Bergen County, NJ Public Conduct: Aggressive Panhandling (2026)

Article III, Section (ii) of the Bergen County Parks System Rules and Regulations bars two overlapping forms of begging. " Read together, the two subsections prohibit any request for money, whether framed as a donation, a purchase pitch, or alms, made to anyone on county park property, park visitor or Parks Department personnel alike. The rule draws no distinction between a passive request and an aggressive or repeated one; the text bans solicitation outright rather than only its more confrontational forms. It sits in the same lettered section as the separate ban on selling goods without written county permission (subsection B), but panhandling for money is barred with no permit path at all.

Bergen County Sheriff's Office deputies and designated Parks Department employees enforce Article III system-wide and may eject anyone soliciting alms or donations from county park property, with repeat violators facing a seasonal or lifetime ban from the parks. Because the Solicitation section carries no dedicated fine, a violation is punished under Article IX's general penalty provision.