Brooklyn residents weigh in on recent decriminalization of jaywalking
City data shows the NYPD issued pedestrians hundreds of tickets this year alone.
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Brooklyn residents no longer have to worry about getting in trouble for crossing the street outside of the crosswalk.
Legislation passed by the City Council to decriminalize jaywalking earlier this year is now officially law after the mayor failed to sign or veto it within 30 days.
Jaywalking had been illegal since 1958.
City data shows the NYPD issued pedestrians hundreds of tickets this year alone.
Pedestrians say the new law makes sense.
"You could get hurt or killed so it makes sense to try to keep people safe," says Chole Abercrombie. "But since everybody does it, it also makes sense not to fine people anymore.
If caught jaywalking, pedestrians faced fines up to $250. Advocates of the law say decriminalizing it is a step closer to achieving equal justice as it often targets people of color.
"When we looked at the statistics, we looked at the data and the percentages of people of color who are being issued these tickets, and it was overwhelmingly, Black and brown people," says Natalie Peeples, an attorney for the Legal Aid Society.
Now that the fines are going away, advocates believe it will also make a huge difference financially on many communities already struggling to make ends meet.
