Jaywalking legalized in New York City

By PHILIP MARCELO

NEW YORK (AP) — Jaywalking — that time-honored practice of cross the street outside the zebra crossing or against the traffic light – is now legal in New York City.

Legislation The proposal, which passed the City Council last month, officially became law this weekend after Mayor Eric Adams declined to take action after 30 days — either signing it or vetoing it.

Councilmember 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 jaywalking tickets issued last year went to Black and Latino people went.

‘Let’s be honest: every New Yorker jaywalks. People are just trying to get where they need to go,” she said in an emailed statement. “Laws that punish common behavior in everyday movements should not exist, especially when they unfairly impact communities of color.”

The new law allows pedestrians to cross a roadway at any point, including outside a crosswalk. It also allows going against traffic signals and specifically states that this is no longer a violation of the city’s administrative code.

But the new law also warns that pedestrians crossing outside a zebra crossing do not have priority and that they must give way to other traffic that has priority.

Liz Garcia, a spokesperson for Adams, declined to comment on the mayor’s decision to let the bill become law without his involvement.

But she noted that the bill makes it clear that crossing against the light and the center block is very risky behavior. People may also still be liable in civil lawsuits for accidents caused by jaywalking, Garcia added.

“All road users are safer if everyone obeys the traffic rules,” she said in a statement. “We continue to encourage pedestrians to take advantage of existing safety mechanisms – such as daylighting, pedestrian islands and leading pedestrian intervals – by crossing a crosswalk using the walk signal.”

Jaywalking had been on the books in New York City since 1958 and was fined $250.

The battle between pedestrians and drivers in New York is well known. In the 1969 film ‘Midnight Cowboy’ Dustin Hoffman famously shouts, “I’m walking here!” as his character is almost hit by a taxi while crossing the street in Manhattan.