Controversial park fence near Penn Station, NJ, reportedly displaces homeless, residents

NEW JERSEY - There's a fence in Newark, New Jersey, that's sparking controversy among residents and lawmakers in the city. 

In Newark’s Ironbound section, Peter Francisco Park now sits behind a locked 8-foot iron fence on Ferry Street in order to prevent people from congregating near the monument. 

Some say they're grateful the fence is up, while others say it's a violation of residents' rights.

The decision by East Ward Councilman Michael Silva, has put local businesses against advocates for the hungry and homeless (who had often populated the park).

"Sometimes they stop here…and they do their stuff," one business owner said, describing unhoused people stopping to defecate nearby. 

"We really don't feel safe," the owner said. 

But others say the fence closes off the park to the public.

Jeffery Wild, a trustee with the New Jersey Coalition to End Homelessness, says "to just shut down a park without addressing any underlying problems is inhumane."

He says it's an infringement on taxpayers' constitutional rights.

"The public has the right to use a public park," Wild says, "It is unconstitutional to remove people from public land if they have no other option."

Councilman Silva says the park is open to anyone who needs it, with the proper paperwork, and a permit, of course. 

According to the Newark City Parks website, permits start at around $500 per event. 

The City Parks Foundation also maintains the right to refuse applications based on a variety of factors, according to the application. 

Where is Peter Francisco Park?

The park is a city square adjacent to Newark Penn Station at the Five Corners.

The park was established in the late 1960s by the Municipal Council of Newark and is named after Peter Francisco, a Portuguese-born American patriot and soldier in the American Revolutionary War. 

The fence has not reportedly solved the problem of homelessness and instead seems to have pushed people inside Newark Penn Station and two other nearby parks. 

FOX 5 reached out to the Coalition to End Homelessness on whether they plan to sue the city in order to reopen the park, but they said at this point that's not on the table.