Newark’s War Against The Poor: Cops Crack Down On Panhandlers, Beggers

NEWARK, NJ — Newark is fed up with “eyesores," officials say.

That’s the battle cry that the Newark Department of Public Safety is sounding as it launches a crackdown against homeless and other low-income panhandlers at 10 high-traffic areas in the city.

Earlier this month, the agency announced that it kicked off a police crackdown against “aggressive” panhandling activity at locations that include McCarter Highway, Penn Station, the Speedway Avenue and South Orange Avenue ramps near Interstate 280, and the intersections of Central Avenue and 1st Street, Chancellor Avenue and Fayban Place, and Clinton Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard.

During the July 12 crackdown, officers arrested 12 panhandlers, handed out two quality of life summonses and instructed five suspected solicitors to “get out of traffic," authorities said.

“The presence of panhandlers along or near Newark’s main egresses, ingresses, Penn Station and other locations is not only an eyesore, it’s dangerous,” Newark officials stated in a news release. “Panhandlers are constantly at risk of causing an accident or being the victim of an accident as they meander their way in, out and through traffic.”

Newark Police Director Anthony Ambrose said that although illegal soliciting has been neglected over the years, the days of leniency were done.

“Their aggressive approaching of vehicles in traffic creates a litany of safety concerns in addition to being a constant complaint of motorists,” Ambrose stated last week. “Motorists feel unsafe and they should not have to. A panhandler definitely isn’t a welcoming sight, isn’t a positive reflection of what Newark has to offer and it will not be tolerated. These operations will continue until the panhandlers get the message.”

Newark public safety officials issued a more politically-correct version of their news release a day later, with Ambrose adding that the Newark Police Department is “committed to working with the city’s health department and other social services to address the core issues that cause people to panhandle and to offer them help.”

“Panhandling remains a public safety concern first, our actions are in response to this along with my commitment to address citizen complaints,” Ambrose said.

• See related article: Life Through The Lens Of Homeless NJ Photographers: GALLERY

The section of the Newark city code that covers “disorderly conduct” states that no person shall:

• “Annoy, disturb, interfere with, obstruct or be offensive to another, so as to substantially impair his/her right to be left alone”
• “Station himself/herself on the streets or follow pedestrians for the purpose of soliciting alms, or solicit alms on the streets unlawfully”

‘BROKEN WINDOWS’ POLICING

While Newark public safety officials lauded the recent operation as a step in the right direction, some civil rights activists are questioning both the legality and the ethical basis of the city’s panhandling crackdown.

“Reports of a crackdown on panhandling and other low-level offenses that disproportionately impact poor people are troubling,” ACLU-NJ Public Policy Director Ari Rosmarin told Patch. “Targeting panhandling is a textbook tactic of the failed ‘Broken Windows’ strategy of policing, which has led to significant damage between communities and police throughout the country.”

Rosmarin emphasized that “being poor is not a crime,” and that the ACLU-NJ hopes the police reports aren’t true.

“The progressive vision for policing that [Newark] Mayor Ras Baraka has consistently laid out rejects ‘Broken Windows,’ and the Baraka administration has acknowledged that Newark cannot arrest its way out of its problems. If the Newark Police Department is departing from that vision of accountable, smarter policing by cracking down on panhandling and low-level offenses, it raises important civil rights concerns. We agree with Mayor Baraka’s original, progressive vision and strongly hope the Newark Police Department and Director Ambrose are adhering to it.”

• See related article: Essex County Has The Most Homeless Residents In New Jersey

Jeff Wild, executive director of NJ Coalition to End Homelessness, told Patch that the answer to getting rid of poor and homeless people is to help them, not to arrest them for the "crime" of poverty.

“To persecute victims of poverty as the police may be doing is the only real crime,” Wild said. “It is also unlawful - indeed, unconstitutional - to charge anyone with constitutionally protected speech, which includes the right to ask for help. If the coalition learns of any such charges, it will have no choice but to work with the American Civil Liberties Union to stop any illegal police practices.”

Wild pointed out that activists successfully fought a similar situation in New Brunswick last year when they sued the city for “prohibiting constitutionally protected begging for help.”

New Brunswick eventually agreed to settle that case and agreed to repeal or amend two ordinances that made it illegal to beg in the city.

When asked if there was a way that public safety officials could deal with the issues of panhandling without resorting to arrests, Wild said that there were “absolutely” options available.

“To start with, no one wants to have to beg,” Wild said. “Every person in New Jersey is entitled to emergency assistance. Every person should be offered transportation to a shelter or social services, not handed a summonses. Criminalizing homelessness is not an answer, it's just making more misery for the poor.”

PUBLIC HOUSING CRACKDOWN

Panhandlers aren’t the only low-income residents to feel recent heat from Newark police.

On July 15, authorities announced the completion of a four-day “Community Focus” operation in the Oscar Miles Public Housing Complex, which is bordered by Court, Broome, Mercer and Lincoln streets.

During the four-day crackdown, police arrested 15 suspects, conducted 22 motor vehicle stops, issued 20 traffic tickets, interviewed 31 individuals, “spoke with 15 people,” inspected a taxi, stopped two bicyclists and issued two bicycle summonses.

That crackdown was the third in a “series of continuing operations” in the city, authorities said. During that time, officers tallied 90 arrests, 258 traffic stops, 238 traffic tickets, 11 bicycle tickets, 10 tows, 105 individuals interviewed and 42 quality of life summonses. In addition, police made 181 “citizen contacts,” conducted 105 visits to businesses, performed seven bicycle inspections and inspected two taxis.

“These locations weren’t randomly selected, they are chosen through an analysis of crime and community complaint data,” Ambrose stated in a news release. “The comparative crime data has shown these operations have a definitive impact. I will continue to attack problematic locations and the types of activities that continue to stigmatize Newark as crime ridden.”

Photo: Erich Ferdinand, Flickr Commons

Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com