[Adopted 7-10-1905 by Ord. No. 60-1905]
[1]
Editor’s Note: The title of this article was changed from Disorderly Conduct Generally to Prohibited/Illegal Conduct Generally 2-22-2012 by Ord. No. 10-2012.
[Added 7-17-1941 by Ord. No. 7-1941; amended 5-12-2010 by Ord. No. 27-2010]
For the purposes of this article, the use of the masculine pronoun shall be deemed to apply to the feminine, and vice versa. The use of the singular number shall be deemed to apply to the plural. The use of the word "person" shall be deemed to apply to individuals, copartnerships and corporations. The mandatory terms "must" and "shall" are each mandatory terms used to express a requirement or to impose a duty. The prohibitory terms "must not" and "may not" are each mandatory negative terms used to establish a prohibition. The term "may" is permissive.
[Amended 7-5-1979 by Ord. No. 38-1979; 8-28-1991 by Ord. No. 57-1991; 12-29-2003 by Ord. No. 72-2003; 5-12-2010 by Ord. No. 27-2010]
A. 
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
AGGRESSIVELY BEG
Speaking or following a person in a manner that would cause a reasonable person to fear bodily harm or the commission of a criminal act upon the person or upon property upon the person's immediate possession or would intimidate another person into giving money or goods.
ASK, BEG OR SOLICIT ALMS
To ask for money or goods as a charity, whether by words, bodily gestures, signs or other means.
PEDESTRIAN OR VEHICULAR INTERFERENCE
To walk, stand, sit, lie or place an object in such a manner as to block passage by another person or vehicle, or to require another person or a driver of a vehicle to take evasive action to avoid physical contact. Acts authorized pursuant to the City's picketing and parade ordinances and regulations are exempt from this article.
PUBLIC PLACE
An area generally visible to public view and includes the Boardwalk, alleys, bridges, buildings, driveways, parking lots, parks, plazas, sidewalks and streets opened to the general public, including those that serve food or drink or provide entertainment, and the doorways and entrances to buildings, shops or dwellings and the grounds enclosing them.
B. 
[1]Prohibited acts. No person may ask, beg or solicit alms, including money and other things of value, in an aggressive manner in any public place. Acts authorized as an exercise of one's constitutional right to picket, the right to legally protest, any acts authorized by permit or parades issued pursuant to the Code of the City of Atlantic City shall not constitute obstruction of pedestrian or vehicular traffic.
(1) 
A person is guilty of pedestrian interference if, in a public place, within 25 feet of the entrance of any store, shop, restaurant, luncheonette or any place of business, that person remains idle, loiters, asks for alms, begs for alms, or solicits for alms in a manner which is designed to intentionally obstruct pedestrian or vehicular traffic or if that person aggressively begs.[2]
[Amended 6-19-2019 by Ord. No. 17-2019]
[2]
Editor's Note: Ordinance No. 31-2016, adopted 7-13-2016, provided for a fine of $54 for aggressive begging.
(2) 
No person may ask, beg or solicit alms in any public transportation vehicle or at any bus or train station or stop.
(3) 
No person may ask, beg or solicit alms within 100 feet of any automatic teller machine (ATM).
(4) 
No person may ask, beg or solicit alms from any operator or occupant of a motor vehicle that is in traffic on a public street.
(5) 
No person may ask, beg or solicit alms from any operator or occupant of a motor vehicle on a public street in exchange for blocking, occupying or reserving a public parking space or directing the operator or occupant to a public parking space.
(6) 
No person may ask, beg or solicit alms in exchange for cleaning motor vehicle windows while the vehicle is in traffic on a public street.
(7) 
No person may ask, beg or solicit alms in exchange for protecting, watching, washing, cleaning, repairing or painting a motor vehicle or bicycle while it is parked on a public street.
(8) 
No person may ask, beg or solicit alms on private property or residential property without permission from the owner or occupant.
(9) 
No person may ask, beg or solicit alms between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.[3]
[3]
Editor's Note: Ordinance No. 31-2016, adopted 7-13-2016, provided for a fine of $54 for sleeping in public.
(10) 
[4]No person may ask, beg or solicit alms within 100 feet of a bank or check cashing.
[Added 8-23-2023 by Ord. No. 51-2023]
[4]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection B(10), prohibiting asking, begging or soliciting alms within 25 feet of the entrance or exit of any business, was repealed 6-19-2019 by Ord. No. 17-2019. See now Subsection B(1).
(11) 
No person may ask, beg or solicit alms from an operator or occupant of a motor vehicle when such vehicle is stopped in a gasoline station or at a gasoline pump.
[Added 8-23-2023 by Ord. No. 51-2023]
(12) 
No person may ask, beg or solicit alms from an operator or occupant of a motor vehicle when such vehicle is stopped at a drive-through window of any store, shop, restaurant, or any place of business.
[Added 8-23-2023 by Ord. No. 51-2023]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection B, Permits, was repealed 5-4-2016 by Ord. No. 22-2016. This ordinance also redesignated former Subsection C as Subsection B.
