Gazebo Removed from the Green in Newton

NEWTON, NJ – The Green in Newton has a different look with the removal of the gazebo this week. Newton Police Chief Steve VanNieuwland said the iconic symbol of the county park had become "a magnet" for bad behavior.

“From the first of the year to July 8 there were 61 police calls to the gazebo,” VanNieuwland said.

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That does not include regular policing when police officers patrolling the area would stop and intervene to prevent something from happening, dispersing people from the area, he said. He noted it as “a drain of police resources.”

He said the interior of the gazebo was defaced with graffiti.
“We have families with children who like to visit the park,” VanNieuwland said.  He said they cannot enjoy the park with the drinking and fighting and other behaviors that were happening at the gazebo.

A couple of homeless people who were using the gazebo were brought to social services, right across the street at the county offices, the chief said.

"Nobody wins," VanNieuwland said.

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