Dear Friends,
With a month to go before Memorial Day, contractors are working to wrap up spring road projects.
- Installation of new pipelines for the emergency sewer repair on West Avenue is complete from 9th Street to 14th Street, and temporary paving of that section is expected to be complete by the end of next week, weather permitting. The final section of that project from the 14th Street intersection to 16th Street will be complete by Memorial Day.
- Concrete work on a repaving project on West Avenue from 18th Street to 26th Street was finished today, and final paving will begin shortly.
- New Jersey American Water completed its pipeline work in advance of a repaving project on West Avenue from North Street to 9th Street, and the city’s contractor will begin work next week.
- Final paving of West 17th Street was completed today. The last phase of this major neighborhood drainage project will be the installation and activation of floodwater pumps to help mitigate tidal flooding.
- Work on the Merion Park flood mitigation project continues to make good progress, and the city tentatively plans to allow the contractor to work into the summer.
- A major repair to the elevator at City Hall will start on Monday, and public meetings that are typically held in Council Chambers on the third floor will be moved to new locations for May. You can check times and locations at ocnj.us/meetings.
- Remediation of contaminated soil at the city’s new open space along the 1600 block of Haven Avenue is underway and is on schedule to be complete within 6 to 8 weeks.
- Our Public Works team began placing beach mats last week, and our spring beach cleaning and maintenance work is on track to be complete well before Memorial Day.
Boyar’s Market celebrated its 100th anniversary today with a “grand re-opening” ceremony earlier today. I want to congratulate the owners and the entire Boyar’s team for achieving this milestone. Businesses like Boyar’s have become part of the fabric of Ocean City, and they’re what make our town such a special place to live and to visit. I hope you all will join me in wishing Boyar’s the best for their next century in town.
The Ocean City Police Department will participate in the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day tomorrow (Saturday, April 27) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Anybody is invited to drop off unneeded medications — those that are old, unwanted, or expired — that can become a gateway to addiction. More information is available here.
Ocean City will be host to the Special Olympics’ New Jersey Area 8 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties) Track and Field Meet on Sunday (April 28) at Carey Stadium. Athletes will compete in this meet in hopes of qualifying for the Special Olympics New Jersey State Summer Games held at The College of New Jersey from June 7 to June 9. I want to encourage everybody to come out and cheer on the athletes in the meet. The parade of athletes starts at 9:45 a.m. and the meet at 10 a.m. with events running through 3 p.m. Special Olympics events will always be welcome in Ocean City, and I want to show our full support.
Wednesday is May 1, and that means some seasonal changes in our local ordinances. I want to remind everybody that dogs will not be permitted on the beach until after September 30. Many local intersections will now restrict right turns on red. And our city team will soon begin activating parking meters for the season.
Registration for summer recreation programs opens at 9 a.m. Wednesday (May 1), and information is available now at ocnj.us/summer-recreation-programs. Many of the programs fill up quickly, so to take a look at what’s available and be ready to register through our RecDesk system (ocnj.recdesk.com) or in-person at the Ocean City Community Center (1735 Simpson Avenue).
These are all good signs that another summer is fast approaching. I hope you all have a great weekend.
Warm regards,
Mayor Jay A. Gillian
