The “Avenue of Death” is even more violent than we’d imagined.
Two weeks ago, we reported that there were 123 accidents, including three fatalities, along Atlantic Avenue from the river to Flatbush Avenue.
But there were actually 583 crashes.
Why the discrepancy?
The original story was based on statistics provided by the Department of Transportation, which chose not to tell us about accidents without injuries or with less than $1,000 in reported damage to the cars involved.
But the NYPD provided us with statistics on all the accidents — right down to minor fender-benders — on the notorious strip that saw two fatalities in October.
No wonder they’re called “New York’s Finest.”
A DOT spokesman claimed that he had not willfully withheld information from The Papers.
“It is our policy to only release ‘reported’ accidents,” said the spokesman, Craig Chin, using the bureaucratic term for “over $1,000” accidents or accidents with an injury.
“We do not routinely give out the ‘non-reported’ accident numbers,” he said.
The new numbers, while horrifying, were a relief to local activists.
“We always said there were more accidents than they indicated,” said Sandy Balboza of the Atlantic Avenue Betterment Association. “Now we have the proof.”