The 109th Precinct’s Deputy Inspector Thomas Conforti stands with elected officials in Flushing Monday to announce a new enforcement for pedestrians following the death of a woman last week.
FLUSHING — NYPD officers plan to increase ticketing against jaywalkers — a move supported by local politicians who say pedestrians who violate the rules of the road endanger themselves and others.
Officers from the 109th Precinct will hand out information cards in multiple languages for the next two weeks to educate pedestrians on the rules, followed by increased enforcement through summonses and tickets, officials said Monday.
The change comes days after an elderly woman was struck and killed by a bus while walking mid-block near Main Street and Kissena Boulevard — whose death was the catalyst for the meeting at the precinct, officials said.
“Elected officials are going to start getting phone calls when people start getting summonses, I know it,” said Assemblyman Mike Simanowitz, who joined Deputy Inspector Thomas Conforti from the 109th Precinct, Councilman Peter Koo, Rep. Grace Meng and Assemblyman Ron Kim at the precinct stationhouse Monday.
“Don’t call me. I’m not going to agree with you. If you’re crossing in the middle of the street, you’re wrong, you’re endangering yourself, you’re endangering others, you’re endangering drivers,” Simanowitz added.
“Cross at the green, not in-between, and hopefully we will be able to reduce the number of traffic fatalities.”
The push comes as the mayor has been defending the effectiveness of his Vision Zeroinitiative, which was designed to increase pedestrian safety through a number of changes, including increased penalties against reckless drivers.
It’s not the first such initiative since Mayor Bill de Blasio took office — the NYPD reportedly handed out 452 jaywalking tickets between Jan. 1, 2015 and the end of February, compared with just 50 during the same period last year and 531 for all of 2013, according to the New York Post.
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