocates held a vigil last week for Xing Long Lin, a Chinese immigrant and delivery driver who was killed by a driver after she ran him over and barreled into an open dining structure in Astoria a year ago Friday.
The vigil was organized by community members Lynn Nevins and Chong Bertillon, who called for city leaders to take actions to address traffic violence and for Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz to reopen the investigation into the crash that left the 37-year-old delivery driver dead.
Lin, who lived in Elmhurst with his family, was driving his e-scooter down 35th Street near Ditmars Boulevard while working a shift for Watawa Sushi on Thursday, April 29, 2021, when a 60-year-old woman driving above the speed limit hit him with her car. The driver continued on, crashing into Rosatoro Restaurant’s outdoor dining structure, injuring a woman inside before coming to a full stop, according to initial police reports.
In November 2021, Katz announced that her office had declined to prosecute the driver, identified in multiple media reports as Maro Andrianou. According to the DA’s office, the six month investigation into Lin’s death did not turn up sufficient evidence “to demonstrate any criminal intent or behavior leading up to the tragic death.”
The Queens district attorney's office declined to comment for this story.
Xing Long Lin, a delivery driver for an Astoria restaurant, was killed in April 2021 when a driver struck him with her car in the neighborhood. File photo via GoFundMe
Those at Friday’s vigil, including Queens Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, said that Lin’s death and the larger issue of street safety are racial justice issues.
“Predominantly, the people who are spending 10 to 12 hours a day on our streets, in our bike lanes, are immigrant men, by and large,” Mamdani said. “It's incumbent upon the city to create street design that reflects true protection for the users of the street.”
Vigil organizers called on the city to install protective barriers to block drivers from entering bike lanes, to up enforcement of illegal parking and speeding and for the Department of Transportation to pursue street designs proven to protect pedestrians and cyclists.
Nevins said that she helped to organize the vigil, which included the installation of a “ghost bike,” because she felt that Lin’s status as an immigrant may mean that his death would go unnoticed.
“I just feel like they're not respected,” Nevins said.
Bertillon echoed the sentiment.
“I think there's an empathy gap when it comes to Asian victims of violence,” Bertillon said. “Asian immigrant victims, and immigrants in general, are often forgotten about and not taken as seriously as their white counterparts.”
The initial police report, media reports and, ultimately, the DA’s investigation into the crash have all been conflicting.
The NYPD initially said that Andrianou suffered a medical episode while behind the wheel, which caused her to lose control of her car. That narrative was quickly disputed by multiple eyewitnesses who told news media that Andrianou drove into the bike lane while trying to drive past a double parked car.
The DA’s investigation into the crash found that the driver was struck from behind by the driver of a different car, sending her straight ahead at a high speed.
The 60-year-old driver lost control of the car, hit two other cars, drove through an intersection and continued at a high speed until she hit both Lin and the dining structure, according to the DA.
Katz investigation also suggested that Andrianou’s car, a 2013 Mercedes Benz C-300, may have malfunctioned after being struck.
“Notwithstanding the driver’s complete cooperation with the investigation, the sudden acceleration of the vehicle and subsequent loss of control cannot be adequately explained and may have been due to a mechanical defect, as had been reported by other drivers with that make and model vehicle or it may have been attributed to driver error,” the DA’s statement on the investigation said.
In a statement to the Eagle in November, a spokesperson for the DA’s office touted Katz’s commitment to prosecuting traffic violence.
“The DA has been steadfast in her commitment to making Queens streets safer and holding accountable those who abuse the rules of the road,” the spokesperson said. “Each set of facts and circumstances is examined individually, and this office found no credible evidence to demonstrate any criminal intent or behavior leading up to the tragic, accidental death of Xing Long Lin.”
But those at Friday’s vigil said they felt the investigation into Lin’s death left justice to be desired.
“This was a preventable tragedy, a trauma for the whole community,” said Laura Shepard, the Queens organizer with nonprofit Transportation Alternatives. “And the lack of justice since then is a scandal for all of Queens.”
