New rules for visitors to Seaside Heights boardwalk after weekend mayhem

☀️ 73 arrests during Memorial Day weekend in Seaside Heights

☀️ New boardwalk hours

☀️ Police chief has message for parents

Following a chaotic Memorial Day weekend, the Seaside Heights Borough Council voted Wednesday to change the hours for the boardwalk.

Police arrested 52 adults and 21 juveniles and investigated four stabbings. The boardwalk was closed just after midnight on Monday as police cleared the boards.  In response, the council unanimously voted to change the hours on the boardwalk.

Effective immediately, the boardwalk will be closed during these times.

"Sunday night through Thursday night," as the ordinance calls it, from 12 to 6 a.m. And "Friday night, Saturday night and federal holidays" from 1 to 6 a.m.

The board also prohibited bags larger than 8 inches by 6 inches by 8 inches between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. April 1 through Sept. 30.

Adults face fines. Minors will get warnings and police may contact parents.

"I think it was a brilliant move by the mayor and council to do that," Seaside Heights Police Chief Tommy Boyd told New Jersey 101.5. "It limits the hours. You know, there's an old saying, 'Nothing good really happens late at night.' So I think that what they did was proper and back them 100%."

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New anti-public brawl law helps

Boyd said appreciates the bill signed by Gov. Phil Murphy making inciting a public brawl a fourth-degree crime with a potential punishment of up to 18 months in jail.

"It helps the Jersey Shore towns have a little bit more teeth when you're dealing with these people that are causing disruption," Boyd said. "We're going in the right direction to make sure that the right people come at the right time and just to make sure everybody have an enjoyable experience at the shore. That's all we're looking for."

The chief, who celebrated 40 years with Seaside Heights police during Memorial Day weekend, recalled police making 300 arrests during some Memorial Day weekends in the 1990s. He blames social media for making it look worse now.

"Because it gets sensationalized on Tiktok and you have these people that have two million followers. We had one woman that had 16 million followers, but she never came," Boyd said. "A lot of these kids have to realize that they're just doing this so they hit the like button. These people get paid by hits and by likes."

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Chief: Parents should teach respect

Boyd said that while many people want to blame police for rowdy behavior at events at the shore, at malls and other events that draw crowds. He blames parents and caretakers.

"They should be teaching respect and they should be teaching how to how to act in public," he said. "I think our society has lost our way."

With New Jersey 101.5 Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow's forecast for the first weekend of summer looking sunny and hot with very little chance of rain, Boyd says he is ready for large crowds. Assistance from State Police, Attorney General Matt Platkin and Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer are a phone call away, according to the chief.

ALSO READ: Dan Zarrow's weekend forecast

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