[on behalf of the Cohen/Eckstein family]
Dear Family, Friends, Colleagues and Neighbors,
Please accept our thanks for your
support during this extremely difficult time. The full measure of our loss
is still unfolding for us. But as time passes and we begin to resume our
normal routine, we are particularly grateful to be a part of such a
caring community. We received an extraordinary level of support in the
outpouring of condolence cards, donations in Sammy's memory, shiva
visits, gifts of food, assistance in opening our home to so many visitors,
serving, cleaning and storing food as well as help attending to various
matters big and small. We have also been deeply moved by the many
things Sammy's schools and soccer teams have done to honor his memory.
While the tremendous level of support was extremely helpful, the sheer
scale of it makes it impossible for us to properly thank each individual
personally, as much as we would like to do so. But do know that each and
every act of kindness and generosity has been duly noted and is
greatly appreciated. It is comforting to know that our community shares
some of Sammy's most endearing qualities.
Many of you have asked if there is anything
you can do. We ask that you take a few minutes and send a
personal note or call your elected official encouraging the promotion
and enforcement of traffic safety measures. Below are some
statistics and websites you can use to craft a letter. If you
live in NYC, please send letters to your City Council representative
and Bill de Blasio, our Mayor-elect.
With love and gratitude,
Amy, Gary, & Tamar
PS – When including Sammy’s name, please
note that the press misspelled his last name. Despite Amy’s efforts to
have him use her last name, Cohen is actually his middle name and not
a hyphenated last name (i.e., Sammy Cohen Eckstein).
Bill de Blasio contact information:
New Yorkers for de Blasio
32 Court Street, Suite 902
Brooklyn, NY 11201
347-746-2455
How to identify your Council Member:
Local Statistics & Proposed Solutions:
Every 33 hours a New Yorker is killed in
a traffic crash. According to NYPD data, 60 percent of these fatal crashes
are caused by speeding, failure to yield, and a small number of
other traffic violations. Yet the NYPD does not prioritize the
enforcement of these violations – known from their own data to be most
deadly – choosing instead to focus on violations that do not cause
widespread crashes, injuries or fatalities. NYC needs to prioritize
implementation of 20 MPH Slow Zones (request they be named in memory as
“Sammy” Slow Zones) and Safe Routes to School improvements for more
comprehensive solutions to neighborhood traffic safety concerns as
well as install safe crosswalks at corners and highly-trafficked mid-blocks,
especially along school routes.
National Statistics for those of you
outside NYC:
In 2010, 4,280 pedestrians were killed
in traffic crashes in the United States, and another 70,000 pedestrians
were injured. This averages to one crash-related pedestrian death every 2
hours, and a pedestrian injury every 8 minutes. Traffic fatalities in
the U.S. have been on a steady decline for nearly a decade, the result of
safer cars, (hopefully) safer driver behavior, and laws that enforce seat
belt use and crack down on hazards like drunken driving. But even in
the midst of that big-picture trend, a small subset of this same data has
lately been worrisome: Since 2009, pedestrian fatalities have
actually been rising. And compared against national traffic statistics,
as riding in cars has gotten safer, this means that pedestrians have grown
to represent a larger share of all traffic fatalities in the U.S.
Reports:
Mom died one year ago today. I miss her and her emphatic opinions and vast knowledge about interesting things like movies, the Kennedys, NYC, and politics. 
