Police on horseback patrolled the Wildwood boardwalk to control teen crowds over Memorial Day Weekend
Farther north, Seaside Heights reported multiple stabbings and closed its boardwalk.
Shore towns in Philly’s reach were bursting with people over a cool but pleasant Memorial Day weekend, but, unlike in past years, police said crowds of teens did not cause major problems.
Wildwood brought in police on horseback from the Cape May County Sheriff’s Department and New Jersey State Police to bolster patrols, Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano said.
“Two horses, and they did a great job,” Troiano said Tuesday.
Farther north in Seaside Heights, however, pandemonium reigned, as three stabbings, 73 arrests, and surging crowds prompted police to shut the boardwalk overnight, according to news and social media reports.
Seaside Heights Detective Steve Korman told NJ.com that 52 adults and 21 juveniles were arrested between 6 a.m. Friday and 6 a.m. on Memorial Day.
Korman added that three young adults were stabbed within a block of the boardwalk in separate incidents. None cooperated with police and no arrests were made.
Closer to Philly, Ocean City Police Lt. Dan Lancaster described the weekend in his town as “largely uneventful.” Earlier curfews, backpack bans, and increased enforcement appeared to have quelled any major disturbances.
It was a marked contrast to 2024, when Ocean City saw a chaotic Memorial Day weekend, with a stabbing, fights, crowds of teens, and others running from the boardwalk with their children.
In 2024, Wildwood shut its boardwalk overnight to deal with what officials called “civil unrest.”
This year, however, most Shore towns in the Philly region reported towns crowded with teens and others, but no major problems.
Ventnor sent police with search lights into the dunes and onto the boardwalk to root out underage drinkers.
In Margate, teens once again convened on the beach in front of Lucy the Elephant, leaving broken bottles and other trash for people to pick up the next morning, but no major incidents or arrests were reported. (Margate was also warning yoga instructors not to use the wooden lifeguard davits on guarded beaches for their sling classes.)
Towns emphasized that parents could be held responsible, and fined up to $1,000, if their teens were caught breaking curfews or other ordinances.
“Simply allowing your children to wander the streets in town, or meet up in large groups is dangerous,” Margate police cautioned parents prior to the weekend. “While you may believe that your children are not engaging in unsafe behavior, or alcohol or drug usage, we assure you that the children they are meeting up with are.”
There were two rollover traffic accidents in Margate over the weekend, one with two injuries, and the fire department cautioned drivers to slow down.
In Ocean City, Lancaster said the department “conducted very proactive enforcement of the juvenile and beach curfews, which we believe assisted in curbing any major incidents.”
Additional officers were brought in on Friday and Saturday nights, he said.
Up in Seaside Heights, Assemblyman Paul Kanitra called for the Senate to pass and Gov. Phil Murphy to sign the “public brawl” bill that would increase penalties for disorderly conduct. Murphy conditionally vetoed the bill earlier this month, asking the legislature to address concerns over First Amendment issues and masks, and it has yet to be adopted.
In Wildwood, though, the mayor said added enforcement, emphasizing curfews and parental responsibility, and the horses led to “very few problems” on the boardwalk.
“Police did an outstanding job of maintaining a safe environment,” Troiano said. “We spent a lot of money on policing and it paid off.”