Backpack Bans And New Closing Hours For Seaside Heights, NJ

Seaside Heights is making some big changes to the boardwalk policy after an incredibly unruly Memorial Day Weekend that resulted and nearly 80 arrests and a stabbing incident.

These changes are pretty drastic from years past, and I'm very curious to see how it affects not only underagers, but adults as well.

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The Seaside Heights Boardwalk Will Enact Closing Hours This Summer

I'm not sure I've heard of this ever happening, but according to Patch, a new ordinance being put into place in Seaside Heights will close the boardwalk at Midnight during the week.

Friday and Saturday, the boardwalk will close at 1 AM, and these new rules will be in effect all year.

My first question is, what does this mean for adults who are over 18? And what does this mean for places like Beachcomber, Spicy, or EJ's, which are open until 2 AM?

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My band, Right On!, plays every Wednesday night at Beachcomber in the summer, performs until 1 AM, so would we get hit with a violation if we're on the boardwalk unloading our equipment after the boardwalk technically closes?

Seaside Heights Will Also Place A Ban On Backpacks On The Boardwalk As Well

With few exceptions, you'll no longer be able to bring a backpack onto the Seaside Heights Boardwalk under the new ordinance.

There's also a hefty penalty in place if you're caught breaking any of these new ordinances.

Steep Penalties Are In Place If You Break The New Ordinance On The SSH Boardwalk

The maximum fine under the new ordinance could be up to $2,000, making it a major increase over the current $100 fines.

All of these new ordinances go up for a vote on June 18th.

This is all in an effort to help prevent the disturbances that we saw over Memorial Day Weekend.

It is worth noting, however, that we locals are not the ones who are causing these problems, despite what you may see on the news. Seaside Heights is a peaceful and special place to spend time.