Hochul Signs 'Sammy's Law' For 20 MPH NYC Speed Limits

NEW YORK CITY — "Sammy's Law" is finally part of New York City's rules of the road.

With a stroke of a pen, Gov. Kathy Hochul enacted the hard-fought law Thursday that allows city officials to set speed limits as low as 20 mph.

The passage came more than a decade after the law's namesake — Sammy Cohen Eckstein, 12 — was struck by a motorist in Park Slope.

Eckstein's death pushed his mother, Amy Cohen, into activism to push for lower speed limits that could prevent similar tragedies. After nearly 2,500 traffic deaths and years of fighting, Cohen stood alongside Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams in her son's old school for a rally celebrating the law's signing.

"This is a joyous, but bittersweet moment," Cohen said.

“This isn’t just Sammy’s Law. It's Giovanni's Law and Ally's Law and Niiqua's Law and Henry's Law — it's for every child, parent, spouse and loved one killed by a reckless driver.

"And, now, it will finally be law in New York State."

The law, with some exceptions, will allow city officials to set speed limits lower than 25 mph.

City Council members have the power to set a citywide minimum of 20 mph. Department of Transportaion officials, meanwhile, have the ability to set slower or faster speed limits, provided they give community boards 60 days notice.

Adams said this week he supports a slower speed limit, although this week he warned against a "one-size-fits-all" approach.

"Different communities need different needs and there should be a minimum that everyone should be down to," he said. "Then there may be a desire based on what the community represents, based on the neighborhood, that it may be decreased even more."