NYC Speed Limits Drop to 20 MPH: Sammy's Law Takes Effect in Brooklyn

Sammy's Law Takes Effect in Brooklyn: Lower Speed Limits Aim to Improve Safety

New York City drivers will be required to slow down as lower speed limits take effect across the city. The first corridor to see the new speed limits is Prospect Park West in Brooklyn. This comes after Sammy Cohen Eckstein, 12, was tragically killed by a driver in 2013.

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

New 20 mph speed limit signs have been installed along a 19-block stretch from Grand Army Plaza to Bartel-Pritchard Square.

"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.

The agency will also implement a Regional Slow Zone in Lower Manhattan and reduce speed limits 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. "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."