Jaywalking Is a New York Tradition. Now It’s Legal, Too.
The New York Times
New Yorkers can cross the street wherever they please without fear of a summons. Some fear the new law could lead to more pedestrian deaths.
Nearly 70 years ago, New York City began a campaign to warn pedestrians of the dangers of jaywalking.
“Cross at the green, not in between,” the slogan said.
Seldom has a public safety announcement been so roundly ignored.
Telling New Yorkers, famously short of patience and time, not to cross the street mid-block did little to curb the illegal practice. Neither did the threat of fines: A violation carried a potential fine of up to $300, and hundreds of people received tickets each year.
But after decades of mostly turning the other way, city officials finally decriminalized jaywalking, crossing against a traffic signal or outside a crosswalk. The City Council passed a bill last month to allow pedestrians to cross the street wherever they please, and it became law over the weekend, after Mayor Eric Adams ran out of his allotted time to decide whether to veto or sign the bill.
“Let’s be real, every New Yorker jaywalks,” said Mercedes Narcisse, a City Council member from Brooklyn who sponsored the bill. “People are simply trying to get where they need to go.”
