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'I'm walking here': NYC on track to legalize jaywalking
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Sep 26, 2024
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John Springer Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Sep 26, 2024
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Jaywalking is slated to be legalized in New York City after the City Council passed a bill Thursday to revoke the NYPD’s authority to give tickets to people for crossing the street outside of a crosswalk.
While the violation is as common in the five boroughs as a slice of pizza, police issue hundreds of tickets for jaywalking every year — and an overwhelming majority of them are given to New Yorkers of color. City data shows the NYPD issued 786 pedestrian-related summonses in the first six months of the year, 77% of which went to Black or Hispanic people.
“This bill seeks to address this imbalance,” the bill's lead sponsor, Councilmember Mercedes Narcisse of Brooklyn, said at a news conference before the vote. “How many people in the room can tell me they never jaywalk[ed]? None of you.”
Narcisse said she’s spoken to police officers who told her they’d rather focus on more important public safety issues instead of jaywalking, which can result in a fine of up to $250.
The bill's passage comes two weeks after advocates withdrew their support for the measure, arguing the legislation would give legal cover to drivers who hit pedestrians crossing mid-block. But by Thursday, several groups changed their tune and gave the proposed law their seal of approval.
“We’ve supported legalizing jaywalking for years, and it’s past time for the city to take this outdated policy off the books. Criminalizing jaywalking makes no one safer,” said Transportation Alternatives interim co-executive director Elizabeth Adams in a statement. Adams previously said that the legislation should go further to protect pedestrians.
The Legal Aid Society also said earlier this month that it wanted to strengthen the legislation, but spokesperson Audrey Martin now said that the nonprofit “lauds the City Council for passing this needed legislation” and that they “call on Mayor Eric Adams to immediately sign the bill into law.”
Adams — who was indicted the same day the bill passed the Council — would have to sign the bill before jaywalking is actually legalized.
Adams said in July that “all of us have to be re-educated” about the rules of the road with the influx of e-bikes and delivery vehicles.
“When I looked at the numbers and sat down with DOT, we put a lot of attention on the vehicles,” Adams said. “But I was really surprised to see how many accidents where it happened because people are crossing in the middle of the street and not the crosswalk.”
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new york city
public safety
Politics
transportation
Ramsey Khalifeh
Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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