Edison, NJ Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

Section 10-5.2 is a single, long sentence that bundles several distinct public-order offenses under one number. It first bars loitering 'in the streets or highways or in other public or quasi-public places.' It then separately reaches speech, barring anyone from uttering 'loud, offensive or indecent language' in those same public and quasi-public places, and extends that language ban onto private property too, but only where the language is 'audible to the public beyond the confines of the private property,' so speech confined to one's own house or yard is not reached. The section also bars 'offensive or improper gestures to any person or persons on such streets, highways or public places' and, as a catch-all, bars conducting oneself 'in any manner contrary to public decency.' A final independent clause bans trespassing 'upon the property of another without permission of the owner, occupant or lessee,' which functions as Edison's general trespass prohibition separate from the loitering and language clauses that precede it.

Because loitering, indecent language, offensive gestures, and trespass are all folded into the same numbered section, an officer can charge any of them under § 10-5.2 without needing a separate ordinance. The section sits in the same Public Peace and Decency article as § 10-5.1's public-drinking clause and § 10-5.5's indecent-exposure ban, and, like those provisions, it does not define 'loiter' or 'quasi-public place' beyond their plain, ordinary meaning.