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NYC May Decriminalize Public Drinking

And fare-beating.

A plan under consideration at the New York City Council may completely revamp the city's "broken windows" policing. The proposal, from council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s office, would transform crimes like public urination, open containers, and fare-beating into civil violations instead, settled through tickets and monetary damages instead of arrests and potential jail time. The seven crimes that would become civil offenses under this plan—which faces some opposition from officials who fear tickets wouldn't be taken as seriously—account for 510,000 outstanding arrest warrents, according to the New York Daily News. They also account for 42 percent of summonses issued by the NYPD in the past 13 years.