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Sept. 21, 2005

Mayor Cites Importance of Improved Safety and Privacy Protection

In the 11 months since Woodbridge Township’s “Do Not Knock” ordinance regulating door-to-door solicitation has been in effect, more than 2,500 residents have signed up to take advantage of its privacy protection, Mayor Frank G. Pelzman has announced.

Mayor Pelzman and 2 nd Ward Councilman Richard Dalinawill visit the Sept. 22 meeting of the AARP Iselin Chapter at Knights of Columbus Hall, 116 Grand Street, Iselin, at 1:30 p.m. to explain the program and pass out registration forms and decals on the spot.

Sponsored by Councilman Dalina in response to constituent concerns and by the 2004 murder of an Ocean County woman by a door-to-door magazine salesman, the ordinance allows residents to register their name and address with the Municipal Clerk for inclusion on a “Do Not Knock List” prohibiting peddlers, panhandlers, solicitors or canvassers to approach their homes and/or seek personal contact with the occupants of the registered home.

Once registered, residents receive a sticker to place on their doors identifying the residence as being on the Do Not Knock list. The list is available to solicitors when they register their activities with the Township. The address is off-limits to solicitations for three years, when the registration can be renewed.

“This ordinance has proven to be a win-win both for residents and for solicitors,” says Mayor Pelzman. “Residents can maintain their privacy, and solicitors will not waste their time contacting people who do not want to be solicited commercially.”

Residents can register at the Municipal Clerk’s Office in Town Hall or online at the Township web site: www.twp.woodbridge.nj.us.

“Several other municipalities throughout the state have passed similar measures,” says Councilman Dalina. “It is an ordinance that provides an extra measure of security to our residents.”