Coronavirus Latest: Wildwood Boardwalk Opens For Recreation As Nonessential Businesses Warn 'We're Going To Get Killed Memorial Day'
WILDWOOD, N.J. (CBS) -- Jersey Shore communities are understandably apprehensive about what the upcoming summer season will look like. Today, some took a step in the direction of reopening.
It's a bit too cold and wet for crowds to assemble today and Saturday is also expected to be dreary. But the Wildwood boardwalk is back open for recreation.
"For walking, biking, running there are some food service places open, doing takeout," North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello said.
It sounds like relief to some business owners. But for Jim Lombardo, his Greens Bike Rental has to remain closed.
"If the boardwalk is open for bike riders, why can't people ride bikes that rent from me?" Lombardo questioned.
His seasonal shop is not considered essential and guidelines prohibit him from reopening.
"We're going to get killed Memorial Day -- it's a big day -- and the whole month of June, unless it changes," Lombardo said.
Before heading down the shore, visitors should check guidelines, which vary from town to town.
Wildwood Mayor Pete Bryon says visitors will be allowed to sit on the beach with a towel, but that's prohibited at the beaches in Cape May and Avalon.
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All of the beaches will allow activities like walking, jogging and surfing, as long as social distancing rules are followed.
There are a number of families with second homes in Wildwood and their eventual presence is expected.
"These folks that are home, they've been cooped home for a long, long time. They have a home down here, this is their chance to come to their happy place, for nothing else but to give them a sense of good times are ahead, it's not all gonna be bad. It's gonna get good," Byron said.
Officials stress that these reopenings are not for visitors to come flocking, and that people should follow the guidance in their home areas.