Assemblyman Robert Smullen held a press conference in Albany on September 22, 2025, to address concerns about traffic safety on New York Route 7 in Niskayuna. The event followed a recent fatal motorcycle accident on September 15, which marked the third deadly crash along this stretch of road in the past year and a half.
Smullen was joined by his wife Megan, Senator Patricia Fahy, Assemblyman Scott Bendett, Niskayuna resident Joseph Yakel, and members of the Niskayuna Police Department. They gathered to emphasize the urgent need for improvements to make Route 7 safer for both motorists and pedestrians.
The latest incident involved Christopher Reith, a 25-year-old from Colonie, who died when his motorcycle was struck by another vehicle. In February of this year, Angela Fisher-Reid was also killed near Bellevue Woman’s Center. A year prior, Smullen’s son Alexander John “AJ” Smullen died after being hit by a vehicle on the same road.
“The lack of traffic safety along New York Route 7 has claimed the lives of three individuals in the past 18 months alone, including my beloved son,” said Smullen. “This issue is not going to go away, and more deaths will inevitably follow unless we work together to implement common-sense solutions immediately.”
In response to these incidents, Smullen has collaborated with other lawmakers and local officials to promote traffic safety initiatives. One result is the Alexander John Smullen Traffic Safety Memorial Law. This legislation—also known as Assembly Bill A.3938-B/S.5568-B—was introduced by Smullen and Fahy earlier this year and passed unanimously in both chambers of the state legislature. The law creates a program allowing families to install memorial signs at sites where fatal crashes have occurred.
“An accident on Route 7 in Niskayuna has claimed another life, making that three in just a year and a half,” said Fahy. “The legislation we introduced gives family or friends the chance to memorialize victims of fatal vehicle collisions with a roadside sign and raises awareness of the consequences of impaired or reckless driving, but it is not enough on its own to solve the problem we have on Route 7. It is time to take further action to ensure these fatal accidents don’t continue. I commend Assemblymember Smullen for his continued efforts to draw attention to traffic safety issues in the area, and I urge the Department of Transportation to take immediate action instilling traffic calming measures on this stretch of New York Route 7.”
Smullen also presented a petition with nearly 1,300 signatures calling for improved safety measures along Route 7. He delivered it with Joseph Yakel—the petition’s creator—to Governor Kathy Hochul on April 1, 2025; they plan to resubmit it.
Despite these efforts and ongoing discussions with state transportation officials about recurring fatalities and injuries along Route 7, substantial changes have yet to be implemented. According to correspondence from the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), data shows that approximately ninety percent of drivers regularly exceed speed limits on this road—a figure that surprised Smullen given its implications for public safety.
“The time for talking is over,” continued Smullen. “We must take action now before more lives are lost. It is time to fix New York Route 7 to keep residents, drivers and pedestrians safe on the road.”
