Residents in the northwest section of the Bronx claim that drag racing and speeding have taken over their neighborhood, and they’re calling on the city’s Department of Transportation to evaluate their streets.
"Every night, it’s like the fireworks from the summer were replaced by the drag racing noises,” said Jessica Haller, candidate for New York City Council in District 11.
Haller has launched a petition calling on DOT to study areas and intersections of concern, including Independence Avenue from West 232nd to 246th streets.
She says the area is a speedway for drag racing day and night.
"We've had a really bad rash of drag racing and really, really high-speed dangerous driving in the neighborhood since the middle of the pandemic,” said Haller.
Haller says the issue of drag racing spiked during the coronavirus pandemic when Independence Avenue was repaved and left without lines for a period of time.
"We had a wide runway that you could practically land a 747 on going down the middle of the neighborhood, that was super inviting,” said Haller.
Haller says visible doughnut circles can be seen on the road. With 397 speeding violations in the 50th Precinct this year, neighbors fear for their safety, especially after a recent accident on Riverdale Avenue.
News 12 reached out to the DOT to see if it would be open to a street study in the area and has not heard back yet.