{"id":4076,"date":"2020-05-07T03:21:13","date_gmt":"2020-05-07T07:21:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/?p=4076"},"modified":"2020-05-07T03:21:13","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T07:21:13","slug":"seaside-heights-boardwalk-will-look-very-different-this-summer-as-state-restrictions-expected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/2020\/05\/seaside-heights-boardwalk-will-look-very-different-this-summer-as-state-restrictions-expected\/","title":{"rendered":"Seaside Heights Boardwalk ‘Will Look Very Different’ This Summer, As State Restrictions Expected"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>

The Seaside Heights boardwalk on a busy night during the summer of 2019. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

Seaside Heights officials say they are expecting a slew of rules to accompany the unofficial start of summer in a few weeks, as state policymakers wrestle with the idea of how to open up major resort boardwalks across the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been made very clear to us that beaches and boardwalks will look very different this summer,\u201d said Borough Administrator Christopher Vaz. \u201cThey are not going to be the crowded boardwalks and beaches we are accustomed to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Officials hope to learn which regulations they will be facing on a call with the governor\u2019s staff that is expected to take place Thursday night. It is also expected that a policy will be released publicly by Monday detailing how tourist areas may be able to operate this summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe they are going to be looking for a 50 percent reduction in beach and boardwalk density,\u201d Vaz said, based on rumbling he\u2019s heard from Trenton. \u201cThey are very worried about boardwalks across the state. They seem to understand that we can control density on the beach very easily because there are gates and we sell badges, but there is an overwhelming concern about how boardwalks operate.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the rumors of density restrictions come to fruition, the borough is seeking state guidance on how to manage them \u2013 whether through limitations on parking, closing some portions of the beach or other measures to prevent overcrowding to the point where mandated social distancing is impossible.<\/p>\n

While some towns up and down the Jersey Shore are home to small, quiet beaches, major resort areas such as Seaside Heights, Ocean City and Wildwood present unique issues when it comes to social distancing. There is also the question as to whether summer rentals in motels will be allowed, as well as whether or not attractions such as retail shops, arcades, games of chance and restaurants may be able to operate this summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to worry about hiring people and we don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on,\u201d said Ron Bernknopf, owner of the Colony Motel in Seaside Heights, at a virtual meeting of the borough council held Wednesday. \u201cYou have to do something, people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The town, likewise, is facing a $4 million budget hole and may not be able to hire its usual level of staff even if the state allows some sort of reopening.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point, there is not a lot of hope that the federal government will ride in on a horse and give us money for our revenue gaps,\u201d said Vaz. \u201cThat\u2019s going to have a meaningful impact on how we operate. Our operations are going to be scaled to what we can afford. Maybe that will be easier if the governor\u2019s office says we have to reduce density.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>

An empty Seaside Heights boardwalk, March 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

Officials are juggling the concerns over public health as well as constant questions from business owners as to whether or not they will be able to support their families based on crucial summertime income.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re talking about rentals, we\u2019re talking about the opening of retail businesses, games of chance, everything,\u201d said Mayor Anthony Vaz. \u201cAll of it is very important, we\u2019re discussing it, and I\u2019m hoping Thursday night we\u2019ll have some answers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some residents are also concerned that with New York suffering the worst effects of the pandemic and a shutdown that eclipses New Jersey in some respects, crowds could overwhelm the small beach town. During a normal summer, up to 40,000 visitors come to the borough each weekend. The borough usually adds extra police officers to manage the population swell, but this year the training academy for part-time officers was shut down due to the virus.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we keep one section of the beach closed, I think that\u2019s when it\u2019s going to get too crowded in another area,\u201d said Marc Pollaro. \u201cWith New York being closed down, once we open, there\u2019s a chance it will get wild up there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Seaside Heights boardwalk on a busy night during the summer of 2019. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

Christopher Vaz, the borough administrator, said he expects the state to propose a phased reopening conditioned on the capacity for visitors to socially distance. The beach, perhaps, could open first, followed by the boardwalk. But until word comes from Gov. Phil Murphy, questions will remain as to how resort communities facing such major challenges can handle visitors. Vaz said, like police and public works crews, the number of lifeguards may be reduced this summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re going to have an open season, but I don\u2019t know what it\u2019s going to be like,\u201d Anthony Vaz, the mayor, said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to predict.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some business owners said they will try to help their fellow merchants and devise plans that could allow certain tourist-oriented businesses to meet social distancing demands.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand that everyone is under a lot of stress \u2013 it\u2019s a stressful time, but we have to become creative,\u201d said Genevieve DiFilippo, the co-owner of an Italian restaurant on the Boulevard. \u201cHow do we get businesses from the boardwalk to an area where they can be successful too?\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, the waiting game continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe on Thursday night, I will learn what the governor has in store for us,\u201d Christopher Vaz said. \u201cI really believe that by Friday or Monday, we will have something \u2013 an executive order or administrative order \u2013 that tells us how we do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Seaside Heights officials say they are expecting a slew of rules to accompany the unofficial start of summer in a few weeks, as state policymakers wrestle with the idea of how to open up major resort boardwalks across the state. \u201cIt\u2019s been made very clear to us that beaches and boardwalks will look very different […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,17],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-4076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-ocean-county-news","tag-toms-river-nj-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_5413-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}