The big story on Wednesday was the state Assembly's apparent decision to not bother passing a common-sense bill that would allow New York City to set its own speed limits, in some places below the state's 25-mile-per-hour floor.
The bill is known as "Sammy's Law" after Sammy Cohen-Eckstein, the Brooklyn boy who was killed by a reckless driver in 2013. Every year, the bill comes up, and every year, something happens to knock it down.
We covered the latest debacle (what did you expect?), as did Hell Gate and Patch. The mainstream media was asleep at the wheel on this one.
Of course, not every Assembly member opposes Sammy's Law, and Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas was still exhorting her colleagues to do the right thing for the right reasons:
🧵(1/6) Sammy’s Law – legislation allowing New York City to set its own safer speed limits – is common sense, lifesaving legislation.
— Jessica González-Rojas (@votejgr) May 31, 2023
But we’re hearing a lot of misconceptions about the bill, so I want to set the record straight:
The legislative session doesn't end for a few more days, so we suppose there is still a chance for Sammy's Law to pass — and for lives to be saved.
In other news from a day so slow that Streetsblog reporters were adopting cats, of all things:
- The Times loves celebrating cyclists ... as long as they're not in New York City. Meet L.A. cycling legend Tom Morash. (NY Times)
- Transit workers got a nice new contract. (Gothamist)
- If Council Member Ari Kagan thinks his website is getting lots of hits, City & State can tell him why (after all, sex sells!).
- If you like "Seinfeld," and care about the travails of drivers, here's a solid story from Upper East Site about both.
- Stuyvesant Cove Park has reopened! (amNY covered, but Hell Gate went deeper)
- A delivery worker and a labor relations expert collaborated on a Crain's op-ed laying out why deliveristas deserve fair wages.
