South Jersey police chief renewing push to end "boom parties" across Delaware River
WEST DEPTFORD, N.J. (CBS) -- There's a renewed push from one local police chief to put an end to "boom parties," where hundreds of cars gather along the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River, blasting loud music through high-powered speakers at all hours of the night.
For some, a night along the Delaware River is a quiet escape, but for many who call this home, it's anything but.
"It's just solid bass," Westville resident Jeff Stefan said. "It's like somebody's beating on the side of your house all night long."
Stefan is one of the hundreds of New Jersey residents who live within several miles of the waterfront. Every summer he's been sounding the alarm about boom parties.
"It used to just be a Friday and Saturday night," Stefan said. "Now, it's almost every night."
Where hundreds of cars with high-powered speakers gather along the Philly river banks, blasting music from sundown to sun up.
"This is 6 o'clock in the morning on July 4," Stefan said. "It's louder than a nightclub."
"It could be every night, any night," Westville Mayor Fritz Sims said.
Westville's mayor, along with three other municipalities, wrote a joint four-page letter to the City of Philadelphia back in August 2020 detailing the problem.
One week later, Mayor Jim Kenney replied with a two-sentence response, promising increased patrols to limit noise. Kenney concluded with this, "We appreciate continued your continued partnership and patience as we deal with this issue."
Sims says nothing has changed since September 2020.
"We're in Cinnaminson Township, we're across the river from the 15th police district," Cinnaminson Township Police Chief Richard Calabrese said.
Calabrese has been spearheading the fight to stop the boom parties after repeated calls for help from New Jersey towns up and down the Delaware River.
"Deptford, Gloucester City, Palmyra, Pennsauken, Maple Shade, Collingswood," Calabrese said.
He's calling for Philadelphia police to create a dedicated task force to deter these gatherings, arguing with so many people in one place unsupervised, this goes beyond a noise nuisance to a breeding ground for violence.
"It's a recipe for disaster," Calabrese said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Philadelphia police says they take these boom parties seriously and are working to address "known chronic gathering spots."
They also say the department "has assigned a designated commander, Philadelphia police inspector, and their staff with oversight to coordinate focused and targeted deployment efforts."
Residents also say that reporting the parties is a maze of phone numbers and messages, often with no response. To that, the city says they "acknowledge that there was a miscommunication with district staff that has since been addressed."