By PHILIP MARCELLO

NEW YORK (AP) – Jaywalking – that time-honored practice of crossing the street outside the crosswalk or against a traffic light — is now legal in New York City.

Legislation passed by the City Council last month, it officially became law over the weekend after Mayor Eric Adams refused to take action — either by signing it or vetoing it — after 30 days.

Council Member Mercedes Narcisse, a Brooklyn Democrat who sponsored the legislation, said Tuesday that the new law ends racial disparities in law enforcement, noting that more than 90 percent of riding tickets issued last year went to people of color and Latinos.

“Let’s face it, every New Yorker walks. People are just trying to get where they need to go,” she said in an emailed statement. “There should be no laws that penalize common behaviors for everyday movement, especially when they unfairly impact communities of color.”

The new law allows pedestrians to cross a roadway at any point, including outside a crosswalk. It also allows passing against traffic signals and specifically states that it is no longer a violation of the city’s administrative code.

But the new law also warns that pedestrians crossing outside a crosswalk do not have the right of way and should yield to other traffic that has the right of way.

Liz Garcia, a spokeswoman for Adams, declined to elaborate on the mayor’s decision to let the bill become law without his action.

But she noted that the bill makes it clear that crossing against the light and in the middle of the block is extremely risky behavior. People could also be liable in civil actions for accidents caused by walking, Garcia added.

“All road users are safer when everyone follows the rules of the road,” she said in a statement. “We continue to encourage pedestrians to take advantage of existing safety mechanisms – such as natural lighting, pedestrian islands and pedestrian driving ranges – by crossing a pedestrian crossing with a walk signal.”

Jaywalking has been on the books in New York City since 1958 and carries a $250 fine.

The battles in New York between pedestrians and drivers are well known. In The 1969 film Midnight Cowboy Dustin Hoffman famously shouts, “Here I go!” as his character is almost hit by a taxi while crossing the street in Manhattan.