The most photographed place in OG: Tent Village. Paul Goldfinger photo 2019 ©
May 11, 2020.
To the Editor:
I took a stroll through Tent Village this weekend and noticed that the tents are starting to be erected, oddly in the back locations away from sight. The CMA will be renting the tents this season, and this will eventually become a front page story that will reveal the CMA’s indifference.
Tight social gatherings create greater risk for the spread of COVID, and Tent Village is a very tight gathering.
So, it’s reasonable to conclude that opening Tent Village will increase the risk of infection and death.
Isak Grove
Ocean Grove, New Jersey
AMY VACHAL:
Tent Village is my favorite place for photography in Ocean Grove, and I’m sure that many will be sad if it has to be canceled. The closeness should worry the tenters who, in the past, have been very gracious allowing visitors to walk around. But how will they maintain control of that additional volume? —Paul
Certainly a huge concern. You have brought to light very scary facts.
I took another stroll through tent village yesterday and now all of the tents on the main paths are going up. Seems the CMA has made their decision after careful deliberation of whether collecting $700,000 in leases is worth risking many lives in the entire community.
Interestingly for the tents, each porch is 3 feet from its neighbor, and since the tent entrance is in the middle of the porch, the porch sitters have to sit on each side of the door literally within 3 ft of their neighbors.
There is ZERO chance of social distancing in this community. It is physically impossible and of course children will be playing within the common areas.
I’m simply astonished that the CMA has made this decision. It defies all sense of logic, safety, and decency and is one of the most selfish moments I can recall.
I suspect that the infection rate in OG will become a hotbed and will be a national story.
This is before spreading the virus thru the Great Auditorium, CMA meeting places, and the rest of the community.
Will well meaning Villagers be able to successfully comply with some of these provisions from the Executive or CDC orders? The distances within that community are small.
“All New Jersey residents shall remain home or at their place of residence unless they have an exception such as visiting a healthcare facility.”
“When in public, individuals must practice social distancing and stay six feet apart whenever practicable, excluding immediate family members, caretakers, household members, or romantic partners.”
“The CDC has defined social distancing as the practice of “remaining out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings, and maintaining distance from others when possible”
“A congregate setting is an environment where a number of people reside, meet or gather in close proximity for either a limited or extended period of time.”
Congregate settings include groups such as refugee camps. Does the Tent Village resemble a refugee camp? Is it a congregate setting? It looks that way.
“To mitigate community spread of COVID-19, it is necessary to limit the unnecessary movement of individuals in and around their communities and person-to-person interactions.”
“Gatherings of individuals, such as parties, celebrations, or other social events, are cancelled”
All public, private, and parochial preschool program premises, and elementary and secondary schools, including charter and renaissance schools, shall remain closed to students as long as this Order remains in effect.