By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Ocean City’s stricter curfew on juveniles and a new nighttime ban on backpacks seemed to be successful in cutting down on rowdy teenage behavior during the Father’s Day weekend – the first big test of the tougher measures, city officials said.
“I’ve gotten a ton of calls saying that it feels like Ocean City again,” Councilman Tom Rotondi said of the town’s family-friendly atmosphere during a discussion of the curfew and backpack ban at a City Council meeting Thursday night.
Council approved the curfew and backpack ban on June 15 in response to an outburst of underage drinking, vandalism, shoplifting and assaults by unruly teens over Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the busy summer tourism season. Some teens became so inebriated that they fell unconscious and had to be revived by EMTs.
Juveniles must now be off the streets and Boardwalk by 11 p.m. unless they are accompanied by an adult or have a legitimate reason for staying out later, such as summer jobs or participating in organized activities. Previously, the juvenile curfew had been set at 1 a.m.
The city has also begun to close down the beaches at 8 p.m. as part of the crackdown on unruly behavior. In addition, Boardwalk bathrooms are now closed at 10 p.m.
Mayor Jay Gillian told Council that the beach curfew will be extended to 10 p.m. on the night of Fourth of July – and that night only – to allow residents and visitors to enjoy the city’s holiday fireworks display. The beach is traditionally one of the most popular spots for viewing the fireworks.
“We’re going to ask parents and guardians to keep an eye on their teens and make sure they’re not bringing alcohol down on the beach,” Gillian said of the holiday fireworks display. “We’ve just got to be aware of what’s going on. I think we’ve been doing a lot of good things. We want everybody to have fun. But I just don’t want for July Fourth to be where everyone’s going to be able to go crazy and do what they want.”
Meanwhile, the city’s new backpack ban covers juveniles and adults each night between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m. It will be in effect on the Boardwalk, beaches and beach street ends through Sept. 15. City officials say backpacks can be used by juveniles to hide alcoholic beverages, weapons or other contraband.
The backpack ban will not be universal. Exceptions will be made for police officers, members of the media, fishermen on the beach, people with medical devices and mothers using backpacks to carry such things as diapers.
City Council met in emergency session on June 15 to give the curfew and backpack ban final approval to fast-track them for Father’s Day weekend, traditionally a busy time at the shore as the summer season goes into high gear.
“I think we are getting the point that Ocean City’s not going to tolerate bad behavior anymore,” Gillian said.
City Business Administrator George Savastano characterized the curfew and backpack ban as a success over the Father’s Day weekend, especially when compared to the widespread rowdiness that occurred during Memorial Day weekend.
“We had our first test over Father’s Day weekend. Father’s Day was a good weekend. It changed the dynamics,” Savastano said in an interview after the Council meeting.
Overall, Savastano said there was a significant improvement over the Father’s Day weekend in curbing teen rowdiness.
“It had the designed effect,” he said. “To me, it was a significant change.”
Savastano, though, stressed that the tougher measures will not completely eliminate trouble from happening over the summer season, when Ocean City’s population explodes from about 11,000 year-round residents to 120,000 to 150,000 visitors and vacationers on peak weekends.
“It’s been very well-received. But it doesn’t eliminate issues,” Savastano said.
Ocean City has been among a number of shore towns that have struggled to contain rowdy behavior by large groups of teens or young adults for what is now the third summer in a row.
Elected officials and police chiefs at the shore towns have complained that Gov. Phil Murphy’s juvenile justice reforms have allowed teens to freely drink alcohol and smoke marijuana without fear of repercussions.
Gillian told Council that state lawmakers are working in bipartisan fashion on amended legislation to give police more power to deal with underage drinking. An amended bill that has been approved by a legislative committee would allow police to confiscate alcohol when they see teens drinking it in plain sight.
Currently, police can do little more than issue teens a warning for drinking alcohol or smoking marijuana in public.
Moreover, state law restricts police in how far they can go to investigate juveniles. It puts police at risk of being charged with a third-degree crime for depriving juveniles of their civil rights if they are searched without sufficient cause.
The amended legislation that lawmakers are working on now would remove the threat of police officers facing criminal charges for carrying out their duties when dealing with juveniles, Gillian said.
“I hope it gets through the Senate and Assembly. I’m hoping the governor signs it. Again, this is just one of those things, baby steps, but it will be huge for all of our seashore towns,” Gillian said of the impact of the amended legislation.
In other business at the Council meeting, City Solicitor Dorothy McCrosson reported that the developer of a proposed offshore wind farm will not be allowed to tear up Ocean City’s streets this summer to install an underground transmission line.
Ocean City and the Danish energy company Orsted have been battling in court over a city road-opening permit needed for a transmission line to connect the offshore wind turbines with the land-based electric grid at the former B.L. England power plant in Upper Township.
The city has argued that the underground transmission line would run through environmentally sensitive areas of the beach and wetlands while following a route along 35th Street. It refused to grant a road-opening permit allowing Orsted to dig up the streets.
Orsted sued the city for the permit. In a new ruling, the state Superior Court has ordered the city to give Orsted the permit. At the same time, the court agreed with the city’s arguments that construction work should not be done on 35th Street over the busy summer tourism season because it could cause a traffic hazard, McCrosson said.
Under the court ruling, Orsted cannot begin any work on Ocean City’s streets for the transmission line until Sept. 11, McCrosson said.
In an interview after the Council meeting, McCrosson said the city is discussing the possibility of appealing the court’s order for Ocean City to grant Orsted the road-opening permit.
Ocean City, Cape May County and Orsted are embroiled in a series of lawsuits over the proposed Ocean Wind 1 project that would be built 15 miles off the coast between Atlantic City and Stone Harbor, passing by Ocean City in the process.
County and city officials strongly object to the wind farm, maintaining that it would harm the environment, marine life, migratory birds, the tourism industry and commercial fishing operations. They also say the massive wind turbines would create a visual blight when viewed from land.
