2008 Woodie Awards
Hanging old sneakers for kicks, not for crime
by Katie Rogers
Issue date: 11/13/07 Section: News
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Cpl. Scott Simpson of the Newark Police Department said sneakers hanging on overhead street wires could have a variety of meanings, depending on the area in which they are found.
"It can mean there's criminal enterprise in the area, drug activity of a location where illegal narcotics are being sold," Simpson said.
Specifically in Newark, he said there has never been a correlation between illegal activity and sneakers on the wires.
"We've never had any connection or factual basis for this city," Simpson said. "Here, it's kind of like an urban legend. Kids have seen it done before, so they throw their sneakers up and don't really know what it means."
Senior Dan Zogg, a resident of North Chapel Street, is no stranger to the several pairs of sneakers found hanging over the telephone wire on his block. In fact, he has taken part in an on-going tradition of students throwing their sneakers over the wires.
"I can tell you who hung every pair up there," Zogg said. "The Nike Shox, the golf shoes, all of them."
He said he is unsure why the former residents of his house began this custom, however, he and his neighbors decided to follow suit. Every person who has lived in Zogg's house has thrown his or her sneakers each year.
"I have no clue why we do it," he said. "The kids who lived here last year did it, and I guess now it's a tradition."
Senior Matt McLaughlin said he noticed that the collection of sneakers on the wire near his home has increased in recent months.
"I've never heard of anything bad about them," McLaughlin said. "They're just kind of there. There's definitely been a few added since I moved here. There were two, now there's four."
Brittany Weirich, an employee at Sante Fe Mexican Grill on the corner of North Chapel Street, said the sneakers hanging nearby the restaurant gives the area a bad image.
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