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Mother of crash victim on failure of NYC speed limit bill: 'Albany backroom politics at its worst'
By
Michael Hill
Published Jun 22, 2023
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By
Michael Hill
Published Jun 22, 2023
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Broad bipartisan support and a nearly 100-hour hunger strike weren’t enough to get a vote in the state Assembly on a bill allowing New York City to set its speed limits.
This week, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie concluded the legislative session without bringing the bill, known as Sammy’s Law, to the floor.
Amy Cohen, a co-founder of the advocacy group Families For Safe Streets, was among those on hunger strike outside the Assembly chamber. The bill is named for her 12-year-old son, Sammy Cohen Eckstein, who was killed by a speeding driver in Brooklyn in 2013. On Thursday, she spoke with WNYC’s Michael Hill about her disappointment.
The transcript of their discussion below has been lightly edited for clarity.
Michael Hill: It's been yet another deadly year on the streets in New York City. In just the last six months, traffic killed at least 41 pedestrians and 18 cyclists. Another 44 people died on motorcycles or other vehicles. The site StreetsBlog points out Heastie’s own district has seen an average of nearly three and a half crashes per day this year. What do you think happened?
Amy Cohen: It is, to me, incredibly frustrating and unconscionable that the Assembly adjourned without bringing Sammy’s Law for a vote.
It had widespread support. Every single national traffic safety organization from across the country weighed in in support. As did organizations like Consumer Reports, [public workers union] DC 37, AARP, healthcare providers. A super majority in the City Council, the state Senate passed it 55 to seven.
How could the Assembly adjourn and Speaker Heastie not bring this simple, proven, lifesaving popular measure for a vote?
Some opponents of this bill have said they think it's just an excuse to issue more speeding tickets. That it would have limited effectiveness against people already willing to break the law and speed. How do you respond to that?
Everyone can get to their destination two minutes later to save a life. You only get a ticket if you go 10 miles per hour over the speed limit. And lower speed limits are proven to save lives. When people drive slower, the drivers' field of vision increases, stop times are shortened, reaction times are increased. Many crashes can be avoided. And when they do occur, they're much less likely to cause serious injury or kill someone like my son. When Portland lowered its speed limits from 25 to 20, as we were proposing to do on residential streets, the number of Portland drivers traveling between 30 and 35 went down 26%. The number going 35 decreased by 47%.
Lower speed limits alone are proven to work. They're proven to save lives.
You spent a few days posted up at the entrance of the Assembly chamber in Albany, asking every lawmaker who passed to sponsor this bill. What did they teach you about the way Albany works?
First, I have to say we not only stood outside, but I stood there with other members of Families For Safe Streets on the last official week of session without eating anything. We went on a nearly 100-hour hunger strike. That did really generate support for the bill. We got many more co-sponsors. Two-thirds of the assembly supported the bill. We had 50 co-sponsors … including 20 Republicans.
This was a bipartisan measure. We had 61% of Assembly Democrats in Heastie’s conference [as] co-sponsors of the bill. Clearly, this was a bill that was gonna pass. But this was Albany backroom politics at its worst.
It's like we're not living in a democracy. We had the majority – far in excess of the majority. And the bill didn't even get brought to the floor for a vote.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie has not yet explained why Sammy's Law never received a vote in the Assembly.
Shutterstock
Sammy's Law is named in honor of your son. But now you say it has a different connotation. Would you explain that?
We were honored when Senator (Brad) Hoylman called to ask our family if we would be willing to have the bill named after Sammy.
Really the bill is about so much more. This is really for all the families like mine and Families For Safe Streets who have lost children or spouses or parents and other loved ones. This is also about the lives we will save, unlike Sammy's.
But now the law really has become a source of incredible pain and frustration for our family. It's become associated with an uncaring Legislature that fails to take this common sense action to save lives. It's become associated with political dysfunction and a failure to put a popular, proven measure to a vote. It’s outrageous.
So the session is now officially over. What's next for you?
The progress that we've made over the last year has not been in vain. It's heartbreaking to us and our family and all of us who have been fighting for safe streets to end this year's legislative session without this crucial legislation. But we will do everything in our power to continue to fight for safe streets for all New Yorkers.
Truthfully, we've already all, in Families For Safe Streets, experienced the worst. So we will pick ourselves up and keep fighting.
Before you go, I have to ask, have you ever spoken to Carl Heastie about this? And not bringing it to the floor for a vote?
I have chased after him several times the past few weeks.
The first few times he would not even look me in the eye or give me a response. But yesterday he answered, ‘I am only one vote.’ I'm sorry, if a leader is saying they don't have the power to take action and bring a popular measure to the floor – I just don't understand his leadership strategy.
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Albany
Politics
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Michael Hill
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