Jaywalking has officially been made legal in New York City. A bill to legalize jaywalking was passed by the New York City Council on October 26, 2024. It then became law after Mayor Eric Adams declined to veto the bill. Moving forward, pedestrians can “legally cross a roadway at any point.” Pedestrians are also allowed to “cross against traffic signals.” Such means that even if a pedestrian has a stop signal or red light, they can cross any roadway legally. Notably, jaywalking is legal in any situation, even if it occurs “outside” of a “crosswalk.” Accordingly, jaywalking is no longer a violation of the administrative code and New York Law. Thus, no pedestrian can be ticketed and issued a summons by the NY Police Department. However, it is important to note some important caveats.
A couple weeks ago, in our last blog article, we discussed right of way law and when a pedestrian has right of way. That discussion is pertinent here. Notably, New York City jaywalking pedestrians still do not have right of way over vehicles when they cross roadways outside of a marked or unmarked crosswalk. In such a situation, a vehicle will retain right of way over the pedestrian. While a pedestrian victim does not need to have right of way to succeed in a suit against a negligent driver, it certainly helps. Further, it is important to note that jaywalking has only been legalized in New York City (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island), and not in the entire state of New York. Proponents of the legislation say it has been a long time coming.
Supporters of the legislation stated that jaywalking tickets have consistently and disproportionately been issued to Black and Latino Pedestrians. They cite the fact that everyone in New York City jaywalks but more than ninety percent of tickets for jaywalking issued in 2023 were to Black and Latino pedestrians. Police officers and representatives did not oppose the legislation’s passing. Many officers stated that the legislation would free up police department assets to investigate other, more important matters. Regardless, one should only cross the street when it safe to do so.
If you are hurt while crossing the street, while jaywalking or not jaywalking, you should reach out to a personal injury attorney as soon as possible. At Zalman Schnurman & Miner P.C. we have over thirty years of experience handling pedestrian injury cases. For a free consultation, contact our office over the phone at 212-668-0059 or over email at info@1800lawline.com.