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NYC to lower speed limit to 15 mph in hundreds of school zones this year, Mamdani says
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Mar 16, 2026
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Jakub Porzycki / NurPhoto via Getty Images
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Mar 16, 2026
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New York City will reduce speed limits to 15 mph in 800 more school zones this year under a state law giving it the power to do so, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Monday.
By using Sammy’s Law, which allows the city to limit travel speeds on its streets, city officials said they plan on lowering speeds at 2,300 school locations citywide by the end of Mamdani’s first term.
Former Mayor Eric Adams’ administration rolled out similar speed-limit reductions, including in designated “regional slow zones,” once the law was enacted in 2024, but Monday’s announcement represents a major expansion. Mamdani described it as “a major step to protect children across the five boroughs.
“I want to ensure that our City Hall is using every tool at our disposal to protect New Yorkers on our streets and sidewalks,” the mayor said at a news conference.
Officials said by the end of the year there will be 1,300 school zones with the 15 mph speed limit, as 500 are already set up. The city’s transportation department said a pedestrian struck by a vehicle at 25 mph is more than three times as likely to be seriously injured as one struck at 15 mph. Officials said they will prioritize new slow zones based on safety data.
Sammy’s Law is named after 12-year-old Sammy Cohen Eckstein, who was killed by a driver in 2013 near Prospect Park in Brooklyn. The bill empowered the city to set limits of 20 mph on many streets, 15 mph in school zones and 10 mph on streets redesigned for pedestrian and cyclist safety. It passed following years of activism by street safety advocates.
According to city data, more than 200 people died in local traffic crashes last year, including more than 110 pedestrians. Officials and street safety advocates said 2025 was the city’s safest year for traffic fatalities since record-keeping began in 1910. Traffic deaths fell more than 30% since the 2014 launch of the city’s Vision Zero road safety plan, with officials and advocates crediting street redesign projects and congestion pricing for the improvements.
This year through March 15, crash fatalities are on par with their level at the same time last year, police data shows. There have been 34 deadly collisions so far in 2026, per the figures.
Street safety advocates hailed Mamdani’s announcement Monday.
“After years of hard work, Sammy’s Law will be implemented directly in front of schools in New York City,” Ben Furnas, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, said in a statement. “This is a critical first step towards safety, and we'll keep fighting for the safe streets all New Yorkers deserve.”
Tagged
Zohran Mamdani
education
new york city
public safety
transportation
Ramsey Khalifeh
Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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