[Amended 7-17-1941 by Ord. No. 7-1941; 9-24-1942 by Ord. No. 18-1942]
A. 
No person shall keep, manage, maintain, reside in, frequent or be an inmate of a disorderly house or house of ill fame, or permit his or her house, hotel, shop, saloon or other building or place to be used, frequented or occupied by or resorted to by riotous or disorderly persons, vagrants, prostitutes, common mendicants, palmists, fortune tellers, persons who, for gain, assume to foretell destinies, pickpockets, thieves, burglars, swindlers, confidence men, or other criminals or persons who bear a bad reputation, nor shall any person make or assist in making or take active part in any riot, noise, quarrel, brawl or disturbance at any house, hotel, saloon, shop, store or other building or place, either public or private.
B. 
No person shall, within the limits of the City of Atlantic City, be a common thief, procurer or pickpocket, common nightwalker, common prostitute or common procurer.
C. 
No person shall, by word, act, sign or any device, invite or solicit unlawful sexual intercourse or any other unlawful, indecent, lewd or lascivious act.
D. 
Any such person shall be deemed to be a disorderly person, and such person shall be subject to the penalties provided by this article.
No person shall, within the boundaries of the City of Atlantic City, carelessly or recklessly drop, throw, cast or strike with any stick, stone brick, ball, snowball or other missile or projectile of any kind whatsoever, in a manner doing injury to, or likely or calculated or intended to do injury to, another person or property; and no person shall, while on the lands oceanward of the Boardwalk, or on the public highway in said city, pitch, throw, toss or project any baseball or other ball, projectile or missile whatsoever.
No person shall engage in any practice, sport, gymnastics, game or exercise or do any other act having a tendency to frighten horses or other animals; or to any persons in the streets or on the sidewalks, or the lands oceanward of the Boardwalk, or other public places in said City, or which cause or tend to cause crowds to gather or collect, and so cause obstruction of, or impeding of, travel on streets, sidewalks or other such places or which interfere with the comfort of persons upon or in any such places.
[Added 8-14-2024 by Ord. No. 43-2024]
Except for City personnel/contractors or permitted personnel/contractors or medical or law enforcement personnel responding to an emergency, it shall be unlawful for any person to gain access to electric utility poles within the City of Atlantic City. This section shall not be subject to the provisions of § 204-30.
No person shall take plants or flowers or other things from, or mutilate in any manner, any property, real or personal, public or private, or write, paste, post or place in any manner any obscene or vulgar words, phrases, languages, pictures, drawings, prints, lithographs or characters on any wall, house, fence, signboard, billboard or other structure; nor shall any person make any indecent or lewd exposures of themselves or peep or look upward through apertures or openings in the Boardwalk or other elevated walks in said City while persons are walking or standing thereon.
[Added 2-22-2012 by Ord. No. 10-2012[1]; 5-4-2016 by Ord. No. 25-2016]
A. 
No person shall sleep in the streets, parks or any other public place within the City of Atlantic City. For the purposes of this article, the requisite purpose of sleeping shall be presumed when someone is sitting or lying on or upon the surface of the Boardwalk, on or under the Boardwalk railings or under the Boardwalk itself. The requisite purpose of sleeping shall also be presumed when someone has erected or located a temporary structure in the streets, including on or upon the surface of the Boardwalk, under the Boardwalk, parks or any other public place within the City of Atlantic City, including but not limited to tents, canopies, and any other membrane structures without permit. The placement or erection of a tent is strictly prohibited in any public area.[2]
[Amended 12-20-2023 by Ord. No. 72-2023]
[2]
Editor's Note: Ordinance No. 31-2016, adopted 7-13-2016, provided for a fine of $54 for sleeping in public.
B. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to urinate or defecate in any public place, except in such places as may be provided for such use.
C. 
No person shall appear or travel on any street, avenue, highway, road, boardwalk, beach, beachfront or waterway located within the City of Atlantic City or appear in any public place, store or any business open to the public in said City in a state of nudity. For purposes of this section, a person shall be considered in a state of nudity when clothing or absence thereof completely exposes to public view a person's anus, genitals or female breasts.
(1) 
This section shall not apply to a woman's breastfeeding of a baby, whether or not the nipple or areola is exposed during or incidental to the feeding.
[1]
Editor’s Note: This ordinance also redesignated former §§ 204-29 and 204-30 as §§ 204-30 and 204-30.1, respectively.
Any officer or member of the Police Department or Police Force shall have the power and authority to arrest, without warrant, any person found by him violating any of the provisions of this article or committing any of the acts herein specially or generally set forth.
[Amended 7-17-1941 by Ord. No. 7-1941; 2-1-1989 by Ord. No. 2-1989; 11-25-2008 by Ord. No. 104-2008]
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction in the Municipal Court of the City of Atlantic City, be punished for each offense by a fine not to exceed $2,000 or by imprisonment for any term not exceeding 90 days in the county jail or in any place provided by the municipality for the detention of prisoners, or both.