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Last year, Memorial Day was mayhem at the Jersey Shore. Here's the plan for this weekend.
By
Samir Ferdowsi
Published May 23, 2025
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By
Samir Ferdowsi
Published May 23, 2025
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Destination towns along the Jersey Shore are bracing for the usual influx of Memorial Day crowds — and the possibility of teen-driven mayhem.
Last year, officials in multiple towns said things got out of control — with large and rowdy crowds upsetting locals, and in one case, a teen being stabbed in the abdomen. This year, towns are increasing their police presence and making it clear that while visitors are more than welcome to enjoy the Shore, they should be on their best behavior.
”Have fun, come down, dance, go on the beach,” Seaside Heights Mayor Anthony Vaz said. “Have fun. But you don't want to wreck everybody's vacation. You don't want to cause problems for your neighbors.”
In particular, Vaz said, officials in the infamous party town (made more infamous by the MTV reality show “Jersey Shore”) will look to stop minors from causing a ruckus.
Last year, an influx of visitors, particularly unaccompanied teens, resulted in damaged property and disturbances to locals, the mayor said. A false report of gunshots sent crowds racing and led police to scramble onto the boardwalk with guns drawn. Ninety people were arrested during that incident and others over Memorial Day weekend, according to multiple reports.
That followed incidents over Memorial Day weekend 2023, when at least one fight broke out on the boardwalk and teens were hanging from a motel balcony, the Asbury Park Press reported.
Vaz also said unaccompanied minors have parked in illegal parking spaces and blocked locals from getting around town.
“We have a lot of great kids — but when you put a group of good kids and some not so good kids together, and they're away from supervision, things can happen,” Vaz said. “Some good kids get in the middle of something and then after they're apprehended saying, ‘Why did I do that?’ So we want to stop it before it starts.”
Last year, the borough implemented a curfew to curb overcrowding on the boardwalk. This year, Seaside Heights is going further and requiring parents to accompany minors in hotel rooms or other rentals.
If no one over 21 is present when teens are in a rental, the parents and the landlord will be fined, Vaz said.
Vaz says there’s one way this will go down starting on Friday of Memorial Day weekend.
“ They're yelling and screaming,” Vaz said. “Our cops go there and if there are people in a room, we're going to ask you, ‘Who's 21?’ ‘My mother left, she had to go home. My mommy had to go home.’ ‘Well, she's supposed to be here. You should have gone home with her.’”
The borough already received an injunction this week to block another planned pop-up party, Patch reported.
Last year, the city of Wildwood declared an overnight state of emergency during Memorial Day amid crowds officials described as “disobedient, volatile and aggressive towards officers.”
“At one point, our officers had firecrackers thrown at them while they were conducting crowd control measures,” city officials wrote in a statement at the time. “We even observed families fleeing the boardwalk to the beach and running for the security of the railing because hundreds of juveniles and young adults were stampeding down the boardwalk.”
Attorney General Matthew Platkin blamed the disturbances on the city not having enough police officers present, but local officials disputed that in their statement, saying they’d bolstered police staffing, but “even if we had additional officers above the 30 deployed, there would have been minimal effect to quell this type of mob behavior.”
The city is prepping early. In a Facebook post, officials said they had shut down an “unsanctioned event” earlier this month, and they were adding more police to the boardwalk and other high-traffic areas. Officials also warned property owners to be cautious when renting out spaces for the weekend.
The four southern Jersey Shore municipalities, including the city, collectively known as the Wildwoods, will also implement a 10 p.m. curfew, ban backpacks on the boardwalk and monitor social media to combat “pop-up parties,” the resort towns said in a statement on their tourism site.
In Ocean City, where a teen was charged with attempted murder for allegedly stabbing another last Memorial Day weekend, Mayor Jay A. Gillian said the Cape May County community “experienced a number of issues related to large crowds of teens on the boardwalk, fights, shoplifting and disorderly conduct” over the holiday.
He said the town made several arrests. The year before that, Wildwood officials reportedly amended their laws to let police detain teens for “breach of piece’ violations” including curfew violations and excessive noise.
In a joint statement with nearby Sea Isle City this year, Gillian wrote the communities were eager to welcome visitors, but, “Don't come if you don't want to behave.”
“Our police departments will be fully staffed with every available full time and seasonal officer, and we will have zero tolerance for any disturbance or violation of the law,” they wrote. “We also want to make it clear to parents that everybody will be held accountable for their actions to the fullest extent possible.”
Tagged
public safety
new jersey
transportation
Samir Ferdowsi
Samir is a day-of reporter on the general assignment and breaking news desk. Previously Samir was a reporter, host and producer at VICE News.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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