How many stories do these silent memorials hold? This is the Sarah Schick Ghost bike. It marks a tragic event. It reminds us of a life lost too soon.
Sarah Schick was only 37 years old. She was a mother of two young daughters Lena who was six and Manon who was nine. On January 10 2023 Sarah was riding an electric Citi Bike. She was traveling along a dangerous section of 9th Street in Gowanus Brooklyn. A truck struck and killed her. She died right here at the scene.
The unprotected bike lane ends here. It transitions into sharrows. Sharrows are painted arrows on the road. These offer no protection from vehicles.
Sarah’s family filed a lawsuit against the city. They seek 100 million dollars for municipal negligence. There had been five previous deaths on this same corridor in the past 18 years. Sarah’s widowed husband Maxime Le Munier said the city knew the danger of this road section. The city did nothing to fix it. The family also plans to sue the truck driver. His 26-foot box truck collided with Sarah. It caused a terrible crash.
Much of 9th Street got protected bike lanes in 2019. The Department of Transportation neglected this section of road. This stretch runs from Prospect Park West to Smith Street. It is a heavily trafficked area for pedestrians cyclists and especially children. This area of Brooklyn is full of families schools and parks.
In 2004 two young boys died here. Eleven-year-old Victor Flores and ten-year-old Juan Angel Estrada were hit and killed by a truck driver. They were walking home from school. In 2018 another driver killed two children. One-year-old Joshua Lew and four-year-old Abigail Blumenstein died. The driver also injured their mother. She later lost her unborn baby.
Sarah’s family believes she would still be alive today if protected bike lanes existed on the entire stretch of 9th Street. The New York Times identified this section of road as exceptionally dangerous in 2004. Advocates have continually pointed this out since then. Since 2020 there have been 48 reported crashes here between Third Avenue and Smith Street. Eleven cyclists and six pedestrians have been injured.
After Sarah’s death a GoFundMe page was set up for her family. It quickly surpassed its goal. More than 200 people donated around 37000 dollars.
The crash happened where vehicles must merge into a paint-only bike lane. Local officials had long requested safety changes along 9th Street west of Third Avenue. In 2018 Community Board 6 members wanted additional safety features. These features were a condition for approving a Department of Transportation plan for a bike lane on 9th Street. But no improvements were made.
This ghost bike serves as a somber reminder. It highlights the need for safer streets. It urges the city to protect its cyclists and pedestrians. It stands for Sarah Schick and others who lost their lives here. May their memories fuel change.