Ocean City, New Jersey has taken pride in being a family friendly and dry town since 1879. However, recent events are being taken as a preview of what may come during the summer.
On Saturday, May 25, a 15-year-old boy was stabbed during a fight between Ninth and Tenth Streets on the Ocean City boardwalk. Ocean City police and firefighters rushed him to the Atlantic City Regional Medical Center; it was later reported that the boy is safe and in a stable condition.
Fights and violence are a recurring issue, starting Memorial Day weekend and not ending until school starts in September. Many people that vacation or live in Ocean City resent the crime that occurs. City Mayor Jay Gillian has stated that he has had enough of the shoplifting, fights, and drinking that start to take place Memorial Day weekend.
In the past two years Ocean City has gotten stricter on boardwalk rules. In 2023, a new regulation closed beaches at 8:00 p.m. in order to stop beach parties. A strict no bags allowed policy was set for minors on the boardwalk after 8:00 p.m. as well.
During Memorial Day weekend, fights and threats occurred in all towns along the Jersey Shore, not just Ocean City. Due to these threats, Ocean City’s mayor and law enforcement have set new curfews for minors. These curfews state that minors have to be home by 10:30 p.m. from October 1 to May 15 and 1:00 a.m. from May 16 to September 30.
Ocean City curfews will be lifted at 6:00 a.m. all year round. However, these curfews do not apply to any minor accompanied by a parent or guardian.
The Ocean City boardwalks seem to get stricter and stricter by the year. In summer of 2023, there were police officers stationed on most of the boardwalk connected streets checking for bags and looking for suspicious behavior. This is only going to escalate as behavior worsens.
As the Ocean City boardwalk and town gets stricter, two problems are bound to surface.
One of these problems is teenagers traveling to other towns along the Jersey shore to drink and cause havoc. This will create fewer fights in Ocean City, but in the long run, the fights will continue – just in different locations.
If this migration of teens happens along the Jersey shore another problem will unfold.
The stores throughout the Ocean City boardwalk are likely to lose customers. Most of the Ocean City shops are small businesses or reliant on teenagers to buy their products. If they do not have this clientele, they will lose money and may eventually shut down.
The only way to fix the violence, drinking, and migration of teens is to hold them accountable. If one or more people are taken into custody for infractions such as public intoxication or the harm of others, more teenagers will be scared to make these decisions.
Making the boardwalk stricter will only heighten the fights in other towns. The Ocean City police have a reputation of letting teenagers off with a warning, and due to this, teens are starting to get away with more without being held responsible for their actions.
People are being hurt due to the actions of others in Ocean City, but there are ways to avoid it that should be implemented.
