TESTIMONY
Natalie Peeples, Director of Youth Justice Policy and Training at the Legal Aid Society, on the Disproportionate Impact of Jaywalking Enforcement on Black Youth
2:01:56
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97 sec
Peeples highlights statistics showing that in 2023, 80% of youths under 18 who were ticketed for jaywalking were Black. A 2022 study in the Journal of Developmental Psychology found that adolescents stopped by police reported more disengagement at school and increased psychological distress.
- She emphasizes that free and open streets should be a right for all New Yorkers regardless of skin color.
- Peeples observed widespread jaywalking without enforcement during her walk to the hearing.
- However, she notes that the youths she works with see unequal enforcement, where people who do not look like them are allowed to jaywalk without getting ticketed.
Natalie Peeples
2:01:56
Thank you.
2:01:57
Thank you for this opportunity to speak.
2:01:59
My name is Natalie Peoples, I am the director of the youth justice policy in training at the juvenile rights practice of the legal aid society.
2:02:08
We heard at the beginning of this hearing from counsel member, Narcis, about the statistics related to Jaywalking and the ticketing.
2:02:15
Of Jaywalking and its disproportionality.
2:02:17
What I wanna talk a little bit about is about a population that's there to my heart, which are our kids.
2:02:23
In 2023, there are statistics that are available in open data that shows that youth children.
2:02:30
So people under the age of 18 that were ticketed for Jaywalking, 80% of them were black.
2:02:39
Now, there was a study that was published in 2022 in the Journal of Developmental Psychology and it was studying, please stop and its impact on youth.
2:02:50
And it found that adolescents who were stopped by the police reported more disengagement at school and enhance psychological distress.
2:03:01
Now, free and open streets should be a right for all the Yorkers regardless of the color of their skin.
2:03:07
And that's not what's happening here in our city.
2:03:10
I walked from my office over here, and I lost count at about 10, the number of people who are Jaywalking.
2:03:16
The kids I work with see this happening in other parts of the city.
2:03:20
They see people who don't look like them who are allowed to jaywalker.
2:03:23
And who do not get ticketed.
2:03:25
As I said, free at OpenStreet should be available for everybody regardless of the color of
Diana Maurer
2:03:30
their skin.
2:03:31
Thank you.
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
2:03:33
Thank you.
2:03:33
Next.
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Robin Felsher, Member of Families for Safe Streets, on the Pedestrian Safety Crisis and Need for Legislative Action in New York City