Sammy's Law NYC Lower Speed Limits Goes Into Effect

NEW YORK CITY — New York City drivers will need to slow down as lower speed limits go into effect on a number of city streets with Sammy’s Law going into effect Wednesday.

The first corridor with the new speed limit will be Prospect Park West in Brooklyn, where Sammy Cohen Eckstein, 12, was killed by a driver in 2013.

A new 20-mile-per-hour speed limit signs were installed along a 19-block stretch from Grand Army Plaza to Bartel-Pritchard Square, officials said at a press conference.

Sammy's Law, allows the city to reduce speed limits to 20 mph on individual streets, and 10 mph on streets undergoing safety-related redesigns, according to Gothamist.

“A driver’s speed can mean the difference between life and death in a traffic crash, so the speed limit reductions we are making will help protect everyone who shares our busy streets,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “I want to thank Amy Cohen Eckstein and Sammy’s entire family for their tireless advocacy to give New York City the legal authority we needed to reduce speed limits. Without Amy and Families for Safe Streets, the group she founded in response to Sammy’s tragic death, we wouldn’t be here today — honoring her son’s memory and preventing other families from experiencing the same grief of losing a loved one to traffic violence.”

In addition, the agency will soon implement a Regional Slow Zone in Lower Manhattan and also reduce the speed limit along a 1.4-mile stretch of Audubon Avenue in Northern Manhattan. By the end of 2025, NYC DOT will lower speed limits in 250 locations, prioritizing areas such as schools, Open Streets, Shared Streets, and new Regional Slow Zones in each borough.

"Yesterday marked 11 years since my 12-year-old son was run over and killed right here on Prospect Park West,” said Families for Safe Streets member Gary Eckstein and father of Sammy Cohen Eckstein for whom the bill is named. “If traffic had been moving more slowly, Sammy and the driver of the van would have had more time to see each other and avoid a collision."

Additional Planned Speed Limit Reductions

In October, NYC DOT will also begin to implement a 20-mile-per-hour speed limit on Audubon Avenue in Manhattan’s Washington Heights, along a 1.4-mile stretch from West 165th Street to Fort George Avenue.

The agency is also establishing one Regional Slow Zone in each borough, with speed limits set at 20 MPH throughout the designated areas. NYC DOT is working to launch the first Regional Slow Zone in Manhattan, in the area of the island south of Canal Street, with implementation set to begin this October.

NYC DOT plans to prioritize the implementation of reduced speed limits along 60 additional locations before the end of the year, including 10 mile-per-hour limits at 13 Open and Shared Streets, and 15 mile-per-hour limits at 47 School Slow Zones, across the city.