Harlem Council Member Yusef Salaam knows first-hand about accountability — and is using his lived experience towards the ultimate North Star of street safety: holding repeatedly reckless drivers accountable.
Salaam, who is an enthusiastic driver, was nonetheless the Council member who drafted and submitted a resolution demanding that state legislators pass a pending bill that would allow courts to order the worst speeders to install "speed governors" inside their cars to prevent the vehicles from exceeding the speed limit.
Salaam's support is a testament to the broad appeal of the bill, but also a legacy of sorts. Salaam, who represents Upper Manhattan, was one of five men wrongfully convicted in the Central Park jogger rape case in a botched and racially biased police investigation.
But Salaam isn't recalling his status as one of the "Exonerated Five" as the motivation for writing the bill.
"It’s very simple: it's to save lives," Salaam told Streetsblog on Monday, when the bill got its hearing before the Public Safety Committee. "[Road violence is] literally happening in every single one of our districts and it’s about trying to make sure that we do right by our constituents."
The hearing was packed with supporters of the state bill, including families that have been torn apart by reckless "super speeders."
"The day we lost Niyell was the most difficult for all of our lives," said Darnell Sealy-McCrorey, whose 13-year-old daughter Niyell McCrorey was killed by a driver last year in Salaam's district. "We know that when our streets and our intersections are deadly we are the ones that are paying the price. But it doesn't have to be this way. This epidemic is preventable. There is a bill up in Albany that would require speed limiters in the cars of the worst of the worst repeat offenders. If we don't do something, one of these drivers is going to kill [again]."
Amy Cohen, the founder and president of Families For Safe Streets, said that Council pressure can help get these types of bills over the finish line in Albany, where action can be slow.
"Obviously the city legislature carries a lot of weight in Albany," said Cohen, whose son Sammy was killed by a speeding driver. A bill, named after her son, to allow the city to cut the speed limit to 20 miles per hour, was championed by advocates for years, but only passed after a similar City Council resolution.
"When we passed Sammy's Law, the fact that [the City Council] passed a resolution urging action meant a lot to the state legislature, so we are counting on this," she said.
All of that happened before Yusef Salaam was elected, but the death of Niyell McCrorey was very much on his mind on Monday.
"The thing that really hit home, unfortunately, is the knowledge of what happened to the young man's daughter who testified," said Salaam. "I have 10 children, seven daughters. [It's] about those personal instances of that could have been my child, that could be me."
Support for the "stop super speeders" bill has been growing ever since a known recidivist speeding driver hit and killed the Saada family in South Brooklyn last month. The deadly crash sparked an outcry from advocates and members of the public who want to see legislators get dangerous drivers off the road before they kill, especially since their behavior is known and their locations tracked via cameras.
The bill, S7621, was introduced last year by state Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Bay Ridge) and proposes using “speed limiter” technology to modify the cars of drivers who get six or more automated enforcement tickets in any 12-month period. The devices would allow them to keep driving, but render it impossible for them to speed. Right now, drivers can rack up as many automated enforcement tickets as they please with no consequences as long as they pay their fines.
Salaam's just-introduced resolution has five co sponsors: Council Members Lincoln Restler (D-Williamsburg), Shahana Hanif (D-Park Slope), Jennifer Gutiérrez (D-Bushwick), Chris Banks (D-East New York), and Justin Brannan (D-Bay Ridge). More are expected as the bill moves through the legislature in Albany now that the budget has been passed. Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine also supports the bill.
Gounardes proposed a similar bill in 2023, when the city was reeling from the death of 31-year-old Katherine Harris at the hands of a speeding driver on Atlantic Avenue. The bill did not make it over the finish line that year, and it is unclear if the new version will gain enough momentum this time around.
But the bill, the first of it's kind written in the country, has inspired other states to take action. Virginia is the first state to pass a speed limiter bill, and Washington, Maryland, Georgia, California and Arizona all have their own versions moving through the legislative process.
"Change is too slow in Albany," said Cohen. "We were the first to introduce [this type of bill], so we can’t be the last to get it across the finish line."
One advocate said that with Salaam's help, perhaps we won't be.
"It’s really great to have a new champion in the coalition for preventing reckless driving," said Sara Lind of Open Plans when asked about Salaam's support. "It’s an issue that impacts every New Yorker, whether you’re on foot, in a car, in Harlem or Eastern Queens. Every elected official should recognize how important safe streets are and be an outspoken advocate for them. We’re very grateful that Council Member Salaam is doing that."
