What Shore towns are doing to keep you safe this Fourth of July
Mount Holly canceled. Most Shore towns did not.
As New Jersey heads into the Fourth of July weekend — the first major holiday test of what has been a summer defined by safety concerns up and down the coast — towns from Asbury Park to Wildwood are not sitting this one out. They are deploying officers, enforcing curfews, closing boardwalks overnight, and making clear that anyone coming to cause trouble will be arrested.
Here is what families heading to the Shore this Fourth of July weekend need to know, town by town.
Asbury Park
The city sent the clearest message of any Shore town heading into summer. The Asbury Park Police Department announced that unauthorized pop-up gatherings on the beach and boardwalk will not be tolerated, and the city is already using New Jersey's new Pop-Up Party Law in court to prevent unlawful gatherings before they happen. Mayor John Moor put it directly: if you are coming here to cause trouble, turn around. Officers will be deployed in force throughout the season, and the department is actively monitoring social media for events being planned in the region. The city's minor curfew is 11 p.m.
SEE ALSO: Mount Holly cancelled July Fourth — I remember what it used to look like
Wildwood
Wildwood has been the most aggressive Shore town in the state this summer. The city council passed an ordinance closing the boardwalk from 1 to 5 a.m. daily, year-round, which took effect May 13 — a first for any New Jersey Shore resort. That sits on top of an existing 10 p.m. curfew for unaccompanied minors and a backpack ban after 8 p.m. North Wildwood, Wildwood and the New Jersey State Police Mounted Troopers teamed up during Memorial Day weekend, with horses walking the boards in the rain to enforce the curfew. Wildwood officials said the mounted officers made a visible impression and plan to use them again. Deputy Mayor Steve Mikulski predicted other Shore towns would follow Wildwood's lead. He may be right.
Seaside Heights
Seaside Heights had a quiet Memorial Day weekend by any measure. The town enforced its 10 p.m. minor curfew with visible police presence on the boards, and the results were clear. Just after 10 p.m. on Memorial Day Friday, police vehicles rolled the boardwalk with lights going — no sirens, no chaos, just deliberate enforcement. The crowd responded. Families stayed. The trouble did not arrive. Police Chief Tom Boyd has been direct about the Fourth of July: we are not going to play games. Smoking on the boardwalk — marijuana, cigarettes, vaping — is an automatic fine. Anyone stealing or acting criminally gets handcuffed. The town's message to troublemakers is simple: you come, there is going to be a problem.
The curfew map — who has what
Several Shore towns have minor curfews already in place for the summer. Atlantic City enforces a 10 p.m. curfew for unaccompanied minors. Brigantine is at 10 p.m. North Wildwood at 10 p.m. Ocean City at 11 p.m. Point Pleasant Beach at 10 p.m. Sea Isle City at 10 p.m. Toms River and Ortley Beach at 10 p.m. Asbury Park at 11 p.m. Seaside Heights at 10 p.m.
These are not suggestions. Most of these towns are actively enforcing them with police presence, and several are cross-referencing social media to get ahead of planned gatherings before they happen.
The statewide picture
The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness is running its annual Secure the Shore initiative from Memorial Day through Labor Day, coordinating enhanced security with local, county, state and federal law enforcement across Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic and Cape May counties. Last summer the agency deployed automated license plate readers, mobile security camera trailers and variable-message signs in high-traffic coastal areas. Those tools are back this season.
South Jersey State Sen. Paul Moriarty, D-4th District, sponsored three bills signed into law that hold parents and guardians liable when a juvenile in their care engages in disorderly conduct at public events. That law is now being used in Asbury Park and is available to every municipality in the state.
What this means for your Fourth of July
The Shore is open. The fireworks are happening. Families planning to spend the Fourth of July weekend on the boardwalk should expect a visible police presence at virtually every major Shore town — and should treat that presence as exactly what it is: evidence that these towns are fighting to keep the summer you love intact.
Mount Holly canceled. These towns chose to fight back instead.
EJ takes a walk in Asbury Park
Gallery Credit: Eric "EJ" Johnson
