Officials call for changes to Astoria intersection where girl was killed
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A memorial for 7-year-old Naadhun Dolma at the intersection of Newtown Road and 45th Street where she was killed by a driver on Feb. 17, 2023. Eagle photo by Jacob Kaye
By Ryan Schwach
In the wake of the death of 7-year-old Naadhun Dolma, three Queens city councilmembers sent a joint letter to the Department of Transportation calling for increased safety measures at the Astoria intersection where she was fatally struck by a driver.
Councilmember Julie Won drafted the letter that was co-signed by Councilmembers Tiffany Cabán and Selvena Brooks-Powers, and called for several new safety measures at the intersection of Newtown Road and 45th Street where Dolma was killed on Feb 17 after a driver allegedly ran through a stop sign as the girl and her mother walked in the crosswalk.
“Nothing can bring back Dolma Naadhun but we can prevent further loss of life so that no family must experience the loss of a loved one,” Won wrote in the letter sent to DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “The safety of my constituents is a critical priority and I look forward to working with you to address this urgent situation.”
Along Newtown Road between 43rd Street and Broadway, there are several intersections that present drivers, cyclists and pedestrians with difficulties. Newtown runs at a slant, and its angle, as well as parked cars along it, create blind spots at most intersections.
“Unfortunately, this is not the first time that my constituents have been the victim of traffic violence at this intersection, which is near two schools and a playground,” she wrote. “Multiple residents have shared with my office that they have reported dangerous conditions at this intersection in the past.”
Police say Dolma was crossing the street at around 5 p.m. when an 2021 Ford Explorer SUV driven by an unidentified 46-year old woman skipped a stop sign and struck Dolma, who was later pronounced dead at NYC Health & Hospitals/Elmhurst.
Police say the driver of the vehicle was not properly licensed, and was operating the vehicle with a learner’s permit and without a licensed adult present in the vehicle, according to the DOT.
The councilmember’s letter gives DOT a response deadline of March 8, and calls for a traffic light, daylighting, more visible signage, a speed bump, clearer crosswalk and street markings, as well as a second stop sign a block away.
“How many lives do we need to lose before DOT takes action to make our streets safer? My office demands that DOT install a traffic light at the intersection of Newtown Road and 45th Street, to prevent further injury and deaths,” Won said in a statement to the Eagle.
Cabán tweeted the letter along with a thread about traffic safety in New York City.
“Words of condolence are not enough. Preventing further death requires action,” she said. “Life-saving improvements need to be made at this intersection and, indeed, all intersections in Astoria as soon as possible.”
Brooks-Powers, who also chairs the Council’s Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, expressed sympathy for Dolma’s family the day following the incident.
“My heart goes out to the families mourning the loss of their seven-year-old baby girl, Naadhun Dolma,” she said. “Every life lost on our streets is one life too many, as a mother, it particularly pains me after a deadly year that claimed too many of our youngest lives.”
The same night Dolma was killed, Zabina Gafoor was fatally struck by a police officer driving a police cruiser after they had hit another car while responding to an emergency. The crash happened in Brooks-Powers’ district in Far Rockaway.
Officials from the Department of Transportation said they are still reviewing the letter and said the intersection has a “low crash history” with five injuries since 2018. They also said they would improve crosswalk markings and will be looking into daylighting options at the intersection.
In her introduction at Queens Borough President Donovan Richards’ Western Queens Town Hall in Long Island City on Thursday, DOT Queens Commissioner Nicole Garcia addressed the incident as well as the response from local electeds.
“We've heard from all of the elected officials from the community board and we are 100 percent committed to working with our partners at NYPD to study the details of the crash and also what we can do on an on the engineering side to make improvements so things like markings, potential speed bumps, signage and other treatments,” she said.
