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First Street To See Speeds Lowered Is Prospect Park West, Where 12-Year-Old Sammy Cohen Eckstein, the Namesake of the Legislation, Was Struck and Killed by a Driver
Edited by: TJVNews.com
New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez today announced the agency has begun reducing the speed limit in select locations following the enactment of Sammy’s Law. 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 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.”
“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 speed limit reductions NYC DOT will make are equity-focused, with speed reductions prioritized in Priority Investment Areas (PIAs)—neighborhoods with higher proportions of non-white and low-income residents, greater population and job density, and that have historically lacked significant NYC DOT investments.
The location of today’s event, 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.
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.
Additional Vision Zero Safety Work
The agency is on schedule to complete the administration’s goal to add daylighting to 1,000 locations in 2024. Daylighting improves visibility at intersections by removing nearby obstructions, such as parked vehicles, so drivers more easily see pedestrians and other road users.
Following extensive advocacy by NYC DOT and the city, in early June of this year, the New York State Legislature passed the renewal and expansion of the city’s red-light camera program, allowing it to grow from 150 to 600 intersections. This quadrupling of the program will give NYC DOT the ability to build upon a proven safety tool that has on average resulted in a 73 percent decline in red-light running, a 65 percent decline in right-angle/T-bone injury crashes, and a 49 percent reduction in rear-end crashes. DOT is currently soliciting bidders to operate the automated enforcement programs. The agency will begin expanding its red-light camera operations when a new contract is in place in 2025.
After reaching record-high protected bike lane and pedestrian space production over the last two years, NYC DOT continues to implement exciting new bike, bus, and pedestrian safety improvements across the city—including the addition of wider bike lanes to better accommodate cyclists and the growing use of legal e-mobility devices.
About Sammy’s Law
Passed in the 2024 legislative session in Albany, Sammy’s Law grants New York City the authority to reduce speed limits to 20 MPH with proper signage on individual streets. For roads undergoing safety-related redesigns, speed limits may be further reduced to 10 MPH.
“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.”
“By allowing for lower speed limits, Sammy’s Law affirms New York City’s right and responsibility to keep our streets safe for our neighbors,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. “I am particularly grateful that the NYC DOT has chosen one of Brooklyn’s most beloved public spaces as the first location to implement the 20-mile-per-hour speed limit. Thank you to the community groups and state legislators who championed the passage of Sammy’s Law and our city’s ability to establish the mechanisms we know will keep us safe.”
“I am very glad to see New York City DOT moving forward to implement Sammy’s Law. Reducing speed limits as called for by the legislation will save lives. It is especially fitting that the first location that the city is lowering the speed limit is along Prospect Park West. Sammy’s Law passed due in large part to the tireless advocacy of Families for Safe Streets led by people who courageously shared their stories about losing family members to traffic violence, including Amy Cohen, mother of Sammy Cohen Eckstein, who was tragically killed on Prospect Park West by a driver in 2013,” said Assemblymember Robert Carroll.
“I am thrilled that the Department of Transportation has begun implementing the life-saving speed limit reductions following this year’s passage of Sammy’s Law. This critical law will undoubtedly save lives in every borough of the city. Combined with other crucial street safety measures such as school zone speed cameras and red-light cameras, Sammy’s Law will get us closer to ending the epidemic of traffic crashes, injuries, and fatalities we have suffered for far too long,” said Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick.
“Lower speed limits make our communities safer and as the assembly sponsor of Sammy’s Law, I am proud that the city has begun to implement it to save lives,” said Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal. “Since a preventable crash claimed the life of Sammy Cohen Eckstein in 2013, his mother, Amy Cohen, and a team of traffic safety advocates have worked tirelessly to ensure other families do not have to endure the pain of losing a loved one in the future. Today’s announcement of the first location to have its speed limit lowered under this law, the same location where Sammy was killed years ago, represents the culmination of years of hard work and the start of a city with fewer crashes and safer streets. Too many lives have been cut short by reckless driving and I look forward to more speed limit changes being implemented throughout New York City in the months to come.”
“Lowering speed limits is a simple way to protect New Yorkers on our streets; we are so pleased to see DOT launching their implementation of Sammy’s Law. New Yorkers deserve to live and work in neighborhoods where they can walk, bike, and play without the threat of traffic violence. Slower speeds help get us there. Implementing Sammy’s Law throughout the city is the first step toward a future where no New Yorker is killed on our streets and everyone feels safe and cared for,” said Sara Lind, co-executive director at Open Plans.
“Sammy’s Law will save lives and we’re thrilled to join Commissioner Rodriguez to announce the first set of lower speed limits in New York City. Today’s announcement is a step in the right direction: Going from 25 mph to 20 mph speed limits will prevent crashes and make our streets safer for everyone using them, whether they’re walking, biking, or driving,” said Elizabeth Adams, interim co-executive director of Transportation Alternatives. “We also know that lowering the speed limit is just one of many tools the City of New York has to prevent crashes and save lives. We’re glad to hear that the city is on track to hit its goal of daylighting 1,000 intersections this year and we know that when we combine physical infrastructure with safer speed limits, we can achieve Vision Zero.”
“It couldn’t be more fitting that Prospect Park West is the first street on which NYC DOT will lower the speed limit to 20 miles per hour, honoring the memory of Sammy Cohen Eckstein and the unrelenting work of his mother, Amy Cohen, to pass Sammy’s Law. We’re proud to have played a small part in advocating for its passage, and look forward to a day when no family will have to know this kind of tragedy. It’s proven that lower vehicle speeds save lives, and we’re grateful to NYC DOT for moving quickly to begin implementation of the new 20 mph limit,” said Eric McClure, executive director of StreetsPAC.
