Image credit: New York City Council.
On September 26, 2024, the City Council passed Introduction Number 346-A which would legalize “jaywalking,” the practice of a pedestrian crossing a roadway outside of a marked or unmarked crosswalk or against traffic signals. The legislation allows pedestrians to legally cross a road from any point, even outside of a marked or unmarked crossword, regardless of traffic signals. The local law specifies that jaywalking will not violate the administrative code and cannot be used as a basis for a summons, nor can penalties be imposed.
While the bill allows pedestrians to jaywalk, jaywalkers do not have the right of way and must yield to those that do. Because of this, a jaywalker who does not have the right of way could be held responsible for endangering the safety of others in the roadway. To ensure safety on the roadway, the bill also requires the Department of Transportation to conduct a public education campaign regarding the rights and responsibilities of pedestrians and vehicles on city roadways. Currently, the law has been approved by the City Council and has been sent to Mayor Adam’s desk. Should the mayor choose to sign the law, it will go into effect 120 days later; however, if Adam’s chooses to do nothing the bill will become law after 30 days.
The bill was drafted and introduced by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to address the issue raised by advocates that the NYPD uses jaywalking violations as a pretext to target people of color. A report commissioned by the Council found that of the 467 jaywalking summonses issued in 2023, 92% of summons were issued to Black and Latino people. Additionally, in the first three months of 2024, 96.5% of jaywalking tickets were issued to Black and Hispanic New Yorkers. There is no evidence that jaywalking in the City is committed by Black and Latinos at a higher rate that other racial backgrounds. Furthermore, there is little if any evidence that the decriminalization of jaywalking will result higher danger for pedestrians.
Before the Council voted on the bill, the Prime Sponsor Council Member Mercedes Narcisse emphasized the bill was introduced to address the disproportionate impact jaywalking enforcement has on Black and Hispanic New Yorkers. Narcisse went on to say that during her conversations with police officers, they expressed a preference of focusing on real public safety concerns rather than jaywalking. Narcisse also noted an analysis determined that 23 of 77 police precincts did not issue any jaywalking summons in the past year. A report issued by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure also highlighted that the creation of the term and associated violation of jaywalking was created by automobile manufacturers and interest groups in the 1920s who lobbied for legislation to shift the role of roadways from pedestrians to automobiles and shift the duty of care from automobiles operators onto pedestrians.
Groups such as the Legal Aid Society and Transportation Alternatives have expressed support for the bill, agreeing with Narcisse that jaywalking is used as pretext for over-policing and a policy that does not make people safer. Deputy Chief of the 52nd Precinct Thomas Alps has defended the use of jaywalking summons to ensure public safety.
The bill was returned unsigned by Mayor Adams on October 28th.
By: Logan Arlen (Logan is a New York Law School student, Class of 2025.)