Wildwood police issue cease-and-desist orders ahead of Memorial Day teen ‘pop-up parties’
Further north, police were out in force to control rowdy crowds at Pier Village in Long Branch.
Wildwood police said they had issued cease-and-desist notices to two people promoting “pop-up parties/adolescent takeovers” over Memorial Day weekend.
The two promoters will also be charged under New Jersey law with inciting an unsanctioned takeover they know will disrupt the public, the police said in a social media post.
Jersey Shore police departments have dealt with crowds of disruptive teens for years over Memorial Day weekend and have instituted curfews, boardwalk and beach closures, and patrols on horseback as well as other riot control methods.
Social media posts this week from Pier Village in Long Branch, Monmouth County, showed a large police presence, some with shields in formation, working to clear the streets that had filled with rowdy young people. Other posts described people climbing onto cars and banging on restaurant doors.
This year, Wildwood is officially closing its boardwalk from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. to give police the flexibility of clearing late-night crowds. Two years ago, the town declared a state of emergency after midnight over Memorial Day weekend to allow them to close the boardwalk. Last year, they brought police on horseback for crowd control.
“The Wildwood Police Department has been made aware of numerous social media posts regarding potential pop-up parties / adolescent takeovers that may occur in Wildwood for Memorial Day weekend,“ the police said.
“As we work to try to identify more promoters of these unsanctioned takeovers, we would caution anyone coming to Wildwood with the intent of taking over any part of our City that they will be met with swift enforcement of not only New Jersey state laws, but also our local ordinances codified for these types of issues.”
Wildwood has a 10 p.m. curfew for minors not with their legal guardians, and said legal guardians will be charged for allowing a dependent to violate the curfew.
In addition, no backpacks are allowed on the boardwalk after 8 p.m., the police said. Other towns, including Ocean City, have similar laws in place.
“The very nature of these investigations are very difficult due to the many social media platforms being utilized to promote these unsanctioned takeovers,” Wildwood Chief Joseph Murphy said in a statement.
He said additional officers from the county and state police would be on duty throughout Memorial Day weekend. At a recent city commissioners meeting, Murphy said the department was short-staffed and having difficulty getting new officers through training. He made the case to close the boardwalk over objections from shop owners.
“We would recommend that owners/operators of short-term rental properties (motels, condos, rooming house, etc.) be more vigilant with screening of their renters for this weekend,” he said.
