May 20, 2025 — A new workshop at the Region 8 Leadership Conference in Cooperstown this month focused on parking lot safety and how members can best protect themselves when they come and go from state-owned parking facilities and lots.
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In the wake of a vicious 2019 assault on PEF member Karen Tully, a senior attorney for the State Department, who was struck in the face and head while walking to her car in the Elk Street parking lot in Albany, Region 8 Coordinator Danielle Bridger made it her mission to take on the issue of parking lot safety, not just in Region 8, but across the state.
Bridger said her friend and colleague lost a lawsuit against New York because the state had no legal knowledge such an attack could happen; therefore, it couldn’t be held liable in that instance. Now, they have that knowledge, Bridger said.
“It’s important to document and report every incident,” she said at a workshop on parking lot safety with PEF Health and Safety Specialist Jazmin Nova-Morales and several members, including Vice President Bruce Giddings.
PEF’s Parking Lot Safety Pilot Program developed a palm card for parking safety tips, available here, and highlighted items that can help members who must walk through parking lots alone. Bridger displayed a personal alarm she purchased for herself called a “Birdie,” available online, which emits a piercing sound when opened.
“I never go anywhere without it,” she said. “Sometimes our members work outside the regular 9 to 5 hours and when they leave, the parking lot is completely empty, and they are all alone.”
There are also several mobile apps, such as Noonlight, that can be connected to emergency services and even to your phone’s contacts if you don’t enter a security code quickly enough when prompted.
Dangers can lurk just about anywhere. “If it’s open access, it’s open season,” Giddings said.
Bridger is working to convince the state to implement something like a QR code on existing parking passes that, in the event of an attack or other incident, members could scan and be immediately taken to the appropriate incident report forms.
If an incident occurs, it’s critical to report it as soon as possible to agency management, PEF Health and Safety (HealthandSafety@pef.org) and parking facility management. PEF’s Parking Committee should also be notified via email at parking@pef.org.