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VENTNOR – During its meeting Thursday, March 9, the Board of Commissioners gave fair warning to those thinking of taking a much-needed walk on the beach after being cooped up in their homes for weeks because of the COVID-19 pandemic. If police find you on the beach, which was closed to the public at noon on April 3, you will receive a summons, they said.
“The Ventnor beaches and boardwalk continue to be closed until further notice. At this point, no warnings will be given to those in violation,” Commissioner of Public Safety Tim Kriebel said. “Social distancing is our only real tool against the spread.”
People have been wandering into Ventnor from Margate beach and some on the boardwalk, he said.
“We were warning people, but at this point, we have to crack down on it,” he said, and violations will be issued.
Anyone found to be in violation will be issued a summons and face fines up to $1,000 and six months in jail.
In a notice posted on the city’s Facebook page, Kriebel noted that the crackdown is “unfortunate, but necessary steps” to “flatten the curve” of coronavirus infection and to reduce stress on the city’s resources.
Mayor Beth Holtzman said that during weekly teleconference calls with the Governor’s Office, she discussed the difficulty of sharing a border with Atlantic City, which continues to allow the public to access its Boardwalk and beach.
“With the weather getting warmer and warmer, we are concerned there’s going to be a big influx of people just to walk on the Atlantic City Boardwalk or go to the beach, which defeats what we are doing,” she said. “I voiced that concern loudly.”
She said she requested the State of New Jersey close the Atlantic City Boardwalk and beach because it has control over the tourism district.
People have been wandering onto Ventnor’s closed beach from Atlantic City to the north and Margate to the south. Holtzman said she discussed the issue with Margate Mayor Michael Becker when the city was considering closing the beach, and Commissioner Lance Landgraf discussed it with Margate Commissioner of Public Safety John Amodeo.
“His indication to me is that they would evaluate it as the weather improves. If the beach became an attractive nuisance, like we think it is, they would consider doing something along those lines, but they are not there at this point,” Landgraf said.
Kriebel said the city has erected a fence and postage signage at the city line.
Ventnor closed the boardwalk and beach last Friday after noticing people were congregating and walking in groups, not abiding by the 6-foot social distancing rule.
Margate has noticed the same behavior and on Thursday issued a statement that it would limit access to the beach: “Effective immediately, the City of Margate will be restricting the use of the beach to foot traffic only. Walking and running will be allowed as long as social distancing guidelines are followed,” the city announced on its Facebook page.
“In Ventnor, we have confirmed cases that increase every day,” Kriebel said.
Due to a lag in reporting statistics, there are more coronavirus infections than the seven confirmed cases reported by the county, he said.
While the boardwalk is closed, the city will take advantage and complete some boardwalk repairs, Landgraf said.
A resolution will be on the next meeting agenda to award a contract.
Landgraf said the city received some “good pricing” on repairs that can be completed quickly “because no one is up there,” he said.
We didn’t want to close the boardwalk and beach, Landgraf said, “but it was necessary to do,” he said.
Brigantine has closed its seawall and Cove Beach, because people were congregating, Landgraf said.
“We struggle with that every day. We will do everything we can to open it up when the guidance tells us it’s the right thing to do. It’s just to early for that,” Kriebel said.
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