The city’s Department of Transportation is sending a message to drivers in four boroughs: slow down!

On Wednesday, DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced the department will be expanding its “Regional Slow Zones” program to the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island in an effort to improve traffic safety.

The first “Regional Slow Zone” rolled out in Lower Manhattan, south of Canal Street, last year. Within these designated zones, speed limits will be reduced to 20 mph to protect pedestrians and curb car crashes, according to the department.

“Lowering vehicle speed limits by even a few miles per hour could be the difference between life or death in a traffic crash,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “Our newest Regional Slow Zones will save lives and protect our most vulnerable New Yorkers in some of our busiest pedestrian communities.” 

The new zones will cover: 

• City Island, Bronx: Encompassing the entire island (0.42 square miles), where the DOT said five severe traffic injuries have occurred in the past five years. 
• DUMBO, Brooklyn: Covering 0.18 square miles, extending from Furman Street to the west; Water Street, Plymouth Street and John Street to the north; Navy Street and Hudson Avenue to the east; and Sands Street and the Brooklyn Queens Expressway to the south. The area saw one traffic fatality and 10 severe injuries in the last five years, the DOT said.
• Broad Channel, Queen: Spanning 0.16 square miles from East Sixth Road to West 22nd Road, where one traffic fatality and six severe injuries have occurred in five years, according to the department.
• St. George, Staten Island: Covering 0.25 square miles near the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. It is bordered by Tysen Street and Clinton Avenue to the west, Prospect Avenue to the south, Jersey Street to the east and Richmond Terrace to the north. Richmond Terrace will be excluded, keeping a limit of 30 mph. This area, according to the DOT, recorded 12 severe injuries in the last five years. 

The speed limit reductions are part of Sammy’s Law, a law signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul in May 2024 that allows New York City to lower speed limits to 20 mph in some areas. The law, which took effect in October, was named for 12-year-old Sammy Cohen Eckstein, who was struck and killed by a vehicle in Brooklyn in 2013. 

In addition to the slow zones, the DOT is lowering speed limits to 10 mph on shared streets — which feature distinct roadway designs that naturally slow vehicle traffic — and upgraded open streets. By the end of 2025, the DOT said speed limits will be reduced at 250 locations. 

Public notification for the new slow zones will begin this month, with the DOT providing a 60-day comment period before the new speed limits are implemented, the agency said.