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Read the press release here.

Boerum Hill Set to be Brooklyn's Only Slow Zone

Mayor Michael Bloomberg announces new neighborhood slow zones at a press conference in Corona, Queens.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg announces new neighborhood slow zones at a press conference in Corona, Queens.
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NYC Mayors Office/Spencer T Tucker

BOERUM HILL — Boerum Hill is poised to become the first slow zone in Brooklyn and will see the local speed limit drop to 20 mph — while most of the city remains with a 30 mph limit, officials said.

Boerum Hill was selected because it is home to nine day care centers and four schools and is the site of numerous traffic accidents that result in an average of 29 injuries each year, a DOT spokesman said.

“We are continuing our assault on the number one traffic killer: speeding. We’ve seen success already where we have installed Slow Zones and we expect safety will improve as speeding is reduced in these communities,” Mayor Bloomberg said in a statement.

The city’s slow zone project intimated in November 2011 in Claremont in The Bronx.

Boerum Hill is one of 13 new slow zones; most new locations are in Queens, Bronx and Staten Island.

The neighborhoods were chosen based on crash history, community support, proximity of schools, senior centers and day care centers, among other criteria, said a spokesman for the DOT.

Slow zones are marked by a blue gateway at all streets entering the area with signs announcing the 20 mph speed limit.

Speed bumps are to be installed and the new, lower speed limit will be painted in the roadway.

The new speed limit will affect the entire Boerum Hill neighborhood, which is bound to the north by Atlantic Avenue, to the east by Third Avenue, to the south by Union Street, and to the west by Smith Street.