NEW JERSEY — Summer nights may be shortened for children and teens in a New Jersey shore township if the Sea Isle City Council votes to approve a curfew, all in an attempt to crack down on unruly minors.
Sea Isle City could vote Tuesday to enact a curfew for everyone under the age of 18 between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
The ordinance states that the measure is intended to protect minors as much as everyone else.
“The City has an interest in promoting the safety and welfare of the City’s youngest citizens, persons under the age of eighteen (18), whose inexperience makes them particularly vulnerable to becoming participants in illegal activities, particularly illegal drug activities, and being victimized by older perpetrators of crime,” the ordinance states.
Minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian if they are out at that time, because the ordinance also states that it is “unlawful for any parent or guardian to permit an unaccompanied minor to be on any public street or any public way during those hours.”
The curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., if approved, would take place from May 15 to Sept. 15. Thereafter, from Sept. 16 through May 14, the curfew will be from 11 p. m. until 6 a. m., and beginning 72 hours before Halloween and on Halloween night, the curfew will be at 10 p. m. until 6 a. m. the following day.
If a minor is found to be in violation of curfew, they will be given two “curb warnings” and expected to leave the public space. If they refuse, they will be taken to a station and their parents, guardians or caretakers will be called. Juveniles will not receive a citation or juvenile delinquency charge.
However, if a parent, legal guardian or caregiver violates the ordinance by allowing children or teens to leave after curfew, the responsible adult will be fined between $250 and $500 for the first offense. If a second offense occurs within one year of the first offense, the adult will be fined between $500 and $1,000. If a third offense occurs within one year of two or more violations, the adult will be fined between $1,000 and $1,500.
According to the ordinance, it is an attempt to reduce violence and crime among minors in the face of “the threat of continued congregation of juveniles and others who might become violent compels the adoption of this prohibition.”
Sea Isle City is not the only municipality along the New Jersey shore looking to impose curfews to crack down on rowdy teens who have in the past taken over beaches and boardwalks during summer nights.
Toms River reinstated a beach curfew for minors in all of its barrier island communities last summer that went into effect starting at 11 p.m. for everyone 17 and under.
“We are responding to the residents’ request. We had a small pop-up at Ortley Beach, we had a couple hundred kids gather on Third Avenue and the week before there were some problems around Wawa (on Route 35),” Toms River Mayor Mo Hill said last year. “We don’t want to stop young people from going out and having fun, but we do want to prevent property damage or mischief that may be happening.”
On Memorial Day weekend, parts of Ocean Terrace in the Normandy Beach neighborhood were filled with hundreds of youngsters.
“You see just unruly kids, they go from one street to the next. The police chase them from one street, they go to the next street, it’s a real problem,” said Bart Zabelski, who lives in the area.
Residents said many of the kids come from the surrounding area on shuttle service companies.
“It’s a nice family environment, but when you have 200, 300, and I’m not exaggerating, kids coming and going down the street, it’s obviously not a nice family environment,” said another resident, Karla.
She said many of the children were carrying backpacks, which she said were filled with alcohol or other substances. But she said that’s not even the worst of it.
“All these kids have backpacks and you don’t know anything about it that’s legal,” he said. “They urinate in people’s yards and leave their trash all over the place, and they cuss like you can’t imagine … worse than a sailor.”
The backpack issue is also being addressed by Sea Isle City, where another ordinance could come up for a vote Tuesday that would make all backpacks banned on the boardwalk, beach and beach street ends. There are exceptions to this measure which would be in cases where one is carrying medical devices in a backpack, essential work equipment for news media, if someone is a Sea Isle City Police Department officer on duty, or if someone is actively fishing on the beach.
In neighboring Brick Township, the curfew was an hour earlier, at 10 p.m. Some Toms River residents have also pushed for the township to adopt the earlier date. A town spokesperson told our sister network NBC New York last year that they will make adjustments if necessary and that public safety always comes first.
Last year’s curfews came as two other coastal communities farther north, Point Pleasant Beach and Long Branch, prepared for pop-up parties, and some of these large gatherings were advertised on social media.
Asbury Park police also said last summer that several social media postings were touting a pop-up party for their beach during summer weekends. Police said those hosting the unauthorized parties would be “held financially and legally responsible.”
In Ocean City, officials said kids are wreaking havoc, especially on the beach, and leaders say the problem is getting worse. Large groups of teens descending on Ocean City’s boardwalk and beach are impossible to miss, and some officials have said it has become “the most popular nightclub for teens at the New Jersey shore” so far this summer.
Police said last summer that the crowds of kids were larger with more underage drinking, more marijuana use and more fights compared to 2021.