{"id":14711,"date":"2023-09-08T05:17:28","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T09:17:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/?p=14711"},"modified":"2023-09-08T05:17:28","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T09:17:28","slug":"seaside-heights-battled-phony-beach-badges-handicap-placards-despite-thriving-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/2023\/09\/seaside-heights-battled-phony-beach-badges-handicap-placards-despite-thriving-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"Seaside Heights Battled Phony Beach Badges, Handicap Placards Despite Thriving Summer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>

The Seaside Heights Beach Control\/badge station. (Photo: Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n

Seaside Heights reported one of its best revenue-producing years ever for its beaches in 2023 \u2013 money that will be re-invested into beach and boardwalk maintenance \u2013 but tackled scams all season long involving both phony beach badges and handicap parking placards.<\/p>\n

The borough generated $2,458,956 in beach badge sales for the season, as calculated the day after Labor Day weekend saw a close to the busiest time of year in town; parking revenue was not immediately available. In all, officials said, it was a good season \u2013 arrests for criminal offenses were down, revenue kept pace with last year\u2019s total of $2,471,000, and attendance at events impressed organizers. But not every crime makes headlines or ends up with someone in handcuffs \u2013 that doesn\u2019t mean, however, that they are not embarrassing.<\/p>\n

Officials said this season they saw, for the first time, people trying to pass counterfeit beach badges \u2013 usually daily wristbands \u2013 as legitimate. Led by a particular parking enforcement officer, the borough also embarked on a major crackdown on the use of counterfeit handicap parking placards.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Seaside Heights Beach Control\/badge station. (Photo: Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cOnce we started noticing it, spotting them became like a sport, like whack-a-mole,\u201d Borough Administrator Christopher Vaz said, of the phony wristbands. \u201cWe had some homeowners out there getting on a computer with a laser printer, scanner and taking last year\u2019s badges and superimposing the logos and colors.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are a few year-to-year changes to badges, however, and some eagle-eyed badge checkers were able to bust the scofflaws. By season\u2019s end, there were about a dozen \u201ccaptures\u201d and the offenders were issued summonses.<\/p>\n

Handicap Parking Crackdown<\/strong><\/p>\n

Taking away an opportunity for a disabled person to enjoy a day at the beach became an issue that caught the attention of one parking enforcement officer this season, who brought the issue to Chief Tommy Boyd, who agreed a crackdown on phony placards was a quality-of-life issue worth focusing on this season.<\/p>\n

\"Disabled<\/a>

Image from Wikimedia<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

The scam isn\u2019t new, but technology has made it easier than ever before for some people to get away with.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was done by the mob many years ago, but today they do it online,\u201d Boyd said. \u201cYou select your state and they mail it out to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Officers this summer would enforce the placard by checking its registration number. If the person was willing to turn over the fake placard, they were issued a $250 ticket and sent on their way. But if they refused, they were subject to prosecution under state law.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a crime \u2013 we can charge you criminally if you have a fake card,\u201d said Boyd. \u201cWe don\u2019t like to do that, but we do issue them a fine unless they don\u2019t turn them over, then they may be charged criminally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boyd said the police cannot tow the vehicle, \u201cbut we can run the number on it so we know who it\u2019s registered to.\u201d At one time, he said, police departments across New Jersey were aggressive in enforcing handicap parking credentials, but it\u2019s lagged in recent times.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re probably the first town in the state of New Jersey that\u2019s cracking down on these stickers in a while,\u201d said Boyd, with well over 100 having been confiscated and word getting out online that the practice isn\u2019t tolerated in Seaside Heights. \u201cWe\u2019ve cut down on that immensely. One guy we caught this weekend said he had a 104-year-old mother with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Quality-of-Life Issue<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always a scheme, and you try to do what you can about it,\u201d said Mayor Anthony Vaz. \u201cYou can send away for the handicap placards, people print up the wristbands. We\u2019ve issued summonses, court appearances and more.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the issues police heard the most complaints about this summer was illegal smoking on the beach and boardwalk \u2013 especially the pungent odor of marijuana smoke. Having a dedicated corps of seasonal officers patrolling the boardwalk and beach area, led by a sergeant dedicated to enforcement in the tourism zone, aided in enforcing the state\u2019s clean air statute.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve written the most tickets ever on the beach for smoking,\u201d said Boyd. \u201cSo, we\u2019re down for arrests, but we focused on quality-of-life this summer and were active and up a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n