Perth Amboy, NJ Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Sit-Lie Rules (2026)

Section 386-3C of the Perth Amboy City Code applies to any person or body corporate on the public sidewalks of the City of Perth Amboy, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Subsection C(5) prohibits lying on the public sidewalk, or on any object placed on the public sidewalk, with no time allowance. Subsection C(6) prohibits sitting on the public sidewalk, or on any object placed on it, for more than one hour in any two-hour time period. Subsection C(9) prohibits allowing belongings or other objects to remain unattended on the public sidewalk for more than 15 minutes. Subsection C(8) separately bars sitting, standing, lying or otherwise using the sidewalk, or placing belongings on it, in a manner that unreasonably and significantly impedes or obstructs the free passage of pedestrians. The provision was amended most recently through Ord. Nos. 2159-2024, 2167-2024 and 2180-2024.

Section 386-3D lists the exceptions. The prohibitions on lying and sitting do not apply to a person sitting or lying due to a medical emergency, and they do not apply to a person who requires a wheelchair or similar device to move about the sidewalk, who is operating or patronizing a commercial establishment properly licensed for business on the public sidewalk, or who is participating in or attending a properly permitted parade, procession, or assemblage. They also do not apply to sitting on a chair or bench supplied by a public agency for a period not to exceed six hours in any 24-hour period, sitting on a chair supplied by the abutting property owner, or sitting within a transit stop while waiting for public or private transportation. Duly licensed sidewalk cafes are exempt from the sitting and unattended-belongings rules.

Under § 386-2, the Department of Code Enforcement, the Department of Public Works, and all City of Perth Amboy police officers are authorized to issue a summons for violation of the chapter. The prohibitions are written for any person on the public sidewalk. Separate subsections cover aggressive solicitation and solicitation near building entrances and bank entrances.