After the rough and rowdy nights of last summer, notes were taken. Tweaks were made. Horses were recruited for boardwalk patrol. (“Two horses and they did a great job,” said Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano.) Curfews were enforced, parents were threatened, dunes were searched with spotlights.
Still, if your sleep was disturbed by the sounds of teens loudly narrating their eviction from the beach as they walked home in the wee hours, or your morning beach walk marred by mountains of beer cans and other trash, you weren’t alone and, let’s face it, you’re (probably) not a teen down the Shore anymore. You’re the ones the teens are annoying. Time flies.
In Philly’s Shore towns (loosely defined as Long Beach Island south), police reported few major problems and took a well deserved victory lap. It was a big change from 2024’s Memorial Day weekend, where Ocean City had a stabbing and a chaotic crowd and Wildwood shut down its boardwalk, citing civil unrest.
All the problems seemed to converge on Seaside Heights. There were three stabbings, 72 arrests, an overnight boardwalk closure, and politicians arriving on Tuesday morning.
Cooler temps brought crowds to shops, most of which reported a big weekend, even — in the words of the new Betty’s BBQ and Fried Chicken in Margate — a “legendary” one.
The weather rallied nicely. You could even pretend it was summer, and find toddlers and kids splashing in the 60-degree ocean. Or you could revel in the comfort of the breezy day with a sweatshirt, a spot by the dunes to block the wind, and the reminder of how lovely it is to just sit with one another by the edge of the continent.
⬇️ Keep scrolling! In this edition: Saving Scotch Bonnet Island, the Union League takes over Avalon’s Whitebrier, Ask Down the Shore tackles beach seating, an LBI memory and Mike “AC Mike” Lopez, gives insider tips.
📮 Did you see celebrities down the Shore? There were multiple non-Kelce Eagles sightings (see below). Who else? Let me know.
🌧️ A little iffy through Saturday.
— Amy S. Rosenberg (Find me at @amysrosenberg. 📷 Follow me on Insta at @amysrosenberg. 📧 Email me here.)
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Shore talk
🏈 Go Birds I: Philadelphia Eagle Cooper DeJean was all over Margate over Memorial Day weekend, spotted in the new Sunrise Tequila Bar and, with teammate Sydney Brown, in Memories nightclub. Nick Sirianni was hounded for selfies and serenaded all over Avalon, and Jordan Mailata was eating lamb chops in Egg Harbor Township at The Nizam’s.
🦅 Go Birds II: The Inquirer’s Jason Nark spent 24 hours with the World Series of Birding.
🌎 Amazing race: This Stone Harbor island is being swallowed along with other tidal wetlands. Frank Kummer takes us inside the race to save Scotch Bonnet Island.
⚓ Bones that washed up on New Jersey beaches were identified as the captain of a 19th-century ship traveling to Philly.
🎸 No Surrender, a Springsteen tribute band, had their set canceled by a Toms River bar owner angry about Bruce’s anti-Trump comments. (The band got a new gig at Headliner Oasis in Neptune.)
⚖️ Sentenced: Former Ventnor Code Enforcement officer sentenced to five years in prison for stealing permit fees.
🗳️ If you’re registered to vote in New Jersey ahead of the June 10 primary, there’s still time to request a mail ballot.
What to eat/What to do
😏 Splurge on a Platinum HydraFacial at Margate’s Ula Luxury Facial Boutique.
📖 Read: Find your old friends at Sun Rose Books in the new collab in Ocean City that also carries cards and gifts and is now called Three Little Birds.
☕ Caffeinate: New coffee alert: Remedee Coffee in Ventnor, and Holiday Coffee in Ocean City.
🏳️🌈 Pride fest: Ocean City’s Pride walk and celebration starts Saturday at 9 a.m. on the boardwalk.
👩🦰 Get Hooked: Spiegelworld’s The Hook, Atlantic City’s adults-only show enters its third season. New: Australia’s Asher Treleaven as emcee, contortionist phenom Emerald Gordon Wulf, and hair hang suspension artist Miranda Menzies.
