{"id":4127,"date":"2020-05-28T00:03:46","date_gmt":"2020-05-28T04:03:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/?p=4127"},"modified":"2020-05-28T02:53:52","modified_gmt":"2020-05-28T06:53:52","slug":"motel-owner-be-ready-for-the-bankruptcies-in-seaside-heights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/2020\/05\/motel-owner-be-ready-for-the-bankruptcies-in-seaside-heights\/","title":{"rendered":"Motel Owner: ‘Be Ready for the Bankruptcies’ in Seaside Heights"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Seaside<\/a>

Seaside Heights during the coronavirus pandemic, May 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

Butch Heffernan usually prepares for the early summer season by getting his Seaside Heights motel in top shape before Memorial Day weekend arrives. This year, he was writing checks.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, I was writing checks to 36 different parties, returning their deposits in full,\u201d said Heffernan, and that covers just one solitary weekend.<\/p>\n

Seaside Heights motel owners say the borough\u2019s cap on capacity could run them out of business. The policy is driven by a state directive that requires a limitation on the number of dwelling units that can be rented under Gov. Phil Murphy\u2019s social distancing orders. In some towns where there are few motel rooms compared to condominiums and single-family homes, motels can operate at a high capacity. But in Seaside Heights, where blocks of motels make up hundreds of dwelling units, the cap means that a higher proportion of rooms cannot be legally rented. To comply with the state\u2019s cap, for the remainder of May, no motels room rentals are allowed. Beginning June 1, 25 percent of rooms can be rented, and the town hopes to bump the number to 50 percent either June 30 or sooner, depending on issues ranging from police staffing to the status of coronavirus spread.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of my June rentals have disappeared,\u201d said Jeff Loundy, owner of the Sunrise Motel on the Boulevard. Upon hearing of closures, his customer base has dwindled, he told the borough\u2019s mayor and council during a meeting last week. \u201cSo to get to 50 percent in my capacity, I don\u2019t know how it\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steve Whalen, co-owner of the famous Lucky Leo\u2019s arcade, said he visited Florida recently and witnessed their first-stage of reopening, and fears it may be too late to salvage the 2020 season at the Jersey Shore.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s wide open, but I have to tell you, I\u2019ve been out to dinner and lunch two or three times, and they missed their season,\u201d said Whelan. \u201cWe haven\u2019t gone into a place yet that was 50 percent full. I sure hope we don\u2019t miss our season.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Seaside<\/a>

Seaside Heights during the coronavirus pandemic, May 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Seaside<\/a>

Seaside Heights during the coronavirus pandemic, May 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

The borough\u2019s business owners pleaded for tax relief since they cannot legally open. Lucky Leo\u2019s is closed completely under the governor\u2019s executive order shutting down amusement arcades, and the motel owners say they might not be able to pay their bills with just a quarter or a half number of rooms available. New Jersey business owners, they agreed, face the nation\u2019s highest property tax burden \u2013 and this year, their property cannot turn a profit. The fear is that mortgages will go unpaid and tax bills will pile up with an 18 percent interest rate once they reach $1,500 and the debt is sold at a tax sale.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re paying taxes for 12 months, and we\u2019re being restricted from renting for one quarter of the year,\u201d said Heffernan. \u201cIs Seaside Heights going to adjust the tax bill so we\u2019re not paying taxes on a time period we\u2019re not able to be open?\u201d<\/p>\n

The short answer is no. Under state statute, tax assessments can only be lowered through a tax appeal. Individual businesses cannot be targeted for tax relief. Even the 18 percent interest rate on overdue taxes sold at auction, which is set by the borough, cannot be lowered since Seaside Heights receives state aid and must receive permission from Trenton before taking financial actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could ask, but I have to tell you the truth, I don\u2019t think they would ever approve it,\u201d Mayor Anthony Vaz said, of the prospect of lowering the interest rate.<\/p>\n

\"Seaside<\/a>

Seaside Heights during the coronavirus pandemic, May 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Seaside<\/a>

Seaside Heights during the coronavirus pandemic, May 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

Vaz said the state imposed occupancy limitations, but did not provide a template on how they would play out. Seaside Heights is one of a handful of communities with a boardwalk and major resort zone, which has brought extra state scrutiny. Due to the pandemic, the small army of special police officers that are normally hired for the summer never received training, and are only now preparing to work. Lifeguard operations must adapt to social distancing requirements on beaches, and the town must be able to control overcrowding on the boardwalk by potentially closing it on days that are deemed too busy for social distancing to take place.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not one-size fits all because we\u2019re in a unique situation \u2013 the boardwalk, the Boulevard, and we don\u2019t know how things will go,\u201d said Vaz. \u201cThey would like 100 percent, and I would love 100 percent, but then, why are we doing any of this? Because there are restrictions from the state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vaz said there is a possibility that the 25 percent occupancy cap could be expanded to 50 percent before June 30, but it depends on a confluence of all the factors the town is dealing with.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll feel it out and see how many people are coming down,\u201d he said. \u201cThe governor says we can\u2019t open up at 100 percent, but he\u2019s leaving [specifics] to the communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Seaside<\/a>

Seaside Heights during the coronavirus pandemic, May 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Seaside<\/a>

Seaside Heights during the coronavirus pandemic, May 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

Heffernan doesn\u2019t know if he can weather a financial storm that is arguably worse than Superstorm Sandy\u2019s impact in 2012.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were just barely getting to where we were before Sandy, and now we\u2019re being restricted from operating our properties, generating an income, paying our taxes,\u201d he said, predicting dire consequences. \u201cThere are going to be an abundance of people that will be more than $1,500 in arrears. You\u2019re going to have a great number of bankruptcies. I don\u2019t say that lightly, but you better be prepared for it, because bankruptcies are going to be at an all-time high in Seaside Heights.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBe ready, because the bankruptcies will be flying.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Butch Heffernan usually prepares for the early summer season by getting his Seaside Heights motel in top shape before Memorial Day weekend arrives. This year, he was writing checks. \u201cToday, I was writing checks to 36 different parties, returning their deposits in full,\u201d said Heffernan, and that covers just one solitary weekend. Seaside Heights motel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-ocean-county-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/seaside_heights_coronavirus_116-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4127","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=4127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}