Sammy’s Law: NYC Speed Limit Tiers, Rollout, and Tickets

Sammy’s Law gives New York City authority to set speed limits on its own streets as low as 20 mph on most roads, and as low as 10 mph on streets that have been physically redesigned for safety. Signed by Governor Hochul as part of the fiscal year 2025 budget, the law amends Section 1642 of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law so the city no longer has to ask Albany for permission every time it wants to slow traffic on a dangerous block.¹ It is named for Sammy Cohen Eckstein, a 12-year-old struck and killed by a van driver in October 2013 at Third Street and Prospect Park West in Park Slope.²

What the Law Changed

Before Sammy’s Law, state law set a hard floor: the city could not establish any speed limit below 25 mph.³ Even on narrow residential blocks, 25 was the legal minimum, and lowering it required a separate act of the state legislature. The amended statute now drops that floor.

One thing did not change automatically. The general citywide default speed limit is still 25 mph. To make 20 mph the new citywide default, the City Council would have to pass a local law.¹ What DOT can do on its own is drop the limit to 20 mph on individual streets and in designated zones, provided it follows the required notice process.

The 20 MPH Tier

On any qualifying street, DOT can now post a limit as low as 20 mph.⁴ The reduction takes effect only once new signage is in place. Until then, the previous limit governs. You are not expected to guess: if the sign on your street still reads 25, that is still the limit.

The 10 MPH Tier

The lower 10 mph tier is more restricted. It is available only on streets where the city is installing physical traffic calming measures such as curb extensions, narrowed roadways, or similar design changes. A sign by itself does not qualify. The statute expressly requires that the traffic calming measure not consist solely of a sign.¹

In practice, DOT has applied 10 mph limits to all current Shared Streets and to Open Streets that have undergone significant physical redesigns.⁵ These are corridors where planters, barriers, or seating already restrict vehicle movement. Newly redesigned safety corridors can also qualify.⁴

Where Sammy’s Law Does Not Reach

The new authority has a significant carve-out. On highways with three or more travel lanes running in the same direction outside Manhattan, the minimum speed limit stays at 25 mph.¹ That covers wide corridors in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Manhattan is not subject to the exception, so DOT has broader authority there regardless of lane count.

If you drive on a road like Queens Boulevard or Atlantic Avenue, expect the posted limit to remain 25 or higher even when the residential streets around it drop to 20. Read the signs rather than assuming a uniform limit across your route.

School zones fall under a separate provision. Section 1643 already allowed school zone limits as low as 15 mph, and that threshold predates Sammy’s Law and remains unchanged.¹

How a Speed Limit Actually Gets Lowered

DOT cannot change a limit overnight. It must send written notice to the community board covering the affected area at least 60 days before the new limit takes effect. The board then has that window to issue an advisory opinion.¹ The notice may be sent by email. The opinion is advisory only, and DOT keeps the final call.

After the comment period, DOT must post new signs before the reduced limit is enforceable. No sign, no new limit.

Where Reductions Are In Effect

The first reduction under Sammy’s Law went live on Prospect Park West in October 2024, on the street where Sammy was killed. That fall, DOT also created a Regional Slow Zone across Lower Manhattan and dropped the limit along 1.4 miles of Audubon Avenue in Northern Manhattan.⁵

By early 2025, DOT announced a second round of Regional Slow Zones in DUMBO in Brooklyn, City Island in the Bronx, Broad Channel in Queens, and New Brighton on Staten Island. These zones set 20 mph across clusters of neighborhood streets rather than a single block. DOT also began rolling out 10 mph limits on Shared Streets and redesigned Open Streets citywide.⁵

What Lower Limits Mean for Tickets

Automated speed cameras photograph vehicles traveling more than 10 mph above the posted limit within school speed zones. A camera violation is a $50 ticket mailed to the registered owner, with no points and no impact on your driving record.⁶ Late payment adds $25 after 30 days.⁷

A speeding ticket written by a police officer is a different matter. New York’s fine schedule runs $45 to $150 for 1 to 10 mph over, and $90 to $300 for 11 to 30 mph over, plus a mandatory surcharge of $88 or $93 depending on the jurisdiction. Those tickets add license points: 3 for 1 to 10 mph over, 4 for 11 to 20 mph over, and 6 for 21 to 30 mph over.

The lower the posted limit, the easier it becomes to fall into a higher bracket. Driving 35 mph on a former 25 mph block was 10 over. On that same block posted at 20, it is 15 over, pushing you into the higher fine tier and adding a license point. Check the sign before you assume you know the limit.

1
New York State Senate. New York Vehicle and Traffic Code 1642 – Additional Traffic Regulations in Cities Having a Population in Excess of One Million
2
Streetsblog New York City. Samuel Cohen Eckstein, 12, Killed by Van Driver on Prospect Park West
3
New York State Assembly. New York State Senate Bill S2422A
4
New York City Department of Transportation. NYC DOT Begins Reducing Speed Limits in Select Locations
5
New York City Department of Transportation. NYC DOT Reduces Speed Limits in New Regional Slow Zones
6
NYC Department of Transportation. FAQs – Speed Cameras
7
NYC.gov. NYC Parking or Camera Tickets