NEW YORK \u2013 <\/b>New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner (NYC DOT) Mike Flynn today announced that NYC DOT will reduce the speed limit to 15 MPH at every eligible school location across the five boroughs by the end of Mayor Mamdani’s first term. The move is designed to protect children and their families on city streets and represents the largest increase to date in the city\u2019s use of Sammy\u2019s Law to reduce speed limits across the city.<\/p>\n
More than 800 additional school locations will see speed limits reduced to 15 MPH this year, bringing the total school locations with 15 MPH speed limits to 1,300 by the end of the calendar year. The administration plans to expand 15 MPH School Slow Zones where eligible at all 2,300 school locations across the five boroughs by the end of Mayor Mamdani\u2019s first term. These 2,300 school locations house 3,200 schools citywide, with some schools co-located. Implementation will be prioritized based on available safety data and other planned street safety improvements. Mayor Mamdani announced the news at Flushing International High School, which is co-located with J.H.S. 189 Daniel Carter Beard, where NYC DOT will today install a new 15 MPH speed limit for its School Slow Zone on 147th Street between Barclay Avenue and Sanford Avenue.<\/p>\n
\u201cFamilies spoke up after unimaginable loss to fight for Sammy\u2019s Law and deliver our city the power to make our streets safer for New Yorkers,\u201d said Mayor Mamdani. <\/b>\u201cToday\u2019s expansion of Slow Zones for schools across all five boroughs is just the beginning. Lower speeds save lives, and we will use every tool at our disposal to protect our neighbors as they move about our city.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur school children and their families should feel safe and comfortable as they travel to and from class. Speeding is the leading cause of traffic deaths, and even a small speed reduction can mean the difference between life and death in a crash,\u201d said NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn<\/b>. \u201cThese speed limit reductions will follow our data-driven Vision Zero approach to deliver the greatest safety impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year, NYC DOT will implement 15 MPH speed limits at the roughly 700 school locations with existing 20 MPH School Slow Zones and establish about 100 new 15 MPH School Slow Zones at school locations with 25 MPH speed limits. NYC DOT will prioritize locations based on safety data. A pedestrian struck at 25 MPH is more than three times as likely to be seriously injured than a pedestrian struck at 15 MPH.<\/p>\n
At each school, the agency will provide the mandatory 60-day notice and comment opportunity to the local community board before implementation of the new speed limit. At the most dangerous locations near schools, the agency will continue to focus on upgrading street and intersection designs to help naturally slow vehicles and improve safety, including elements like speed humps, hardened daylighting and other safety upgrades.<\/p>\n
The City has so far lowered speed limits at just over 100 locations since the passage of Sammy\u2019s Law in the spring of 2024, including a regional slow zone in each borough. In addition to today\u2019s School Slow Zone expansion, NYC DOT will continue to explore additional opportunities to roll out lower speed limits across the city in the months ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cSammy\u2019s Law will save lives wherever it is implemented,\u201d said Amy Cohen, Founder & President of Families for Safe Streets<\/b>. \u201cIn 2013, my 12-year-old son Sammy was struck and killed by a speeding driver in Brooklyn, and ever since, I\u2019ve been fighting for safer speeds on our streets. Thank you to every member of Families for Safe Streets that fought for this, every elected official that stood with us, and every coalition partner that joined us through a long battle \u2014 today would not have happened without each and every one of you. We\u2019re excited that the Mamdani administration is beginning to implement Sammy\u2019s Law, and we eagerly await their plan for an even wider implementation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne\u00a0of my top priorities has always been protecting\u00a0children and families,\u201d said U.S. Rep. Grace Meng<\/b>. \u201cWe have to do all we can to keep our kids out of harm\u2019s way, and lowering the speed limit at schools will further ensure the safety of children throughout our borough. It will also help to save lives. I thank the Mayor for making this announcement in my district and\u00a0I look forward to continuing to\u00a0champion issues\u00a0that keep our children safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was proud to lead the fight in Albany alongside Assembly Member Rosenthal to pass Sammy\u2019s Law because every New Yorker deserves streets that prioritize safety over speed,\u201d said Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal<\/b>. \u201cLowering speed limits around our schools is one of the most effective ways to protect children and families. In