Irvington, NJ Public Conduct: Aggressive Panhandling (2026)

Section 439-6, carried into the current Code from the original 1981 recodification under Ordinance No. MC 2622 (formerly Section 139-6 of the 1981 Revised Code), sits in Chapter 439's Article I, Miscellaneous Offenses, among a cluster of street-conduct rules the Township Council has left unchanged since then. The operative text bars three overlapping acts: stationing yourself on the street to solicit alms, following pedestrians for that purpose, and soliciting alms on the streets unlawfully. The first two clauses single out tactics that make panhandling aggressive rather than passive, planting yourself in someone's path or trailing them along the sidewalk, rather than banning the act of asking for money outright.

Two neighboring sections reinforce the same street-conduct standard: Section 439-4 bars standing on sidewalks or street corners to make insulting remarks at passing pedestrians, and Section 439-3 bars jostling or crowding a person or placing a hand near a pocket or handbag, conduct that often accompanies persistent begging. None of the three is listed in the Article I dollar-amount fine schedule at Section 439-35, which sets specific penalties only for Sections 439-18, 439-19 and 439-28, so a Section 439-6 violation defaults to the Township's general penalty at Section 1-17. Enforcement of Chapter 439 rests with the Irvington Department of Public Safety.