🚿 Please Shower Happy Hour: A new tradition at Avalon’s Whitebrier. But only if you’ve paid thousands to join the Union League.
[Correction: The new noodle shop at Borgata is called, simply, Noodles, no longer Noodles of the World.]
Shore snapshot
🧠 Trivia time
Bruce Springsteen wrote the soulful classic song Atlantic City (“Everything that dies someday comes back”) way back in 1982.
But what year did the Boss actually perform in Atlantic City for the first time?
A. 2003
B. 2020
C. 1993
D. 1982
If you think you know, email us with the answer. (And click on this story: my essay on Bruce and the Shore.
Ask Down the Shore
Q. Heading onto the beach, we saw friends and their baby already set up under a beach canopy. We had not made specific arrangements to meet at the beach.
Do we:
A. Plop our chairs, toddler, parents, and speaker right next to them, maybe even grab a corner of shade under their canopy?
B. Give a wave and brief chitchat and then keep going to another spot altogether?
C. Settle in near enough to sort of chat if we want but not be on top of them?
Answer: These are gut decisions, sometimes based on how much you yourself feel like interacting. Given the baby, the canopy, the effort to create a little family beach day, tread lightly. Set up nearby, even just a few feet of buffer will do it, so that everyone has the option to close their circle, but also to carry on a conversation between groups. Next time, maybe go ahead and mooch some shade.
Do you agree? Do you share your canopy? Guard against interlopers? Have another beach etiquette dilemma? Email me here.
📖 Shore slam book: A.C. Mike Lopez
Mike Lopez, a former corrections officer turned social media influencer and radio host, is an Atlantic City staple. He’s started a luxury Boardwalk tram tour focusing on the stories of his favorite seaside town.
Favorite beach: In Atlantic City, my favorite beach is New Hampshire, a.k.a. Crystal Beach, along the jetty.
Favorite summer breakfast: Gotta be two eggs over easy, bacon, fruit cup, and rye toast with strawberry jam.
Perfect beach day: Getting up, taking a bike ride on the boardwalk, putting the bike away, and get onto the beach by 9:30 because my Radio show’s at 12.
Perfect night: I kind of like to bounce and go into difference venues. Five different shows, see the people, pop in for a couple of songs, seeing the life that goes on in the city.
Best shore sandwich: The White House Italian, hot and sweets on the side.
When summer approaches, I feel: Like a kid. I do. Get the bike greased up at AAAA Bike shop with [owner] Mike [Wiesen].
It wouldn’t be the Jersey Shore without: Atlantic City Boardwalk Tram Tours!
Best thing for kids: Go to our free beaches, the Steel Pier, Absecon Lighthouse.
Surfing or fishing? Surfing.
Sunrise or sunset? Sunrise.
Shore pet peeve? The cross walks, folks just walking out in front of you. And people riding the e-bikes too fast.
The Shore could be improved if we all just ... pitch in. Whether its throwing our food away, supporting the boardwalk merchants. We have something special.
Your Shore memory
Former Philadelphian Bob Diddlebock has not forgotten this old memory:
No youngster was more happy than I was when the gleaming new causeway linking New Jersey’s mainland to Long Beach Island opened in 1957, ending the slow, bumpy drives across the shaky wooden span that scared me half to death.
Too many times, as my dad navigated our Ford sedan across the decaying bridge built on the old LBI railroad route, I peed my Mickey Mouse swim trunks for fear that a loose bolt, a creaky plank, or a swerving driver would pitch us into Manahawkin Bay’s dark, choppy waters.
But the sleek, steely new skyway fostered a smooth cruise to my grandparents’ Ship Bottom cottage, ending my white-knuckle ordeals. Even better, my trunks weren’t soggy and I wasn’t mentally flatlining when we arrived, so I could immediately dive into weeks of pure fun, crafting memories that still make this old-timer in the landlocked West smile.
📮 Send us your Shore memory! In 200 words or less, tell us how the Shore taps into something deep for you, and we will publish them in this space.
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