Up next in 10
Tensions ran high at Summit City Hall as the city council debated Ordinance 11-8-71, which would restrict camping, sleeping, or storing belongings in public spaces—with penalties of up to $2,000 in fines or 90 days in jail. As FOX 5’s Jessica Formoso reports, more than 100 people packed the meeting, with advocates rallying outside in protest.
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Well, they're getting heated over homelessness in one New Jersey community, and it's all over
0:04
an ordinance that's generating a lot of controversy, leading to a packed City Hall meeting tonight
0:09
Fox High's Jessica Formoso is live in Summit, New Jersey with the very latest. Hi, Jess
0:14
Natasha, that's right. And that City Council meeting is going on at this hour. It started
0:19
roughly about 730. And as you mentioned, it is getting heated now. There was about 80 to 100
0:25
people. They actually had to use the hallway of City Hall to accommodate the overflow. Now
0:30
you know, the budget was on the list. That was the number one topic. But people came out
0:35
because of the ordinance 11871, a piece of legislation introduced in the last city council
0:42
meeting, which would restrict camping, sleeping, or storing belongings in public spaces with
0:47
penalties, including fines up to $2,000 or up to 90 days in jail. Tonight, the mayor of Summit
0:54
saying after much thought and speaking with service providers, advocates and others
0:59
they have amended the ordinance. We know the focus will now be on camping and unattended personal belongings
1:06
but at this hour we are still waiting to hear from the city council on the details of this amended ordinance
1:12
which means, you know, are there going to be penalties? If so, what are the penalties
1:15
The city council was originally set to vote on the original ordinance tonight
1:21
but like I said, they have amended it. Now, the mayor and city council addressing the crowd, saying this is about public safety
1:28
What we're talking about is a group of people that are pulling knives on kids
1:36
They deprecating and urinating on es They fighting with police They harassing residents They writing terroristic graffiti in the bathrooms of the train station
1:51
So I am going to... Now, before the meeting, homeless advocates gathered outside of City Hall to protest this ordinance saying there should be more housing, not handcuffing individuals
2:04
About 14 months ago, the mayor and homeless advocates created a homelessness task force to address the issue
2:10
The mayor saying at the time there were nearly 40 homeless individuals here in Summit
2:15
The task helped 21 of them, providing them with services and housing
2:20
According to advocates, right now they say the city has a population of five homeless individuals
2:26
They say this is not a crisis and the city should be helping them, not trying to criminalize them
2:31
Know that not only is criminalizing homelessness cruel, it is also ineffective and expensive
2:39
It costs up to three times more to pass an ordinance criminalizing homelessness and enforce that ordinance than it does to get people into housing
2:51
So like I said, this meeting is still going on now. We're up to the public comment portion, which there is a line
2:59
There's a lot of people who have something to say about this. So it could be another hour or two
3:04
It's going to be a long night here in Summit. But again, the city council has put aside the original ordinance and have amended the ordinance
3:13
Of course, we're still waiting for the details. Hopefully, we'll have those sometime tonight
3:18
That's the latest I have from Summit. I'm Jessica Formoso, Fox 5 News. Natasha
3:22
All right, Jess, thank you
#Crime & Justice
#news
#Other
#Local News