Seaside Heights & Seaside Park

Seaside Heights Looks to Spruce Up Stewart’s Property, With New Playground On The Way

by
Daniel Nee
April 9, 2025

A new municipal dock is completed in Seaside Heights, N.J., 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)

Seaside Heights officials are poised to begin working on a cleaner look for the borough’s bayfront area near Sunset Park, beginning with plans to clean up the area near the Stewart’s Root Beer restaurant stand, which will be situated next to the long-planned “inclusive” playground.

Borough council members discussed the plans after a resident brought up the condition of the area at a recent council meeting, stating the property looked unkempt. The property on which Stewart’s – and some other surrounding businesses – stands is owned by the borough and subject to a long-term lease that obligates the tenant to maintain the property. The playground is being built adjacent to the restaurant, which will require some shuffling – and cleanup – before installation is due this spring. Borough Administrator Anthony Vaz and Public Works Superintendent Billy Rombola recently met with the restaurant owner to brief him on the forthcoming work.

“I showed him the plan for the inclusionary playground and how the layout would be,” said Vaz. “The new restroom is going to be like a concrete block – single stall, family use, restrooms – but it’s going to go in the front of the building, looking at the building from the road. It’s the back of his building because of where the seating is, but it’s what faces Route 35.”

The inclusive playground has been planned for about two years, and will be built utilizing funding from “Jake’s Law,” a program the state previously offered to reimburse the costs of towns to construct playgrounds that simultaneously combined fun and engaging equipment for children with disabilities and without. The law sought to solve an issue where handicap-accessible playgrounds were often unappealing to typical children, while disabled children could not access much of the equipment in standard playgrounds. Seaside Heights is one of just a few Ocean County municipalities to offer an inclusive playground, which was approved for funding last year and will include the construction of new, clean restrooms alongside the playing equipment and relaxation areas.

The installation of the playground will necessitate some improvements near the restaurant.

“He’s got his walk-in refrigerator there, and he’s moving all of that,” said Vaz. “The whole section is going to be cleared out because we need it for the restroom, and it has to go there because that is where the sewer line is.”

Vaz said the restaurant owner pledged to complete his own maintenance on the property, including improvements to the building and repainting. Any refuse or other items will be removed.

A new municipal dock is completed in Seaside Heights, N.J., 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)

An ‘inclusive playground’ in Belmar, N.J. (Photo: MRC Recreation)

Equipment proposed for a new ‘inclusive playground’ at Sunset Beach in Seaside Heights. (Photo: Seaside Heights Borough)

The playground itself will likely be installed in time for the bulk of the 2025 summer tourism season, Mayor Anthony Vaz said, and the borough will ensure that the entire area around Sunset Park is squared away.

“I’m hoping that will be in place for June or July,” he said. “That will take care of the blight situation right then and there. He was told to correct the problem – it can no longer look like a junkyard. Under his lease, he maintains the cleanliness of that area.”

The playground will include many features that can be found in most playgrounds like swingsets, however they will be designed specifically to be accessible – and fun – for all children. For example, a spin-around attraction will allow wheelchairs to be loaded into the carrier for a quick ride, and “transfer decks” would likewise allow wheelchair access to swings and slides. The playground will also include spinning animal attractions, as well as sensory-optimized activities for children with autism and similar disabilities, plus wheelchair access to rides and revised grading to make the park more accessible.