Winning Billboard Design From Student Competition and Reminds Drivers to Slow Down in Work Zones on City Streets and Highways

With Construction Season Fully Underway, NYC DOT Joins Fellow Agencies and Utilities on Annual Campaign To Protect Work Crews Along the City’s Streets, Bridges and Highways.

Three Winners From Design Competition Will Receive Cash Prizes for Their Schools, With the Winning Design Made Into a Billboard Posted in Astoria, Queens

The winning design for a student competition to promote work zone safety awareness was unveiled today. The inaugural winner is Taino Mendez, a junior at Alfred E. Smith Career and Technical High School, and the winning design is now installed on a billboard at the corner of Ditmars Boulevard and 31st Street in Queens. It will also be installed on a billboard above NYC DOT owned property on Hamilton Avenue near Red Hook, Brooklyn and will also run in the form of digital ads at both the St. George and Whitehall Staten Island Ferry terminals.

The We’re Working Here: Work Zone Safety Billboard Design Competition, announced in December 2024, encourages students to think of ways to change dangerous behaviors and prevent work zone intrusions that can lead to injuries and deaths for both the public and work crews. There were 136 total submissions in the competition’s first year. The winners will receive a cash prize for their schools with first place receiving $1,000; second place $750; and third place $500. This year’s second and third place winners represent Thomas Edison Career and Technical High School in Queens and Tottenville High School on Staten Island, respectively.

Throughout the year, NYC DOT maintains its commitment to workers through comprehensive work zone training provided by the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) and E-PRO Safety Solutions, ongoing safety assessments of job sites and improvements to fleet equipment such as back-up cameras and retro-reflective markings. 

Each year, over 900 people lose their lives and an estimated 42,000 are injured in work zone incidents across the country. Last year NYC DOT experienced 12 work zone intrusions, resulting in five injuries. These figures are nearly identical to the 2023 number, and there has been one injury so far this year. Overall, 57 NYC DOT workers have been injured in work zone incidents since 2009 and five have died from work zone-related events during the past two decades.

For information about work zone safety, Vision Zero and other efforts, visit NYC DOT’s webpage our Work Zone Awareness Week page, or nyc.gov/visionzero.