Advocates say repeated pedestrian and cyclist deaths have made the Brooklyn corridor beneath the BQE a longstanding safety concern.
NEW YORK — The hit-and-run death of a Brooklyn nurse walking home from an overnight shift has renewed pressure on New York City to make safety changes along Third Avenue in Sunset Park, where transportation advocates say pedestrians and cyclists have repeatedly been killed.
Jiayi Zheng, 28, was struck shortly before 7:40 a.m. Saturday while crossing Third Avenue at 55th Street, police said. Investigators said a black Cadillac traveling south hit Zheng and left the scene. She was taken to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, where she worked as a nurse and where she later died. No arrest had been announced as of Monday.
The crash quickly became part of a broader debate over the two-mile section of Third Avenue that runs beneath the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Transportation Alternatives says Zheng was the 11th pedestrian or cyclist killed along that stretch since 2014, a total that includes six pedestrians and five cyclists. The advocacy organization is urging the city to move faster on changes intended to reduce traffic dangers there.
The corridor’s history has particular resonance for workers at NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn. Advocates noted that another nurse from the hospital was killed in 2020 while bicycling home from an overnight shift near Third Avenue and 56th Street, only blocks from where Zheng was struck.
New York City’s Department of Transportation identified Third Avenue and the surrounding BQE corridor for additional study several years ago. In a 2023 announcement about its broader vision for communities along the expressway, the agency said it was launching a Third Avenue neighborhood study in Sunset Park as part of efforts that included street-safety and public-space improvements along the BQE corridor.
Transportation Alternatives says a proposed redesign of the Brooklyn corridor dates to 2023 but has not been implemented. Ben Furnas, the organization’s executive director, called Zheng’s death heartbreaking and urged the city to accelerate safety work. The group has argued that the design of Third Avenue beneath the expressway leaves people walking and cycling exposed to fast-moving traffic.
Residents interviewed after Zheng’s death also described the avenue as difficult to cross. Some told local news organizations that vehicles frequently travel quickly through the area and that pedestrians have limited time to make their way across the broad roadway. Those observations do not establish what caused Saturday’s crash, which remains under police investigation, but they reflect concerns that have persisted along the corridor.
The city Department of Transportation told CBS New York that Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration was committed to advancing a redesign of Brooklyn’s Third Avenue that would account for community needs and improve safety. The agency said additional information would be released in the coming months. It did not provide a construction schedule in the statement reported Sunday.
The debate comes as police continue searching for the driver who struck Zheng. CBS New York reported, citing police sources, that the vehicle was a 2014 Cadillac sedan with Pennsylvania license plates. Authorities have not publicly identified the driver or announced an arrest.
For Zheng’s colleagues, the larger discussion over street design follows the immediate loss of a nurse remembered for her work and upbeat manner. NYU Langone Health said her death was being felt across its community and extended condolences to her family, friends and co-workers.
The NYPD investigation remained active Monday, while the city faced renewed calls to move forward with changes along Third Avenue. Transportation officials have said more details about a redesign are expected in the coming months, but a specific implementation date has not been announced.
Author note: Last updated August 31, 2026.