Hamilton says turnstile jumping shouldn’t be crime
An astonishing 92 percent of New York City residents arrested for turnstile jumping in subways are people of color, according to an eye-opening report released by state Sen. Jesse Hamilton.
The statistic is part of the reasoning behind a call by Hamilton (D-Crown Heights-Park Slope, Sunset Park) and another Brooklyn lawmaker, Assemblymember Tremaine Wright, to decriminalize turnstile jumping.
Hamilton and Wright (D-Bedford-Stuyvesant) are introducing legislation to have turnstile jumping, which is entering the subway system without paying, become a civil violation rather than a crime.