Look both ways: Jaywalking will soon be legal in NYC

New York’s Staten Island. A recently passed ordinance will soon allow New Yorkers to cross the street anywhere they choose in 2025.

Mayor Eric Adams returned the law unsigned on October 28, making it Local Law 98 of 2024, after it passed the City Council with a veto.

The plan was introduced by Councilwoman Mercedes Narcisse (D-Brooklyn), who described it as a measure to reduce police stops for jaywalking, which is a common habit across all five boroughs. Black and Latino folks make up the vast bulk of those stops, she said.

According to her, jaywalking occurs in every neighborhood in New York City. We want people to be safe, thus this is essential to making sure that everyone knows how to use the roadway sensibly and properly.

The law’s effective date would be February 25, 2025, as it takes effect 120 days after it is enacted.

As mandated by the law, the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) must begin educating the public on the obligations of all users of city roads, including pedestrians and drivers of cars, bicycles, and other forms of transportation.

Pedestrians who participate in jaywalking will not be granted the right of way and will still be accountable for their own safety, even though police will no longer be able to stop them.

Councilman Joseph Borelli (R-South Shore) did not attend the Council sessions, while Councilwoman Kamillah Hanks (D-North Shore) voted in support of the bill and Councilman David Carr (R-Mid-Island/South Brooklyn) voted against it.

Carr said that an estimated 200 people had died as a result of crossing the street without using a crosswalk in the previous five years.

State law still prohibits jaywalking, notwithstanding the Council’s majority’s actions. He claimed that the police now have one less weapon in their arsenal to maintain the safety of our streets. This bill gives the awful impression that the city supports this kind of risky conduct.

In fact, a number of collisions involving residents being hit by cars while trying to cross Staten Island roadways have made the past few months hazardous and, in some cases, deadly for pedestrians in the borough.

According to individuals familiar with ongoing investigations and the NYPD, some of these crashes included people crossing both within and outside of crosswalks, as previously reported by Advance/SILive.com.

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