Speed limits on a dozen Queens streets to drop below 25 mph
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Jael Zhinin, a 16-year-old, was killed and her little sister was injured when they were hit by a box truck outside a school in Sunnyside earlier this week, a type of incident that has become all too common in Queens as officials look to implement safety measures. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach
By Ryan Schwach
Drivers on certain streets in Queens are going to need to slow down in the near future as the city begins to implement a state law designed to increase safety on city streets.
The city’s Department of Transportation recently rolled out its proposals for implementing Sammy’s Law, which was passed by the state legislature earlier this year and allows New York City and other state municipalities to set their own speed limits, rather than go by statewide regulations.
The proposed measures are intended to help slow down car drivers and lead to a lower risk of serious injury for pedestrians and drivers. The announcement comes just as the borough deals with another death of a teen at the hand of traffic violence.
The streets selected by DOT focus on priority locations such as schools, the agency said. They also aim to look at speed limits in what they are calling “Priority Investment Areas,” which are defined as areas of the city with larger proportions of non-white and low-income residents, higher populations and job density and without a strong history of previous NYC DOT investments.
Speed limits will be reduced to 20 miles per hour on dozens of individual streets throughout the city. Some will see the speed limit drop to 10 MPH.
“Speeding ruins lives, and reducing vehicle speeds by even a few miles per hour could be the difference between life or death in a traffic crash,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said in a statement. “The new…speed limit reductions announced today will save lives and keep people safe.”
In Queens, the DOT has proposed nine streets for reduced speeds – the least of any borough excluding Staten Island, which has none.
The proposed streets center mainly around highly congested areas with thin streets, mainly in Western Queens and Jamaica.
• In Corona, the DOT is proposing lowering speeds on 112th Street from 37th Avenue to 34th Avenue, and 47th Avenue from 108th Street to 111th Street.
• In North Corona, 105th Street from 35th Avenue to 37th Avenue.
• In Woodside, on 31st Avenue from 60th Street to 61st Street.
• In South Ozone Park from 155th Street from 108th Avenue to 109th Avenue.
• Jamaica has four separate streets under the proposal, including 167th Street from 108 Road to 109 Avenue; Union Hall Street from 109 Avenue to 110 Avenue; 144th Street from 88th Avenue to 88th Road; and 143rd Street from Linden Boulevard to 115th Avenue.
The proposal also includes a 10 MPH zone on shared streets along 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights from Northern Boulevard all the way to Linden Boulevard.
DOT will begin publicly notifying community boards on its proposals this summer, with a 60-day comment period to follow before implementation, which the DOT hopes can be done by the end of 2025.
“I look forward to working collaboratively with NYC DOT, community leaders and street safety advocates to create a comprehensive list of such streets and determine where in our borough to establish a Regional Slow Zone,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, an ardent supporter of Sammy’s Law. “This is what turning pain into progress looks like.”
Sammy’s Law came from the efforts of Amy Cohen, the mother of Sammy Eckstein Cohen, a 12-year-old who was killed by a driver in 2013. The bill was strongly supported by a number of Queens electeds who pushed for its passing.
Several officials marched in a rally in March following the death of 8-year-old Bayron Palomino Arroyo, who was killed by a driver while crossing the street with his mother and brother in Queens.
Those same officials celebrated the bill’s passing in the state’s budget in April.
The passing of Sammy’s Law was called a big win by many Queens officials, who argue it is a major step towards mitigating traffic violence on the city’s streets. The city’s Department of Transportation recently announced that it was preparing to implement the law. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach
“Being able to come back from Albany and tell the parents in my district that we were able to get Sammy’s Law done is so meaningful,” State Senator Jessica Ramos said in a statement at the time. “As a mother myself, I’m so relieved that this is now law. This was made possible by families who took the pain that came from incredible loss and channeled it into creating change. Now, I’m passing the baton to the city to lower the speed limits in the areas that are at high risk for children and pedestrians.”
The push for Sammy’s Law, particularly in this session, came after a slew of traffic deaths in the borough, particularly of children.
In the last year, 8-year-old Bayron Palomino Arroyo, 3-year-old Quintus Chen and 7-year-old Dolma Naadhun were killed in Queens due to traffic violence.
Officials hope Sammy’s Law, among other measures, lessens the amount of fatal injuries on city streets.
But while DOT was rolling out its proposals this week, another child lost their life to traffic violence in Queens.
Jael Zhinin, a 16-year-old, was killed outside of I.S 125 in Sunnyside on the last day of school when she and her eight-year-old sister Leslie were struck by a driver behind the wheel of a box truck at 46th Street and 47th Avenue. The driver continued, but was apprehended a few blocks away.
The driver has yet to be hit with any charges.
Zhinin was pronounced dead at the scene, and Leslie is currently recovering at New York-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell Medical Center.
“Jael, a vibrant young girl with a promising future ahead, was taken from us too soon,” her family said in a GoFundMe seeking help with medical bills and funeral arrangements.
The GoFundMe has raised $27,773 towards a $35,000 goal.
With the future implementation of Sammy’s Law, officials still hope that incident’s like the one in Sunnyside can be far less common.
“This week’s devastating crash outside IS 125 in Sunnyside that claimed the life of 16-year-old Jael Zhinin and injured her younger sister is a tragic reminder of the work ahead of us to prevent this kind of traffic violence, which is far too common in Queens,” Richards told the Eagle. “The passage of Sammy’s Law is a massive step in the right direction, and it is imperative that we lower speed limits outside schools, parks, hospitals, transit hubs with high pedestrian traffic and other sensible locations.”
