New York, NY – At an October 9, 2024 press conference, New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced the reduction of speed limits in select locations following the enactment of Sammy’s Law.
“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.”
The location of Prospect Park West and Third Street, is the intersection where Sammy Cohen Eckstein, 12, was tragically struck and killed by a driver in October 2013. The horrific crash inspired the creation of Families for Safe Streets, as well as the state law named in Sammy’s honor passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Kathy Hochul earlier this year. NYC DOT will reduce speed limits to 10 MPH on all current and future Shared Streets, as well as Open Streets that have undergone significant design upgrades. Shared Streets feature distinct roadway designs that naturally slow vehicle traffic, ensuring a safer environment for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists.
“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. Together with the members and allies of Families for Safe Streets, we fought hard to win Sammy’s Law in Albany, so that DOT could reduce the speed limit on city streets. We look forward to seeing DOT roll out 20-mile-per-hour speed limits on even many more streets and neighborhoods throughout the city so that many more lives can be saved.”
The first corridor to see speed limits lowered is Prospect Park West in Brooklyn, where NYC DOT has installed new 20-mile-per-hour speed limit signs along a 19-block stretch from Grand Army Plaza to Bartel-Pritchard Square. 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.
“A hard-fought win, Sammy’s Law is a simple yet powerful way to reduce traffic violence and protect our most vulnerable road users. Starting along the Park Slope stretch where Sammy Cohen Epstein was struck and killed by a driver, the newly implemented Sammy’s Law speed limits are a critical first step in our effort to build safer streets in New York,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. “The neighborhoods where DOT is reducing speeds will soon become much safer.”
