They built an 8-foot fence around a N.J. city park to keep out the homeless. Is it legal? [View all]

By Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

A locked fence erected around a park in Newark’s Ironbound section has sparked a controversy pitting a local business group and the area’s city councilman against advocates for the hungry and homeless people who had populated the park.

The Ironbound Business Improvement District, or IBID, put up the 8-foot iron fence around Peter Francisco Park this summer in conjunction with East Ward Councilman Michael Silva, an IBID board member, who appropriated city council funds available at his discretion to split the fence’s $45,000 cost with the business group.

Silva asserts that people were making a mess of the park, littering, defecating and urinating on statues honoring Portuguese immigrants who helped build up the Ironbound and driving away customers of local businesses.

“It was an eyesore that was an entranceway into the East Ward,” said Silva, insisting that the park remains accessible to anyone who obtains a permit. “As the son of Portuguese immigrants, I saw things that were very discouraging in my heart. As councilman now, I felt that I had a responsibility to my constituents, to my business owners.”

https://www.nj.com/essex/2024/07/they-built-8ft-fence-around-nj-city-park-to-keep-out-homeless-is-it-legal.html

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