Car fatally hits elderly Riverdalian

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An elderly Riverdale woman’s death after being struck while crossing the street has shaken members of the senior center she frequented until the incident last week.

Police said a Toyota sedan struck Ida Rosenblatt, 87, on Netherland Avenue near the intersection with West 232nd Street on March 24 around 3 p.m. Her daughter Irma Rosenblatt said after emergency responders took the victim to St. Barnabas Hospital with severe head trauma and other injuries, doctors on March 26 advised the daughter to take her mother off of life support since the woman was brain dead.

Authorities who responded to the incident did not arrest or charge the driver with any crimes. But Steven Reed, a spokesman for the Bronx District Attorney’s office, said it is evaluating the case to see if it will press charges.

Ida Rosenblatt’s reputation as one of the most active people who frequented the Riverdale Senior Center added to the shock of her death.

“They’re all devastated,” the center’s Executive Director Julia Schwartz-Leeper said of Ida Rosenblatt’s friends and peers. “She was a very active member who was willing to do a good deed for any of her fellow members, was involved in advocating for others and very involved in all the different groups here.”

Irma Rosenblatt seconded the description, saying her mother participated in activities from yoga class to political rallies on senior issues. Ida Rosenblatt was a retired legal secretary and member of the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club, the northwest Bronx’s predominant political group.

“She was a force of life, for sure,” Irma Rosenblatt said. “She was extremely active. You wouldn’t know she was 87.”

A Riverdale Senior Center employee said the facility is planning a memorial service for Ida Rosenblatt and others who have died so far this year. The event is scheduled for June, with details still to come.

A woman who regularly uses the senior center said Ida Rosenblatt’s death has increased fears of accidents on the streets people frequent to reach the facility at 2600 Netherland Ave.

Traffic fatality, Car accident, Riverdale Senior Center, Ida Rosenblatt, Netherland Avenue, West 232nd Street, St. Barnabas Hospital, Bronx District Attorney, Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club, Jeffrey Dinowitz, DOT, Vision Zero, Bill de Blasio, Andrew Cohen, Riverside Memorial Chapel, Shant Shahrigian
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