Manhattan, where so many students walk, bike, and take transit to school every day, this step will make a real difference. I\u2019m grateful to Mayor Mamdani and Commissioner Flynn for fully using the authority Sammy\u2019s Law provides to slow traffic and save lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSammy\u2019s Law will save lives, and I\u2019m grateful to Mayor Mamdani and DOT Commissioner Flynn for using it to lower speeds around schools. I was proud to sponsor the home rule that enabled this legislation, and it is a relief to see the law deployed to protect our communities. This is the kind of step the Council envisioned when we passed it to protect pedestrians citywide. I look forward to seeing the impact,\u201d said City Council<\/b> Majority Leader Shaun Abreu<\/b>.<\/p>\n
“Sammy’s Law is an incredibly effective tool for making the streets near our schools safer for our children and their families,\u201d said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr.<\/b> \u201cI am thrilled we will be using Sammy’s Law to reduce speed limits to 15 MPH at so many locations across Queens and the rest of the city. We need to do everything we can to make our schools and the streets around them a safe environment for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExpanding Sammy\u2019s Law is a historic step toward making our streets safer for children and families,\u201d said City Council<\/b> Deputy Leader Sandra Ung<\/b>. \u201cAround schools, we see students walking, parents pushing strollers, and families crossing busy streets during the most hectic times of the day. Lowering speed limits to 15 miles per hour will help ensure that the streets surrounding our schools reflect that reality and create an environment where parents can feel confident that their children can get to and from school safely. I commend Mayor Mamdani for taking this important step to protect students and families in communities across the five boroughs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLowering speed limits is a tool proven to save lives, and I commend Mayor Mamdani and Commissioner Flynn for taking action to keep our communities safe,\u201d said Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal<\/b>. \u201cThe passage of Sammy\u2019s Law, my legislation granting New York City the authority to lower its speed limits, was in honor of Sammy Cohen Eckstein, who died tragically at just 12 years old in a crash that could have been prevented if there had been lower speed limits. With the expanded implementation of Sammy\u2019s Law around New York City\u2019s schools, we will make our streets safer and drastically reduce the chances of vehicle crashes turning fatal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter years of hard work, Sammy\u2019s Law will be implemented directly in front of schools in New York City,\u201d said Ben Furnas, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives<\/b>. \u201cSlower speeds save lives, and Sammy\u2019s Law can save countless lives across the five boroughs. This is a critical first step towards safety, and we’ll keep fighting for the safe streets all New Yorkers deserve. As always, we are proud and humbled to have fought alongside some of the strongest New Yorkers, members of Families for Safe Streets \u2014 New York City will be safer today and every day after that because of you. Sammy\u2019s Law only works where it\u2019s implemented, and we will join communities across the city fighting for full neighborhood and slow zone implementations to keep New Yorkers safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re thrilled that New York City intends to use the authority granted by Sammy\u2019s Law to lower the speed limit around all eligible New York City schools to 15 miles per hour,\u201d said Eric McClure, Executive Director of StreetsPAC<\/b>. \u201cIt\u2019s impossible to know precisely how many lives this will save, but we\u2019re certain that the safety benefits will be enormous. It\u2019s a fitting way to commemorate Sammy Cohen Eckstein, for whom the law is named, and to honor the tireless efforts of his mother, Amy Cohen, and her Families for Safe Streets colleagues. We\u2019re grateful to Mayor Mamdani and Commissioner Flynn for moving quickly to make up for the previous administration\u2019s foot-dragging.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSpeed is the single biggest factor in whether a crash is survivable. Children should never have to navigate dangerous traffic just to get to school. By lowering speed limits to 15 miles per hour near schools, New York City is using Sammy\u2019s Law exactly as intended: giving the city the flexibility to protect people where safety matters most. We commend Mayor Mamdani and Commissioner Flynn for taking this important step to protect students, parents, and school staff across the five boroughs. We hope it\u2019s just the beginning of broader efforts to pair safer speeds with street designs that improve visibility at corners and create more people-first blocks around schools,\u201d said Sara Lind, Co-Executive Director of Open Plans.<\/b><\/p>\n
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