Ocean City, N.J. takes first steps in enacting new ordinances due to unruly teens
OCEAN CITY, N.J. (CBS) -- Ocean City's city council took the first steps Thursday afternoon in implementing an earlier curfew for unaccompanied minors and a nightly prohibition on backpacks.
The council unanimously passed the proposed ordinances on a first reading, but in order to take effect, the ordinances must pass a second round of votes in two weeks.
The proposed ordinances come at the same time as the mayor implemented new rules, which take effect immediately, that shut down the beach after 8 p.m. and lock up the boardwalk bathrooms after 10 p.m.
Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian said these rules come after what he described as a chaotic Memorial Day Weekend when police responded to nearly 1000 calls for vandalism and assaults.
"Kids now are spitting on people. They're spitting on cops," Mayor Gillian said. "We had two people that were [attending] the bathrooms quit because they were spit in and pushed out of the way."
The first proposed ordinance the city council passed on a first read would implement a curfew for unaccompanied minors between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
The current curfew begins at 1 a.m.
Ocean City leaders take the first step today in enacting an earlier curfew for unaccompanied teens and a nightly prohibition on backpacks on the boardwalk. It comes after what the mayor described as a chaotic Memorial Day Weekend with unruly teenagers. The story @CBSPhiladelphia. pic.twitter.com/TQVaW7Tl15
— Brandon Goldner (@GoldnerTV) June 1, 2023
The second proposed change would prohibit anyone, whether it's a child or an adult, from carrying a backpack on the boardwalk between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m.
If enacted, any teenager found violating either the curfew or backpack prohibition will receive two warnings before being taken to a police station, where a parent must pick them up.
If a parent is found to have knowingly allowed their child to violate the curfew, they could face a fine of $250-$500.
"I talk to parents constantly, and I'm getting tired of listening to parents tell me it's their kids' rite of passage," Police Chief Jay Prettyman said. "I'm getting tired of listening to parents tell me that they rented that house because it was prom weekend, and they didn't think the kids were going to get in trouble."
Boardwalk business owner Justice Volz said he's concerned about the bathroom shutting down after 10 p.m.
"When you own and operate businesses across from said bathrooms, you run the risk of having your own property vandalized or relieved upon," Volz said. "That is not something that we are looking forward to either."
The backpack ban and the curfew must pass a second vote on June 15 to take effect.