Charity challenged: arrests halted.

• Author: Doherty, Brian
• Position: Citings - Feeding the homeless - Brief article

A 90-YEAR-old man with an irrepressible yen to feed the homeless in Fort Lauderdale has won a temporary victory in his fight with the city, which had twice arrested him for doing so.

Arnold Abbott was alleged to be violating a new city ordinance barring public feeding of the homeless without meeting certain regulations, which would have required him to have a state-certified food service manager on site and to provide Porta-Johns. Abbott sued, challenging the ordinance by claiming it goes against a 2001 court decision protecting his charitable efforts. In early December, Broward County Circuit Judge Thomas Lynch granted a temporary stay on enforcing the rule until the dispute can be resolved.

Abbott...