Dusk emerges, and the last visitors leave the Ocean Grove beach. Paul Goldfinger 8:20 pm 6/27/22 © Blogfinger.net . Click to enlarge
Paul Goldfinger, MD Blogfinger.net 6/27/22
No other state in the Union charges ocean beach admission but New Jersey. There are only a few NJ towns that offer free beach admission including Atlantic City and Wildwood Crest.
Here is a quote from a famous Maryland Beach: “There’s so much to do in Ocean City, Maryland that’s free of charge. Our 10 miles of beautifully kept beach are free and open to the public from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (their boldface)– no beach tags necessary! And during the summer, OC is jam-packed with free family activities like movies on the beach, concerts, even a dance party!”
In Ocean Grove, only those who pay get on, but it is free after 5 pm. Those who pay to get on are mostly white people. Yet our governing town, Neptune Township, has a large African-American population, and most of the people on our beach who come after the lifeguards leave are Black or Hispanic. (There is no data, but that is my observation)
I assume that occurs to avoid the substantial admission fees. How many poor families can afford to pay for their family to get onto the beach when the sun is shining? However there may be some other factors, other than economic.
Is this not segregation? It’s not imposed segregation by law, but segregation by circumstance—–circumstances which may be correctable.
Does the Camp Meeting Association care that there is racial segregation on their watch? They never speak of it. They should look at it and think about it. And they are seemingly oblivious to the bad optics of an unfortunate historical fact that their predecessors shut blacks out of town except to work in the hotels, etc.
Why doesn’t the CMA rise above the crowd and cancel all admission charges for Neptuners including us in the Grove. They can work something out with the Neptune Committee regarding finances. Or maybe those who qualify can get a pass.
Why not turn over beach and boards management to Neptune and let them handle it? This might be the only new local tax worth initiating. Call it the “free our beaches tax.”
Then provide shuttles for any Neptune citizen to visit the OG beach whenever they want.
And, regarding shuttles, Neptune should invite all citizens to enjoy the big parade on July 2, and lets make sure that groups from all parts of Neptune are included among those who are marching.
FROM THE BROADWAY SHOW GYPSY: Sandra Church.
The earliest mention of a beach fee I could find was this:
BE IT RESOLVED that the following rules and regulations be and are hereby
adopted to provide for beach badge regulations on the Beaches of Ocean Grove:
1. All persons who shall use the beaches and pool facilities within the confines of Ocean Grove shall be required to purchase beach badges.
2. Beach badges shall be sold by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association by the season, the month, the week or the day… OGT 25 Apr. 1974
Actually “we the people” do not own the beaches. We the people only own the the public’s right to access the high tide shoreline areas of the beaches, which includes using private property to access “the waterfront and adjacent shoreline”.
Further NJ Statute N.J.S.A. 40:61-22.20(a) entitles “Municipal control over beaches, etc.; any municipality that owns lands bordering on the Atlantic Ocean, tidal water bays or rivers shall have the exclusive control, government and care thereof”.
Ronnie:
I have never complained about our beach as a source of congestion. Every shore town experiences crowds who go to their beaches. It comes with the territory. So free beaches may cause more congestion, but that is OK as far as I am concerned.
Actually, my main theme today is not free beaches but to find ways to enable the local poor to visit our beach whenever they wanted. Shuttle buses would help avoid increased parking congestion if they were encouraged to visit.
As for our Town-Wide Yard Sale, we have done that for 11 years, and that event has never produced congestion in the Grove. Our advertising is minimal: 1 day Coaster, 3 day Asbury Park Press, Blogfinger posts, and a few fliers around town.
We have considered our sales to be perfect examples of small-town events aimed at Grovers. Most of the people who come to our Town-Wide Sales are neighbors walking or biking around town–meet and greet and maybe find a bargain.
The congestion villains are those events which bring thousands of tourists which smother small town life during prime season. PG
Beacher: Throughout America, the ocean beaches are free. I don’t know how they do that financially, but they do. There probably are solutions that do not require raising taxes, but a commission, State based, might look it.
Our own Governor has declared all state beaches to be free this season. I’m sure he will not raise taxes to accomplish that.
I think it is incorrect to consider our beach as an “asset.” All ocean beaches in America are owned by we-the-people, and the CMA’s claims of ownership might not stand up in court if someone dared to file a suit or if the State were to step in based on existing laws.
There are laws about beach ownership that date back to Roman times. Blogfinger has covered that concept in the past.
Here is a link about “The Public Trust Doctrine.”
https://wp.me/pqmj2-H8H
But your discussion ignores the main theme of my article: that we should find a way for the poor to come to the Grove and enjoy the beach without having to pay, or at least to make it affordable for them.
First, I didn’t say subsidizing beaches were the only reason why some states are going bankrupt; it is one of the very many reasons why states that provide free services that exceed taxed income are going bankrupt.
There is a cost for maintaining the beach and I don’t see why taxpayers who don’t use it should pay for that maintenance.
When you open the beaches for free and have advertising for your Town Wide Sale, are you not increasing the congestion in OG?
The beach is an asset.
For those who want to spend mornings or afternoons at the beach, and have daytimes available, you can buy a season beach badge. For those who can (or want to) only occasionally spend mornings or afternoons at the beach you can buy a daily badge.
Thus, like every other asset, the people who use or want the asset, have to pay for it. That’s a fair approach
The alternative is to tax everyone. In that scenario everyone in the town has to pay for the beach, whether they like or use the beach. It doesn’t seem quite fair for those who don’t use the beach to subsidize the cost of running a beach for those who do use the beach.
Beacher: Please explain: “You can be more selective and do it by charging ONLY those people who regularly use the beach.”
One way or the other you have to pay lifeguards, beach maintenance workers and beach office help. You can do it by raising taxes for EVERYONE in your town, or you can be more selective and do it by charging ONLY those people who regularly use the beach.
OG, Asbury, Bradley and a host of other NJ towns opt to use the more selective approach.
Kevin: You say that “most” shore states are bankrupt partly because they allow people free services, ie welfare programs.
Our society pays for those who truly can’t because we live in a compassionate nation, but if the process results in fraud, then the problem is with enforcement and not with the idea of helping those in need.
But Kev: We are talking about free use of our beach in Ocean Grove. No one is going bankrupt in states paying for beach costs, and neither will the Grove. You are wildly extrapolating, and we don’t allow wild extrapolation on Blogfinger. I haven’t wildly extrapolated since my first date with Eileen.
But what is relevant is that our Governor has allowed all state beaches to be free this summer. I doubt that the state will go bankrupt over that! And all Federal beaches such as Sandy Hook will also be free this season.
That’s one of the reasons why most of those states are bankrupt, they’re paying for services for a small select group of people. People should pay for what THEY use, not make other taxpayers pay for their extravagant choices.
LK: Please explain what you mean.
You assume too much.