NEWS / Panhandlers who harass customers out eating or drinking on Delray Beach’s fashionable Atlantic Avenue will be arrested and subject to criminal penalties.

After a heated debate in February, Delray Beach passed an ordinance banning panhandling in certain parts of the city but elected to have a six-month grace period before enacting punishments. The ordinance bans panhandling in about 6% of the city, much of it in the downtown area. The law prohibits panhandling within 20 feet of a restaurant and at any intersection, among other places.