They don’t call them the injury attorneys for nothing!
Transit officials removed an advertisement for law firm Cellino and Barnes from a Gerritsen Beach bus shelter on Tuesday at the request of a local pol, who said the poster obstructed sight lines and would have created new business for the personal injury attorneys.
“If the advertisement wasn’t removed, I’m certain there would have been an incident,” said Councilman Alan Maisel.
Maisel claimed drivers turning off Avenue X onto southbound Gerritsen Avenue were blind to oncoming traffic, which was obscured by the smiling faces of attorney Ross Cellino and his partner Steve Barnes — famous for their catchy jingle and widely televised tag line, “Don’t wait, call eight!”
And in an effort to peer around the awkwardly placed ad, drivers were forced to edge into a bike lane running along Gerritsen Avenue, endangering oncoming cyclists, according to Maisel.
That intersection was home to two motor vehicle-related injuries in 2017, and a total of seven injuries since 2011, according to Vision Zero data.
But the lawmaker said he turned to the Department of Transportation last year in response to some local gripes about the ill-placed ad, and transit officials told the councilman they could either add a stoplight, remove the bus shelter, or kill the ad — Maisel opted for the latter.
“As long as the Cellino and Barnes advertisement does not return to this bus shelter, then traffic will not be obstructed,” he said.
Cellino and Barnes did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
