Jaywalking is now legal in New York City after decades of pedestrians flouting the rules.
Legislation legalizing the previously petty crime passed the City Council last month and became law this weekend after Mayor Eric Adams refused to sign or veto the measure for 30 days.
“Now that this legislation has been codified, we hope that both the Adams administration and the City Council will continue to eliminate relict laws that serve no public safety purpose and only ensnare people in the criminal justice system,” the Legal Aid Society wrote in a statement.
Jaywalking, crossing the street against traffic in or outside a zebra crossing, has been banned in the city since 1958. Violators were fined up to $250, according to the Associated Press.
Pedestrians jaywalking (stock image)
Jaywalking is now legal in New York after legislation was passed this weekend
Democratic Assemblywoman Mercedes Narcisse of Brooklyn sponsored the legislation, stating that 90 percent of jaywalking tickets in 2023 would be given to Black and Latino people.
‘Let’s be honest: every New Yorker jaywalks. People are just trying to get where they need to go,” she said in a statement.
“Laws that punish common behavior in everyday movements should not exist, especially when they unfairly impact communities of color.”
According to the New York City Council, the new law “allows pedestrians to legally cross a roadway at any point, including outside a marked or unmarked crosswalk.” Pedestrians can also cross at traffic lights
The bill requires the Department of Transportation to “conduct an educational effort regarding the rights and responsibilities of pedestrians and of operators of motor vehicles, bicycles, and other mobility devices on city roads.”
Pedestrians walked down a New York street on a rainy day (photo). The Jaywalking laws disproportionately targeted people of color
The law warns that pedestrians do not have priority when crossing outside zebra crossings and that they must still yield to traffic.
According to America runsLaws against jaywalking first arose in the 1930s, as car ownership increased.
“Twentieth-century urban planning has left us with wider streets, greater spacing between crosswalks (if they even exist), and a lack of adequate sidewalks (usually in black and brown urban neighborhoods),” reads a note on the website the organization.
“These design and policy decisions leave residents with no choice but to jaywalk.”
A woman walked into the middle of a roadway against traffic (photo). The law warns that pedestrians must still give way
Jaywalking laws do not improve pedestrian safety, America Walks added.
Before the legislation was passed, Gothamist reported that the NYPD issued 786 summonses for jaywalking in the first half of the year.
Only 15 percent of those tickets were given to whites.
Gladys DeSantiago, a resident of Downtown Brooklyn, told Gothamist, “They (the police) find petty reasons to lock up someone from non-white communities.
“Growing up in Brooklyn, I’ve seen people get ticketed and arrested for jaywalking, because a jaywalk turns into a ‘stop and frisk,’ which turns into a whole criminal charge.”
For most New Yorkers, the new law won’t change much, as jaywalking has long been a common practice.
New Yorkers crossed the street (photo). Jaywalking is a common practice and many people did not know it was illegal
‘I never knew it was illegal. I do it all the time,” said one Harlem man CBS.
Another person added: ‘The city is very busy so we walk around sometimes. It’s almost normalized.’
According to America Walks, New York City has joined Denver, Kansas City, California, Nevada and Virginia in the growing list of places decriminalizing jaywalking.