Terri Valenti stepped off an MTA bus on her way to work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on Monday when she was fatally struck by a duo riding a type of electric bicycle that isn’t allowed on New York City’s streets.
Valenti, 60, was a beloved colleague who for the last 16 years worked at National Elevator Cab and Door Corporation, said the company’s CEO, Jeff Friedman.
“We’re simultaneously mourning her and trying to figure out how to do what she did, because it was such a necessary, vital function,” he said. “We can’t do it nearly as well as she did. We’re all just a little bit hopeful and working extra hard.”
“She was a wonderful person,” he said.
The firm is located inside the Navy Yard, which is a long walk from the subway, leading Valenti to commute by bus from her home in Maspeth, Queens.
The bus stop Valenti used at North Elliott Place was located right next to a busy bike lane on Flushing Avenue that shares sidewalk space with pedestrians. At around 7:20 a.m., police said, a 41-year-old man carrying a 39-year-old woman on the back of an e-bike ran into her.
Valenti died at the hospital later in the morning, according to the NYPD. The e-bike was made by Movcan and is advertised as being able to travel around 30 mph.
DOT officials said they’re reviewing the bike lane for potential safety improvements.
The officials also said any e-bike that’s capable of moving that fast must have a license plate and be registered with the state Department of Motor Vehicles, which wasn’t the case with the two-wheeler that killed Valenti.
Her death comes as law enforcement and city regulators struggle to rein in a growing array of unlicensed motorbikes that delivery workers rely on and whose popularity is growing among other commuters.
Friedman said the elevated bicycle lane offers safety for cyclists but can be challenging for pedestrians. He said as many as half of his 90 employees rely on public transit to get to work.
“On the one hand, it’s a lot safer for the bikers, but everyone walking across knows the bikers take advantage of it and you’ve got to be super careful,” he said.
Amanda Ferraro, a spokesperson for the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, said the agency would push for safety upgrades along the stretch of Flushing Avenue where Valenti was killed.
“We recognize that no infrastructure change or policy update can reverse the loss suffered by this family. However, we are committed to continue advocating with the city for improvements aimed to prevent a tragedy such as this from happening again,” Ferraro wrote in a statement.
Peter Rebic, Valenti’s ex-husband, said her family and friends were devastated by her death, but touched by the outpouring of support. A GoFundMe set up to support Valenti’s daughter had already raised more than $17,000 by Tuesday afternoon.
“ Put it this way: I had to reserve a hall for 100 people [for her wake],” said Rebic. “So that’s the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
Police on Tuesday had not made an arrest in Valenti’s death, but said the crash remained under investigation. Rebic said he wanted to wait for law enforcement to determine the cause of the incident but echoed concerns that neighbors had shared after the crash about the high speeds that some e-bikes can achieve.
”It’s insane. I’ve been driving for 40 years as a service mechanic in all five boroughs,” he said. “This is totally, totally different. This is not the old school.”
City data shows that since 2020, at least 44 people, including 22 cyclists and eight pedestrians, have been injured in crashes along the block of Flushing Avenue where Valenti was killed.
Valenti was the second pedestrian to die after being struck by an e-bike in 2025 after a Greenpoint man was killed by a delivery worker who sped through a stop sign in March. At least 75 people have been killed by cars so far this year.
Liam Quigley
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