Depending on the circumstance, what we consider to be “loitering” may not be illegal.

In 2009, Newark repealed its anti-loitering law to comply with an earlier state Supreme Court ruling that made it unenforceable. Since then, residents have asked what then is the answer to address groups hanging out in front of businesses, apartment buildings, and other high trafficked public areas making it hard, and sometimes seemingly unsafe, for residents to go about their day? The biggest question here is whether the “public passage ways are being obstructed?”