Lynn schools loiter-free zones

LYNN – City Councilors passed a 24/7 loitering ordinance Tuesday to better protect students from reported gang members roaming around school property vying for their attention.Under the amendment to the ordinance, loitering is prohibited within 1,000 square feet of a school zone in the city.Lynn police now have the power to arrest any person found in violation of the amendment without a warrant any time of the day and impose a $300 fine for each offense as well as 50 hours of community service.A rash of reported gang activity and gang recruitment at Thurgood Marshall Middle School originally prompted Principal Richard Cowdell to seek out help from Ward 3 Councilor Darren Cyr on the matter.The Ordinance Committee passed the amendment to the council in March and placed an emergency on it so that schools could immediately put the ordinance to work before the council officially passed it.”We’ve been very pleased with the progress we’re seeing inside the school, but outside of it and in the neighborhood is not quite always a safe situation,” Cowdell said. “This will help keep kids safe before, after and during school.”Superintendent of Schools Nicholas Kostan applauded the ordinance and said it’s an effective tool for police to have in their power.”It will help keep schools safer and it’s really in the best interest of the students,” he said.Cyr said the biggest plus about the ordinance is that police have the power to arrest loiterers, especially with the warmer months approaching when incidents typically tend to escalate.”It really gives them (police) more of a bite and they can arrest the loiterers right on the spot,” he said.Originally proposed to be 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after school, Cyr amended the ordinance to be 24 hours a day, seven days a week to make sure school grounds are adequately protected.The ordinance applies to anyone acting unreasonably, endangering pedestrians or motor vehicle traffic on streets, sidewalks, playgrounds, schoolyards, parks or any other public place.