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Bad news for Brooklyn residents: The streets are not safe for walking. Forget muggings and random shootings.
One hundred and four pedestrians were killed by cars and trucks last year, 21 percent more than the year before, and far more than in any other borough, according to the Department of Transportation's latest traffic fatality report.
Indeed, Brooklyn is the most dangerous place in the city for those on foot. In contrast to the 104 pedestrians killed in Brooklyn last year, 67 pedestrians were killed in Queens, 66 in Manhattan, 42 in the Bronx and four on Staten Island.
The worst roads in the borough: Linden Boulevard, Ocean Parkway and Fourth Avenue.
On Linden Boulevard, 11 fatal crashes occurred in 1993, killing six pedestrians. On Ocean Parkway, six accidents killed another six pedestrians. Six more pedestrians lost their lives on Fourth Avenue last year, and Atlantic Avenue had six fatalities on the Brooklyn side.
Recently, residents' fears of the roadway were heightened when three pedestrians were killed in three weeks. One of the victims, Juan Vergara, 37, died Sept. 23 crossing Fourth Avenue at 50th Street. (A fourth fatal crash occurred earlier in the year.)
"They drive like it's a highway. It's not, it's a street," said Yvonne Carrion, who was standing on the avenue talking to Vergara, her...