Jaywalking legalized in NYC
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NEW YORK (PIX11) – Jaywalking has been legalized in New York City.
Pedestrians will be allowed to legally cross roads at any point without being ticketed by police.
City Council introduced the bill to legalize jaywalking on Feb. 28. After many months, the bill was approved and sent to Mayor Eric Adams on Sept. 26.
Adams failed to take action within 30 days, resulting in the bill automatically becoming law.
Council Member Mercedes Narcisse, a Brooklyn Democrat who sponsored the legislation, said Tuesday that the new law ends racial disparities in enforcement, noting that more than 90% of the jaywalking tickets issued last year went to Black and Latino people.
“Let’s be real, every New Yorker jaywalks. People are simply trying to get where they need to go,” she said in an emailed statement. “Laws that penalize common behaviors for everyday movement shouldn’t exist, especially when they unfairly impact communities of color.”
Jaywalking has sparked controversy in New York City after city data showed that Black and Latino pedestrians seemed to be disproportionately targeted by police.
NYPD officers wrote 467 summonses for violating a section of the state’s Vehicle and Traffic Law, Streetsblog NYC reported. Of 426 summonses issued, 92 percent were written to Black or Latino residents.
A spokesperson for The Legal Aid Society sent a statement about jaywalking becoming legalized: “Decriminalizing jaywalking in New York City is long-overdue and eradicates a mechanism that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) has, for decades, employed as a pretext to stop, question, and frisk New Yorkers, especially those from communities of color.
“With this legislation now codified, we hope that both the Adams Administration and the City Council will continue to abolish relic laws that serve no public safety purpose and only ensnare people in the criminal legal system."
Ben Mitchell is a digital content producer from Vermont who has covered both local and international news since 2021. He joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of his work here.