NEW YORK – New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced the agency will reduce speed limits in select areas following enactment of Sammy’s Law. Speed limit reductions will target select schools, Open Streets, Shared Streets, and other areas, as well as new ‘Regional Slow Zones’ in each borough. Passed this legislative session in Albany, Sammy’s Law gives the City of New York the authority to reduce speed limits to 20 MPH on individual streets, and to 10 MPH on select streets undergoing safety-related redesigns. NYC DOT will begin publicly notifying community boards on its proposals this summer, with a 60-day comment period to follow before implementation.
“New Yorkers deserve safe streets, no matter how they travel. Whether it’s via car, bus, bike, or walking, Sammy’s Law provided a tool to make sure everyone arrives safely to their destination,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. “I thank the Department of Transportation for putting this tool to use and using a data driven and targeted approach as we continue to make our streets safer.”
“Speeding ruins lives, and reducing vehicle speeds by even a few miles per hour could be the difference between life or death in a traffic crash,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Rodriguez. “The new Regional Slow Zones and other speed limit reductions announced today will save lives and keep people safe. We are extremely grateful for Families for Safe Streets and Amy Cohen, who has tirelessly advocated in honor of her son Sammy Cohen Eckstein for the City to have greater control over our speed limits. We thank Governor Hochul, State Senator Hoylman-Sigal, Assemblymember Rosenthal, and other legislative leaders for providing New York City with another tool to keep everyone safe on our streets.”
Beginning in September, following a 60-day public comment period, NYC DOT will begin reducing speed limits in 250 locations by the end of 2025, with a focus on priority locations such as schools. The agency will implement this safety measure utilizing safety data and focusing on equity, implementing speed limit reductions in Priority Investment Areas—defined as areas of the city with larger proportions of non-white and low-income residents, higher population and job density, and without a strong history of previous NYC DOT investments.
The agency will also reduce the speed limit to 10 MPH on all existing and future Shared Streets and on Open Streets that have had substantial design upgrades. Shared streets are roadways with distinctive designs that naturally slow vehicle travel speeds, where pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists all share the right of way.
NYC DOT will implement one Regional Slow Zone in each borough where speed limits will be set at 20 miles per hour throughout a set geographic area. The first location to be considered will be lower Manhattan south of Canal Street and would be implemented by the end of this year or early next year.
INITIAL PROPOSED LOCATIONS FOR REDUCED SPEEDS
The Bronx
- E 139 Street, from Willis Avenue to Alexander Avenue
- Courtlandt Ave, E 156 St to E 157 St
- E 151 St, Courtlandt Ave to Morris Ave
- E 156 St, Concourse Village W to Morris Ave
- Gerard Ave, E 167 St to E 168 St
- St Ann’s Ave, E 149 St to Westchester Ave
- Tinton Ave, E 150 St to E 152 St
- Sheridan Ave, E 171 St to E 172 St
- Walton Ave, E 179 St to E 171 St
- Prospect Ave, E 175 St to E Tremont Ave
- Wallace Ave, Mace Ave to Waring Ave
- E 225 St, White Plains Rd to Barnes Ave
- E 172 St, St Lawrence Ave to Beach Ave
- Netherland Ave, Kappock St to W 227 St
- Reeds Mill Ln, Bivona St to Steenwich Ave
Brooklyn
- Seventh Ave, 43 St to 44 St
- Dean St, Saratoga Ave to Thomas Boyland St
- MacDonough St, Lewis Ave, Marcus Garvey Blvd
- Christopher Ave, Sutter Ave to Belmont Ave
- Ashford St, Belmont Ave to Pitkin Ave
- Prospect Park West, Grand Army Plaza to Bartel Pritchard Square
- E 94 St, E New York Ave to Rutland Rd
- Fenimore St, Brooklyn Ave to Rutland Rd
- Ninth Ave, 63 St to 64 St
- 45 St, Fort Hamilton Pkway to Tenth Ave
- Lenox Rd, E 39 St to E 40 St
- E 96 St, Ave D to Foster Ave
- Sackman St, Belmont Ave to Sutter Ave
- Fort Greene Pl, Fulton St to Dekalb Ave
- Lewis Ave, Hart St to Willoughby Ave
Manhattan
- W 138 St, Amsterdam Ave to Broadway
- W 64 Street, West End Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue
- E 120 St, Lexington Ave to Third Ave
- E 128 St, Lexington Ave to Third Ave
- Morningside Ave, W 126 St to W 127 St
- Audubon Avenue, West 165th Street to Fort George Avenue
- E 112 St, Second Ave to Third Ave
- E 120 St, Second Ave to Third Ave
- E 120 St, Madison Ave to Park Ave
- E 128 St, Madison Ave to Park Ave
Queens
- 112 St, 37 Ave to 34 Ave
- 47 Ave, 108 St to 111 St
- 155 St, 108 Ave to 109 Ave
- 167 St, 108 Rd to 109 Ave
- Union Hall St ,109 Ave to 110 Ave
- 144 St, 88 Ave to 88 Rd
- 143 St, Linden Blvd to 115 Ave
- 105 St, 35 Ave to 37 Ave
- 31 Ave, 60 St to 61 St
INITIAL PROPOSED 10 MPH SHARED STREETS
