Being as I did not grow up in Philadelphia, I don’t have any warm, childhood memories of the Shore, such as those memorialized by my friend Bobby Rydell in his hit “Wildwood Days.”
For me, “the Shore” was the beach, first Orchard Beach on Long Island when I lived in The Bronx, and then the famous Coney Island, after my family moved to Brooklyn. These were day trips, but we never used the term shoobies.
When I got to Philly, I would be more likely to go to the Poconos than downashore. I had young children, it was cheaper, and there were more things to do.
Eventually, my job at the Daily News required me to go to the Shore on assignment, and I had a few friends with Shore houses where I was an occasional guest. I guess the most consistent fun I had was turning up at Jerry Blavat’s Memories in Margate.
From 1987 to 2004, I wrote an infamous gossip/entertainment column that required me to cover Atlantic City, where I first met and interviewed future President Donald J. Trump, long before his TV success.
I considered him to be an entertaining blowhard who lied a lot, but he was colorful, and good copy, because people were interested in his antics — whether with women or with Merv Griffin, with whom he engaged in a titanic struggle to see who would become the Biggest Dick in A.C. (Trump won.)
Anyway, around that time I learned about the different character of the Shore towns — from Atlantic City, through the Wildwoods, all the way to Cape May. (Thank you, Cozy Morley.)
Two things I learned about Ocean City: It was for families, and it was dry. No alcohol sold in the city limits.
So it was a little surprising to read about Memorial Day weekend disturbances in that community by teens, often involving alcohol. The Friday Inquirer carried a story detailing the disturbances, but minus one fact that had been previously reported — a state directive.
The newspaper summarized the issue this way: “According to police, there were 999 incidents over the past weekend, the majority involving underage people, ranging from underage drinking, vandalism, assaults, shoplifting, and confiscation of weapons like knives, burglary tools, and a BB gun — up from 869 incidents last year.”
Ocean City has ordered everyone off the beaches by 8 p.m., and no backpacks on the beach or boardwalk after that hour. Everyone suffers for the sins of the few, but 999 doesn’t sound like a few.
In fact, disturbances are common up and down the Jersey Shore, and getting worse.
Why?
Shore officials point to a December 2020 state directive, in the wake of the so-called reckoning following George Floyd’s murder, that scaled back police response to disorderly conduct. They say it has harmed public safety.
In the directive, State Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal, cited the 2003 “Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI), which transformed the state’s juvenile justice system and largely eliminated the chronic, dangerous overcrowding that plagued our state’s juvenile detention facilities.”
He said “the total number of juveniles in detention per year has dropped by 80 percent, from about 12,000 to less than 2,500, with youth of color accounting for almost 90 percent of the decline.”
Speaking of “youth of color,” that’s what you do not find in Ocean City, nor are the youth marginalized, nor victims of poverty. They are the victims of parents who can afford $3,000 for a one-week house rental.
The directive calls for “curbside warnings” for delinquency, rather than arrest. Sounds good, but word gets out that cops are instructed to give delinquents a good talking to and nothing more and the kids thumb their noses at police.
“Ocean City Police Chief Jay Prettyman noted that this past weekend marked an uptick in fights and underage drinking from last year, which sent eight underage people to the hospital who were unconscious due to alcohol consumption,” the Inquirer reported.
“We want parents, grandparents and families to know that we’re all in this together, and we will be holding people accountable,” Mayor Jay Gillian said. “I also want to send a message to our governor and legislators that the laws they forced on all municipalities are a threat to public safety, and they deprive families of the opportunity to enjoy the Jersey Shore,” reported the Cape May Herald.
The state directive, no doubt written with the best of intentions, seems to have unintended consequences.
Looks like some NJ beach towns are finding out that the ideas of the progressive, liberal, democrats aren’t working out. The WOKE mentality is hurting the shore towns and destroying our cities. Let’s see what the snooty Ocean City NJ crowds thinks of their kingdom being disrupted. It’s fine if we have to put up with it but it gets serious when it affects them and their mansions.
This Woke law came from the NJ AG, not from Ocean City.
Two thoughts on this newsletter Stu. One is, there is no substitute for good parenting. Good parents usually (not always) leads to better decisions by their teens. The second is “top down governing”. Just as the Federal government doesn’t always get it right for the 50 states which they oversee, state governments don’t always get it right for the hundreds of municipalities. Wasn’t it Tip O’Neill who said that all politics is local? Let the localities set the laws as they see fit, and then the state, or the Fed, can step in if their deemed overly onerous.
Yes, Tip did say that and local people best understand local problems and solutions.
Stu—-
Anybody with a brain saw this coming. The liberal governor handcuffing local police ends in the “Everybody gets a trophy!” crowd not being held accountable. Ocean City, Margate, Sea Isle.
Until the troublemakers AND THEIR PARENTS are held accountable it will continue to get worse. Put the enforcement back into law enforcement.
Law is a joke without enforcement.
Solid and timely blog that pinpoints the statewide policy that started the decline in civility (at least what did exist). Given recent Ocean City actions, might I suggest that JR (1st listed comment) actually visit OC and observe that it is not all mansions. I spent my summers during the mid to late 1950s at my grandparents house, selling the now long gone Philadelphia Bulletin on the beaches and in the early evenings to the lines waiting outside restaurants (repetitive trips up and down the line, politely asking “Paper, Sir?”. It was the 1950s and one did not directly speak to a gentleman’s woman.
I enjoyed that slice of Americana — one did not speak directly to a woman!
And now some poor fools can’t say what a woman is. ☺️
“My son, the daughter.”
Ocean City Police has put out public announcements that criminal juvenile behavior will no longer be tolerated. They should add to their announcement that under age possession, transportation or consuming alcohol will result in arrest and fines. Arrests for misdemeanor crimes can effect the college student’s scholarship. Secondly, the municipal courts will notify Penn DOT and NJ DOT of the juveniles arrests. This notification will result in a driver’s license suspension for six months. Thirdly, the suspension will cause the auto insurance policy to rise significantly for the juvenile due to the suspension. This type of public announcement and enforcement may give the parents a warning to better monitor there kids behavior. Woke policy or lack of enforcement of laws interferes with our pursuit of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
You have suggested several ideas worthy of discussion.
An enforced under aged drinking conviction counts as a DUI under NJ law, even if that person has yet to get a drivers license. All that comes with a DUI, including (eventual) insurance premium increases included.
Enforced being the operative word.
A walk along the OC boardwalk in the evening will appall. Teens and slightly older, roaming in packs, noisy and vulgar, slovenly clothed and edgy in their obvious seeking of trouble. Just another reminder of how far our nation has fallen in civility, and what ‘progressivism’ has wrought.
Excellent comment, Stu. Don’t you find it ironic that the same OC types who look at Wildwood with disdain are having more problems than any other shore town? Also, appreciate the Cozy reference. He was my first cousin.
As an aside, would love to hear your thoughts on SEPTA banning face masks after making them mandatory for so long.
I don’t know enough about the Shore to evaluate fairly what’s going on.
Cozy was a great guy.
The masks being banned now are not like the medical masks, they are more like ski masks, or balaclava. Tough ban to enforce. Will driver stop bus and dial 911 if a passenger refuses to remove?
Grew up in Port Washington LI in the the 50’s. Orchard Beach, Jones Beach & Manor Haven Beach
Never went to Manor Haven, but my section of The Bronx was Mott Haven.