Newark Begins Enforcing Ban on Barbed/Razor Wire. Hilarity Ensues (genghis)

The city of Newark, NJ has recently started to enforce a largely ignored 1966 law which bans barbed and razor wire, which businesses have put up in order to keep out burglars. It seems that passers-by on the sidewalk might get hurt by the pointy things that are 8 to 12 feet above them and also in order to beautify the city. Hopefully, Newark can return to its former glory as a tropical resort town now that all that nasty-looking wire is gone. However, as shocking and unpredictable as it seems, burglary rates have gone up 17% since 2007. Money quote:

” John DeSantis, owner of a lot used by an auto repair business in Newark's West Ward, says his property has been the site of more than a dozen burglaries since the summer, when the city forced him to remove razor wire on top of the 7-foot-tall fence that surrounds the lot.

"The bottom line was, they said, 'It doesn't look good and we want to create a new image for the city of Newark,'" DeSantis said.”

posted by xgenghisx at 08:38 PM

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