Amateur Night in Pt. Pleasant – Bars to Close at Midnight

When it came down to the final vote last night in Pt. Pleasant Beach, it seemed the mayor and some council members weren't exactly sure what exactly they were voting on, but when it was over they voted to close the bars at midnight as of July 1st of this year.

Some that were on hand said it looked like a circus at rehearsal. One business owner told me he thinks Snooki, The Situation and J Wow would have looked more composed and competent than the mayor and some of council when it came down to the final decision.

After the confusion and yelling was over, the vote was in to try and change a town that has had bars as part of it's fabric for a hundred years. One council member, Brett Gordon said, "I want my town back." When asked how long he's lived there, his reply was, "three years." Bill Mayer, another councilman who was against the early closing, said Belmar tried it and then reversed it a short while later. One motel owner questioned the move wondering if the clientele would now bring the party back to their hotel rooms and then the town would be after the hotels down the road with more regulations to try to control the chaos that might ensue there or at rental homes.

Some on council opposed to the new regulation, like Mayer, think it's an enforcement issue. Placing the proper amount of police in the areas near the boardwalk where some of the trouble has been, might be a better alternative than shutting the nightlife down in the whole town, even where no trouble has occurred.

Some fishing party boat operators spoke up in opposition to the new on-street parking ban after 11pm in the boardwalk area and have filed suit to try and save their season. Only residents can park there but must display a placard on the car indicating where they live. Some residents even expressed security concerns about that move. Here's the bottom line.

Most people at the meeting expressed the opinion, that if put to a vote, this ordinance would fail, but a handful of residents, some of whom are on council and the mayor are forcing their will and hurting some important businesses in town. Many of these businesses employ a lot of young people in town and have for generations. Maybe it was the influx of rowdies who saw some of the bars on MTV's "Jersey Shore" show that came in the last couple of seasons and ruined it for the rest. But somehow Seaside Heights has turned that same influx into a boon to their town. Maybe they manage it better. Maybe they enforce the rules better. But businesses there are flourishing. Not so in Pt. Pleasant.

The mayor and some of the council, through their heavy handed ineptitude have put a stake in the heart of long standing and upstanding local businesses. Once again in the state, this time on the local level, government has hurt the very backbone of the economy and our liberty as well.

All of the contestants at Big Joe's Jersey Talent Show (every Sunday night in the summer right on the beach in Pt. Pleasant) have more going for them than what was on display last night. Amateur night in Pt. Pleasant was a real show and the winners were the real amateurs, the mayor and a couple of misguided, short-sighted council people, who are obviously in way over their head. I think they're ready for the big time. They should all run for Assembly or Senate in the state. God forbid!