When tourists visit New York City, they tend to cross at the crosswalks. Of course, that’s the time-honored way of crossing any street: “Cross at the green, not in between.” New York even had a PSA campaign about it, decades ago:
I suspect that with the level of traffic in Manhattan, most visitors cross at the crosswalks because they feel it’s safer and/or less intimidating. It’s why they wait for the green light before they cross, too.
However locals, they’re another story. Native New Yorkers, as well as transplants, have been jaywalking – that is, crossing the street outside of the crosswalk or against the light, for probably forever.
And now it’s legal.
The new law
The City Council passed legislation late last month that officially allows people to jaywalk, legally, in New York City.
A law against jaywalking has been on the books since 1958, and even carried a penalty of up to $250. However, tickets for jaywalking were rarely given. And of those that were, more than 90% of them were issued to Black and Latino people.
The new law allows pedestrians to cross a street at any point, not just at the crosswalk. It also allows crossing against traffic signals (read: if the light is red) and explicitly states that doing so is no longer a violation of the city’s administrative code.
One caveat
But there is one caveat—whereas pedestrians typically have the right of way, this will not be the case if they’re jaywalking. The new law specifically says that pedestrians who cross outside of a crosswalk won’t have the right of way and should yield to other traffic that does have the right of way.
“Let’s be real, every New Yorker jaywalks. People are simply trying to get where they need to go,” said Council Member Mercedes Narcisse, who sponsored the legislation. “Laws that penalize common behaviors for everyday movement shouldn’t exist, especially when they unfairly impact communities of color.”
Of course, if you’re a tourist and NYC traffic is still overwhelming, there’s nothing stopping you from continuing to cross at the crosswalks, and waiting for a green light before you do it. But braver souls who are comfortable with crossing against the light or in the middle of the street now can, without fear of being ticketed.
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1 comment
Whenever I was visiting NYC, I would always wait at the crosswalk… unless other native New Yorkers were crossing, then I’d just cross with them. Easier to go with everyone else than being that one guy being honked at for crossing on a red signal.