Editor's note: The video above aired on April 21, 2024.
NEW YORK (PIX11) – Gov. Kathy Hochul signed off on a portion of the state budget on Monday that includes Sammy's Law, which allows New York City to lower its speed limit to 20 mph from 25 mph.
The bill is named after 12-year-old Sammy Cohen Eckstein, who was killed in Park Slope by a speeding car while trying to grab a soccer ball in the street in 2013. Over 100 more children have since been killed in traffic collisions in New York City, according to city crash data.
"He was killed in front of our apartment building. We have a crisis on our roads. Nearly every single day in New York City, someone like my son is killed," said Amy Cohen, Sammy’s mother and the co-founder of Families for Safe Streets.
The law would not apply to streets with three or more lanes in one direction.
New York City’s speed limit has been 25 mph for the past 10 years. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio had persuaded lawmakers to drop the speed limit from 30 mph.
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found pedestrians face a 10% risk of death when hit by a car traveling 23 miles per hour.
In recent months, there have been several incidents of children being killed by cars driving in New York City. A 10-year-old girl died last week after being hit in a Brooklyn crosswalk by a driver who crossed a solid yellow line to make a left turn, according to authorities.
An 8-year-old boy also died in Queens back in March after a pickup truck driver failed to yield while turning left, police said.
Washington, D.C. and Seattle also both have 20 mph speed limits, with the two cities citing pedestrian safety.
Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here.
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