Implementing Sammy’s Law

Commissioner Mike Flynn
New York City Department of Transportation
55 Water Street, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10041

Subject: Implementing Sammy’s Law

Dear Commissioner Flynn,

We write to urge the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) to expand implementation of Sammy’s Law on eligible streets throughout the 17 community districts that have approved districtwide implementation and prioritize future expansion in communities with the greatest need.

Sammy’s Law provides New York City with an important tool to reduce dangerous driving and prevent serious injuries and traffic deaths by lowering speed limits across the City. Mayor Mamdani has committed to reducing speed limits on streets immediately adjacent to schools, which is an important step in the right direction, but not enough on its own.

Our request builds on growing support from community and elected officials across the city. Sixty-three elected officials representing our city have called on NYCDOT to expand implementation of Sammy’s Law, including some of the signatories of this letter. Today, we join together in calling for a broader, district-wide implementation. The evidence is clear: lower speed limits save lives. When New York City previously reduced the speed on citywide streets from 30 to 25mph, total crashes decreased by 39% on streets with posted signage.[1] New York City was able to halve fatality rates when crashes occur.

So far, 17 community boards have passed resolutions supporting Community Board District-wide Sammy’s Law implementation. These are Manhattan Community Boards 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, Bronx Community Board 6, Brooklyn Community Boards 1, 2, 4, 6, and 7, and Queens Community Boards 1, 2, and 6. Those communities sustained 22,490 collisions and 60 fatalities in 2025.[2] This issue demands urgent and systemic attention.

Accompanying this letter is new analysis from the Office of the New York City Comptroller examining the life-saving impact of a district level implementation. We also provide data on the lives lost in Community Board Districts that have passed Sammy’s Law resolutions and on the Community Board Districts with the highest overall fatalities.

We urge the NYCDOT to use this analysis to inform the next phase of implementation and consider prioritizing both communities that have passed supportive resolutions and those with highest crash rates. This approach would respond to demonstrated community support, while directing safety interventions towards the areas where the need is greatest.

This issue is especially urgent when it comes to children’s safety. In this year alone, cars have struck and killed four children in our city. One child dying on our city streets is one too many. By ensuring that children have safe routes to school, New York City can move closer to becoming a national model for family-friendly street design.

We respectfully request a written response outlining NYCDOT’s strategy to utilizing Sammy’s Law authority to reducing speed limits.

Signed,

Mark D. Levine
New York City Comptroller

Brad Hoylman-Sigal
Manhattan Borough President

Antonio Reynoso
Brooklyn Borough President

Donovan Richards
Queens Borough President

Shaun Abreu
New York City Council Majority Leader

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Sammy’s Law Implementation Analysis

Included in this appendix is analysis from the Office of the New York City Comptroller regarding both the Community Boards that have passed resolutions in support of Sammy’s Law and other safety measures at the community board district level as well as the community board the fatalities sustained by supportive community districts since resolution passage. Also included are considerations for implementation.

Community Boards with Sammy’s Law resolutions

Seventeen Community Boards have passed resolutions requesting Community Board District-wide speed limit reductions to 20mph. These are Manhattan Community Boards 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, Bronx Community Board 6, Brooklyn Community Boards 1, 2, 4, 6, and 7, and Queens Community Boards 1, 2, and 6. Further, four Borough Presidents and 63 city and state legislators signed a letter requesting broader Community District-level implementation of the speed limit reductions.

Figure 1. Community Board Resolutions in support of Sammy’s Law Implementation

Community Boards support Community District-wide safety initiatives

Sammy’s Law is just one important strategy to reduce collisions, fatalities, and serious injuries. “Daylighting” is another proven strategy that improves street safety. Daylighting involves removing parking spots closest to the corner in order to increase visibility for pedestrians, bikers, and drivers turning. 23 Community Boards have passed resolutions in support of daylighting. These are Manhattan Community Boards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11, Brooklyn Community Boards 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8, Queens Community Boards 1, 2, 6, and 13, and Bronx Community Boards 5, 6, and 11. In passing these resolutions, these communities have demonstrated a district-wide need for safer streets. 

Figure 2. Community-Led Support for Safety Initiatives

Physical traffic calming measures like daylighting and transportation planning measures like low traffic neighborhoods are critical complements to speed limit reductions. New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) has the authority to implement all three of these measures. Legislation recently introduced in City Council would also support the NYCDOT in developing low traffic neighborhood pilot programs as part of a suite of pedestrian safety initiatives. 

Fatalities Sustained by Community Districts since Resolutions Passed

The 17 Community Districts that support district-wide Sammy’s Law implementation have sustained 22,490 collisions, 60 fatalities, and 11,644 serious injuries in 2025 alone. Cumulatively, 14 people have been killed in collisions in these districts in the time since Community Boards passed resolutions. The 23 Community Districts that support district-wide daylighting have sustained 30,502 collisions, 78 fatalities, and 16,477 serious injuries in 2025. 

Figure 3. Fatalities by Community District since Resolutions Passed (as of 6/15/ 2026[3])

Implementation is low-cost and high impact

In order to set a reduced speed limit at designated streets, NYCDOT must provide written notice to the community board of jurisdiction. This can be done by e-mail 60 days before a change to the speed limit takes place. The Community Board has the opportunity to review and advise.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), speed limit reductions can be implemented “quickly” once NYCDOT has the authority to do so. The only technical changes after emailing Community Boards and providing the required 60-day review period are standing up new speed limit signs, recalibrating traffic signals, and setting new rules for the speed enforcement cameras.

Reducing vehicle speeds is the most cost-effective and evidence-based approach to reducing fatalities in collisions between vehicles and pedestrian collisions. District-level speed limit reductions are therefore a clear pathway to reducing collisions overall and mitigating fatalities when collisions do occur.

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Endnotes

[1] National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Countermeasures that Work, “Lower Speed Limits.” Accessed 10/13/26.

[2] Based on an analysis of Motor Vehicle Collision data published by NYPD on NYC OpenData. Note: at the time of this analysis, only crashes occurring before July 31, 2026 were published in this dataset.

[3] The data reflects the most recent update to the Motor Vehicle Collisions – Crashes dataset available on Open Data.