Speed Limit On Prospect Park West Lowered In Memory Of Crash Victim

BROOKLYN, NY — The speed limit on Prospect Park West, between Grand Army Plaza and Bartel-Pritchard Square, was officially lowered to 20 miles per hour on Wednesday morning by The New York City Department of Transportation. Previously, the speed limit was 25 miles per hour.

This change is the first one enacted on behalf of Sammy’s Law, named for Sammy Cohen Eckstein, a local 12-year-old who was run over and killed on Prospect Park West 12 years ago.

As part of Sammy's Law, which was signed into law last year, NYC DOT will reduce speed limits along 60 additional locations before the end of the year, and 250 total by the end of 2025, officials said.

“A driver’s speed can mean the difference between life and death in a traffic crash, so the speed limit reductions we are making will help protect everyone who shares our busy streets,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez.

As part of the law, the DOT will also reduce speed limits on 13 different Open and Shared Streets to 10 miles per hour and lower speeds to 15 miles per hour at 47 different School Slow Zones across the city.

“If traffic had been moving more slowly, Sammy and the driver of the van would have had more time to see each other and avoid a collision," Sammy's father Gary Eckstein said. "We look forward to seeing DOT roll out 20-mile-per-hour speed limits on even many more streets and neighborhoods throughout the city so that many more lives can be saved.”

The next locations in Brooklyn to receive new, lower speed limits are still being determined, but DOT officials said they are prioritizing areas with higher proportions of non-white and low-income residents and greater population density.

Next, the DOT will reduce the speed limit along a 1.4-mile stretch of Audubon Avenue in Northern Manhattan.

"I am particularly grateful that the NYC DOT has chosen one of Brooklyn’s most beloved public spaces as the first location to implement the 20-mile-per-hour speed limit," Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso said.