New York City made jaywalking legal this weekend, allowing pedestrians to cross the street outside crosswalks or against traffic lights.

The City Council last month passed legislation allowing jaywalking. After Mayor Eric Adams refused to sign or veto the legislation within thirty days, it officially became law.

The law allows pedestrians to cross the street at any point and allows them to cross against traffic lights. However, it is warned that pedestrians crossing outside a zebra crossing do not have priority and that they must give priority to other traffic that does have priority.

Jaywalking laws were pushed by the auto industry in the 1930s as a way to keep people off the streets and make more room for vehicles, according to America Walks, a Seattle group that tracks proposals to decriminalize jaywalking.

New York City had banned jaywalking since 1958, with violations carrying a fine of up to $250 before the new law went into effect.

Other cities such as Kansas City, Missouri and other states such as Denver, California, Nevada and Virginia have also decriminalized jaywalking in recent years, according to America Walks.

“Cities that really care about safety focus on street design, excessive speed and dangerously large vehicles,” Mike McGinn, executive director of America Walk, told The Associated Press (AP). “No jaywalk laws.”

Racial Disparities in Jaywalking

New York City Councilmember Mercedes Narcisse, a Brooklyn Democrat who sponsored the new law, said Tuesday that legalizing jaywalking would end racial disparities in its enforcement. She said more than 90 percent of jaywalking tickets issued last year went to Black and Latino people.

“Let’s face it: Every New Yorker is jaywalking. People are just trying to get where they need to go,” she said in an email to the AP. “Laws that punish common behavior in everyday movements should not exist, especially when they unfairly impact communities of color.”

Narcisse said police officers she has spoken with say the time they spend issuing jaywalking tickets could be better spent on other police work.

“No one ever said, ‘I’m so glad they caught that jaywalker.’ By eliminating these penalties, our police officers can focus on issues that really matter,” she said.

What did Mayor Adams say?

Liz Garcia, a spokesperson for Adams, declined to comment on the mayor’s decision to let the jaywalking bill become law without taking action on it. However, she did say that the law makes it clear that crossing against traffic lights and in the middle of a street is very risky behavior and that people can still be held liable in civil lawsuits for accidents caused by jaywalking.

“All road users are safer when everyone follows the rules of the road,” Garcia said in a statement, according to the AP. “We continue to encourage pedestrians to take advantage of the safety mechanisms in place – such as daylighting, pedestrian islands and leading pedestrian intervals – by using the walk signal to cross a crosswalk.”

Call for NYC to ‘continue to abolish relic laws’

The Legal Aid Society, a nonprofit that provides free legal representation to New Yorkers who cannot afford an attorney, said the new jaywalking law is long overdue. The organization said police have used the violation for decades as a pretext to stop, question and search residents, especially people of color.

“Now that this legislation has been codified, we hope that both the Adams administration and the City Council will continue to eliminate relict laws that serve no public safety purpose and only ensnare people in the criminal justice system,” the Legal Aid Society said in a statement.

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) declined to speak specifically about the new law, just telling the AP on Wednesday that it “will continue to work tirelessly with the NYC Department of Transportation to increase traffic safety and collision prevention.” especially those that result in injury or death.”

This article contains reporting from The Associated Press.