City lawmakers on Thursday abruptly yanked legislation that would have decriminalized jaywalking amid an internal debate over how liable drivers should be when they hit a pedestrian outside a crosswalk.
The bill — which passed in the Council’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Tuesday — sought to end the practice of the NYPD ticketing people for illegally crossing the street, which city data shows is disproportionately enforced against New Yorkers of color. Street safety advocates and public defenders pulled their support of the legislation after councilmembers made a last-minute change to the bill that would give legal cover to drivers who hit pedestrians.
Council Speaker Adrienne Adams didn’t move the bill to a full vote before the chamber on Thursday, saying it was still going through the legislative process and that “things are still being discussed.”
The delay came days after lawmakers amended the bill, adding language that would still put people in legal trouble for jaywalking if they do not “yield to other traffic that has the right of way.” The new version also included a clause that would require the city transportation department to create a street safety education campaign to inform New Yorkers to steer clear of automobiles while they’re walking on the street.
“The legislation should go further to protect pedestrians and clearly protect their right to safety and security on our streets, especially during one of the deadliest years for pedestrians in the past decade,” said Elizabeth Adams, interim co-executive director of the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, which supported the bill before it was amended. “City Council can right one wrong without creating another, and New York City can better protect pedestrians by redesigning safer, slower streets with better visibility — not criminalizing pedestrians or blaming them for their own deaths.”
The mayor’s office also raised concerns about the bill before it was amended, arguing the legislation could encourage jaywalking.
“All road users are safer when everyone follows traffic rules,” said Liz Garcia, a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams. “We continue to encourage pedestrians to take advantage of safety mechanisms in place — such as daylighting, pedestrian islands, and leading pedestrian intervals — by crossing in a crosswalk with the walk signal.”
Garcia said the latest version of the bill means jaywalkers could still be subject to civil suits if they cause a car crash.
It’s unclear whether lawmakers will revise the legislation, but advocates have been pushing the city to decriminalize jaywalking for years. A similar bill also failed to reach a full Council vote in 2021.
States like California, Virginia and Colorado have successfully decriminalized jaywalking in recent years. The laws governing jaywalking in most of the country are archaic: The term originated in the early 20th century and was promoted by the automobile industry as a way to deter pedestrians from using street space.
City data shows the NYPD issued more than 1,400 tickets for the violation last year. Only 4% of the people ticketed for jaywalking so far this year were white, according to city data.
“We’re seeing discriminatory enforcement of this, but the other thing is that it’s not keeping us any safer,” said Councilmember Tiffany Cabán of Queens, one of the bill’s sponsors. “It’s not decreasing traffic violence. In fact, we’re seeing traffic violence at a higher rate.
Natalie Peeples, an attorney at the Legal Aid Society, said her group wants to “strengthen the legislation to secure an end to these pretextual stops that do nothing to further public safety and only ensnare people in the criminal legal system.”