Unmasked group. Yoga class behind, with masks and distancing. Paul Goldfinger photo. 6/7/20, Sunday 9 am. Beaching is banned on Sunday morning. Click to enlarge.
Read sign. It only protects the employees. For the rest of us on the boardwalk and beach it says to maintain distancing. Blogfinger photo Sunday 6/7/20 Really?
By Paul Goldfinger, MD Editor Blogfinger.net
It was 9:30 am on Sunday June 7, 2020. The boardwalk was busy with bikers, joggers, walkers, and kids. It seems like the practice of masking is in freefall, with an estimated 10-15% on the boards being masked.
A few Neptune police were standing together, observing near the beach office. I didn’t see them berating anyone about masking or distancing.
As before, the contrast between the boards and the empty beach was startling. We have mentioned this before, but never got an answer as to why the active boardwalk on Sunday morning was acceptable, but not an active beach?
Until a lucid explanation is offered by the dictatorial CMA, people will continue to be baffled, and how can they be supportive without an explanation that makes sense? If this is religious based, then it makes even less sense because even though the CMA is in charge, they are given that charge in trust by the State of New Jersey on behalf of all citizens, and there is no other shore town with that peculiar practice.
I know that some longtime OG families point to the town’s history, but that doesn’t mean that the history of the Sunday closure must be continued. After all, there were quite a few historical practices, like the gates on Main Avenue, which were abolished suddenly with one ruling by the State Supreme Court in 1980.
However, putting that aside, one had to be struck by the happiness evident up and down the OG boardwalk on this Sunday morning. It was actually thrilling, after all the isolation and sickness here.
The sooner the governor can open up our society safely, the better. Meanwhile, the “folks” have seemingly tossed out the masking rules, and even the CMA, judging by its signage, and the NTPD are not taking it too seriously either.
In Ocean Grove there are many areas in our town’s culture and practices which should be changed, and Blogfinger has written about all of them, with very little opposition to those opinions.
We need a “Grovers’ Lifestyles Matter” movement in this town.
SAM BROVERMAN: from the album Dream Maker, Heartbreaker…Sam Broverman sings Johnny Mercer.
This weekend was a wild zoo. The CMA needs to close off the entrance when it gets this overloaded. It was bedlam at the beach and on the streets. And as far as not enforcing masks, shame on them.
Kev. I don’t think we would be thrilled if we were relying on today’s ushers to drag us from the clutches of a riptide
But thanks for the historical perspective. Paul
Attn Kevin: NJ Patch June 7:
“New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law Friday that could ultimately eliminate private beaches, allowing anybody to go to any beach they want.
“But there are some sticking points in the bill that beach-access advocates aren’t happy about, and could defeat the purpose of the bill, they say.
“And you’d still have to pay – the bill doesn’t address that issue, nor does it deal with parking.
“The bill enshrines into state law the “Public Trust Doctrine,” which is a principle that establishes that the state’s tidal waters and adjacent shorelines belong to the public and should be used for navigation, commerce, and recreation, including bathing, swimming, and fishing.
“New Jersey’s shoreline and coastal communities are some of our state’s greatest treasures,” said Murphy. “By strengthening the public’s right to access our beaches, we are ensuring that all New Jersey residents and visitors can enjoy our beautiful shore this summer and for generations to come.”
Blogfinger: This is an opportune news item. It sounds like the State government wants to actually enforce the Public Trust Doctrine which I referred to in this post. This is something that Jack Bredin has been saying for years.
We will keep an eye on this revelation. It may impact the claims of the Camp Meeting Association and its allies regarding who owns the beach in Ocean Grove. —PG
There are many towns along the Jersey Shore in which beaches are owned privately, such as Bay Head and Deal.Ocean Grove is just one of several.
In the 19th century, the State Assembly granted control to the OGCMA of the right to prevent access from the water.
There has been a long practice that life guards acted as ushers in the Auditorium. This prevented them from being on the beach until after the service causing the beaches to be closed since they were unprotected.
I have to say that I find it pleasant that they are closed for part of the time during the week.
It gives a wonderful feeling of quietness and peacefulness that seems to be lacking everywhere else.
We heard from a Grover named Jeanne who noted that Asbury Park was high on a list of NJ towns with increased numbers of COVID cases per 1000 population. She said, “Found this article very concerning”
She got this from NJ.com which said:”While the overall rate of the spread of the coronavirus in New Jersey is slowing, there are still towns throughout the state where the number of cases is rising.”
Biggest increase in COVID-19 cases, May 27-June 3:
Each number shows the number of positive coronavirus tests per 1,000 people reported in the past week by the N.J. towns below.
New Jersey as a whole added 0.6 cases per 1,000 residents:
Andover Township, Sussex County
4.4
Chesterfield, Burlington County
3.6
West Caldwell, Essex County
3.6
Elizabeth, Union County
3.2
Boonton Twp, Morris County
3
Asbury Park, Monmouth County
3
Hammonton, Atlantic County
2.9
Maple Shade, Burlington County
2.8
Paterson, Passaic County
2.7
Carneys Point, Salem County
2.6