Speed bumps tend to be viewed as a nuisance, so it’s rare for residents to want them installed in the neighborhood. But one street in New York City became so dangerous with speeding drivers that residents supported the efforts of one man who decided to install his own speed bumps on the road. They immediately made the street safer, especially for children who play in the area. However, the man did not wait for city approval for the speed bumps, leading to a situation that has caused tension between the community and local government.
Man crafts DIY speed bumps after kid gets hit by speeding car
In the middle of October, resident Boris Macias installed speed bumps in the 100 block of Miller Avenue in Brooklyn’s Cypress Hills after the street experienced a series of car crashes, according to reports by PPIX11 News and CBS New York.
Macias says he brought the plastic, black-and-yellow speed bumps from a landscaping business he owns and took three hours to install them on the street, manually securing them into place with screws that went into the concrete. The main reason he installed them was to prevent drivers from speeding after one car has crashed into a large equipment trailer, leaving a huge dent in its side.
“This street is dangerous,” Macias said. “The car, every day, is fast.”
A segment on CBS New York shows the speed bumps working as intended, with multiple vehicles slowing down as they went over the speed bumps. While Macias was being interviewed, though, one white SUV is seen driving quickly down the street in spite of the speed bump, showing a glimpse into how fast vehicles were going before they were installed.
One resident in the area told the outlet, “We have a lot of kids playing around here.” When asked if she thinks a speed bump should be installed there, she said, “Yes, they should.”
However, by the morning of October 27, the city had removed the makeshift speed bumps, citing that they were not authorized. This is despite the community asking for a speed bump to be placed on the road.
Vincent Barone of the NYC Department of Transportation said in a statement: “…all speed bumps must adhere to specific standards in order to keep New Yorkers safe. Speed reducers are installed where there is a history of speeding and/or crashes.”
Residents want city to provide a permanent solution
This is actually not the first time that Macias has installed speed bumps on that particular road. Back in 2024, a speeding vehicle crashed into a child named Ahmanuel Singletary, per PIX11 News, which prompted Macias to add the speed bumps as a preventative measure. However, the city had removed those speed bumps too and chose not to provide a permanent replacement for them.
Singletary was disheartened that an official speed bump has not been installed there. He said, “I’m very disappointed in the city, even though how young I am, ’cause that is straight up ridiculous.”
The son’s mother, La’shaun Singletary, was equally disappointed with the speed bumps being removed by the city. “In a way, I feel devastated, ’cause my child was hit,” she stated. “And I felt like the city did nothing about it. If they don’t want his speed bumps down, they should put permanent ones down to ensure that doesn’t happen again.”
She continued, “If you came out twice to take them down, then you should be able to come out to permanently fix the problem. Install a speed bump. Even if it’s just one, it would lower the chance of another kid getting hit.”
A spokesperson for Department of Transportation said it would look into the matter seriously: “We share this resident’s commitment to safety. We will look into whether speed bumps are necessary at this location.”
As for Macias, he said he did not receive a ticket for installing the speed bumps. He won’t be putting any of them down in the future, satisfied that he has brought enough attention to the issue for the city to act.