The Bronx
- Jennings St, Bronx from Prospect Ave to Bristow St (to be redesigned later this summer)
Brooklyn
- Willoughby Ave, from Washington Park to Washington Ave
- Berry St, from Broadway to N12th St
- Underhill Ave, from Pacific St to Eastern Parkway |
- Sharon St, from Olive St to Morgan Ave
Manhattan
Broadway, from:
- 18 St to 23 St
- 24 St to 25 St
- 27 St to 33 St
- 38 St to 39 St
- 48 St to 50 St
Queens
34th Avenue, from:
- 69 St to 77 St
- 78 St to 93 St
- 94 St to Junction Blvd
ABOUT SAMMY’S LAW
Sammy's Law allows New York City to lower its speed limit to 20 MPH with posted signage, except on roads with three or more motor vehicle travel lanes in the same direction outside of Manhattan. With traffic calming, speed limits can be reduced to 10 MPH on select roads. For all speed limit reductions, NYC must provide notice 60 days in advance and comment opportunity to the local community board.
“Passing Sammy’s Law was a critical first step in our effort to build safer streets in New York. The next step of actually implementing reduced speed limits will be a simple yet powerful way to reduce traffic violence and protect our most vulnerable road users,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. “The Manhattan neighborhoods where DOT is reducing speeds will soon become much safer.”
“With the implementation of Sammy’s Law, New York City will finally have the power to set its own speed limits, which will undoubtedly save lives here in NYC,” said U.S House Rep. Jerrold Nadler. “Together, we can stop the epidemic of traffic violence in our City.”
“New York desperately needs safer streets and Sammy’s law is going to help make that a reality. After years of advocacy, I am thrilled that New York City now has the authority to begin reducing speed limits, particularly near schools, open streets, shared streets, and in new “regional slow zones.” In 2020, I was proud to introduce this common-sense traffic safety legislation in memory of Sammy Cohen Eckstein, a young man who was fatally struck by a speeding driver just months before his thirteenth birthday,” said Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal. “Since Sammy’s tragic death, his mother Amy Cohen has been a relentless champion for street safety through the organization she co-founded, Families for Safe Streets, and has inspired dozens of other family members who’ve lost loved ones to traffic violence to advocate for new traffic policies. New Yorkers owe these advocates, Mayor Adams, Commissioner Rodriguez, Governor Hochul, Leader Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Heastie, along with my Assembly partner Linda Rosenthal, a deep debt of gratitude for getting Sammy’s law passed, establishing these new slow zones and for the lives that can be saved as a result.”
“As the Assembly sponsor of Sammy's Law, I am thrilled that the New York City Department of Transportation now has the tools needed to work with local communities to lower speeds and make our streets safer,” said State Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal. “This legislation was named in honor of Sammy Cohen Eckstein who was tragically killed in a preventable crash in 2013. By lowering speed limits, we can combat the scourge of reckless driving that has claimed the lives of far too many New Yorkers. Today's announcement heralds a city with fewer crashes and safer streets.”
“We praise NYCDOT and Mayor Adams for this initial roll out of safer speed limits in our city. We also look forward to subsequent plans to expand this program where data shows it will save the most lives,” said Juliane Williams, mother of Doniqueca (Niiqua) Cooke and member of Families for Safe Streets. “These changes will prevent more injuries and death so no one will have to go through what I am going through, what Sammy’s mother is going through, and what countless other New Yorkers who have experienced injury or lost a loved one due to traffic violence are going through. We won't stop fighting until Vision Zero is a reality.”
“Sammy’s Law will make New York City safer and more livable; we are so glad to be celebrating the start of its implementation. Streets near schools are uniquely dangerous, an issue that disproportionally effects lower-income, non-white New Yorkers,” said Sara Lind, co-executive director at Open Plans. “We applaud DOT’s strategy to lower speed limits near schools first, as well as at shared streets and Open Streets where New Yorkers are more vulnerable to interactions with vehicles. Sammy’s Law is a crucial step toward building a city where streets welcome, and care for, all residents.”
“After years of hard work, we’re incredibly excited to see the City begin to implement Sammy’s Law,” said Elizabeth Adams, interim co-executive director of Transportation Alternatives. “Speeding kills, and Sammy’s Law can and will save lives across New York City. Today’s announcement is a great start, and we look forward to a clear, data-driven, and equitable approach from the City to widely implement Sammy’s Law.”
