Gillian's Wonderland Pier Is Closing

šŸŽ” Ocean City, NJ's only weekly newsletter

We have some big news this week, as Jay Gillian just announced that Wonderland Pier is closing later this year.

In an effort to be timely with this news, we will scrap some additional sections planned for the newsletter and include them next week.

In the email this week:

šŸ“† Upcoming Events in (and around) Ocean City

You can see the full list of events in all nearby Shore towns with the following links: Ocean City | Sea Isle | Margate | Avalon | Stone Harbor | Somers Point | Wildwood | Cape May | Ventnor

Also note the Ocean City Library has many events for adults and kids alike on their calendar, which can be viewed here.

šŸŽ” BREAKING: Gillianā€™s Wonderland Pier Is Closing

This letter was posted on Facebook, today, by the Mayor and Gillians owner Jay Gillian.

Hereā€™s the text:

August 9, 2024

To Our Loyal Guests and Friends,

After 47 incredible years working on the Ocean City Boardwalk, I have little choice but to retire and close Gillianā€™s Wonderland Pier and 6th Street Pizza and Grill, embarking on a new chapter in my life. The memories Iā€™ve made with my family and the joy of meeting so many wonderful team members and guests will always hold a special place in my heart.

The 94 years of tradition at Gillianā€™s amusements on the Boardwalk have been cherished by so many people, none more than me.

Itā€™s been my life, my legacy, and my family. Itā€™s sad to let go.

I started at just age 13, bringing Walt Tucker tools to fix the rides. Being the ring boy and working with my brother John was one of my best memories. I learned how to fix and operate the rides, and I was taught the business by my father and brothers. In a family business, you learn to become a jack-of-all-trades. I worked many long hours alongside my family, and Iā€™ve been blessed to have that opportunity.

I have worked with so many talented people, too many to name, and in the end, I was able to work with our kids and see our 13 grandkids take their first rides. So many great family memories.

I tried my best to sustain Wonderland for as long as possible ā€” through increasingly difficult challenges each year. But itā€™s no longer a viable business. We will terminate our multi-year lease in a couple of months. Wonderland and 6th Street Pizza will remain open through Indian Summer Weekend to give everybody plenty of time to use up their tickets.

The property itself is no longer mine, so I canā€™t speak to its future. But Iā€™ll always have a lifetime of priceless memories, and I hope you will too. Thank you for all the amazing years and for being such an important part of our journey.

Warm regards,

Jay Gillianā€Ø

Gillianā€™s Wonderland Pier

This a real blow to Ocean City. I mean, the ferris wheel is our Emoji in every email we send. Itā€™s a noted part of the Ocean City skyline. In many ways, it is the Ocean City skyline.

Wonderland, itself, is Ocean City. Thereā€™s basically no one alive who has seen Ocean City without it.

That said, this isnā€™t entirely surprising. Wonderland has reportedly had financial troubles, and in recent summers rides were often down. Lots of arcade machines and kiosks lined the entrance, presumably in an effort to maximize revenue.

In 2021, Gillian partnered with Eustace Mita (owner of Icona Resorts) to help rescue Wonderland after it was reportedly facing foreclosure following COVID shutdowns in 2020.

Mita and Gillian later faced backlash as Mita proposed building a hotel next to Wonderland. Residents accused the mayor of playing favorites, and the project was subsequently abandoned.

Most interesting is that Gillian mentioned that he will abandon his lease. 600 Boardwalk, where Wonderland sits, was purchased by 600 Boardwalk LLC, based in Chester, PA, in 2021.

There is no name associated with that business, but the sale for $10 million was completed around the time of the announcement of the partnership between Gillian and Mita, according to public records.

We will obviously aim to bring you much, much more about this, including plans for Wonderland after it closes.

A request for comment to the mayor was not immediately returned.

But this is, of course, very sad news for Ocean City.

šŸ¦… Seagulls vs. Falcons, Round 2

Two city councilmen, Jody Levchuk and Keith Hartzell - the pseudo anti-establishment wing of council chambers (more on that in a bit) - are calling attention to an uptick in Boardwalk nuisance of the avian variety.

  • City Council members discussed the growing nuisance, with some suggesting that the problem seems worse this year. Councilman Tony Polcini noted an uptick in complaints, and Mayor Jay Gillian promised to investigate further.

  • Ocean City has contracted East Coast Falcons for the sixth consecutive summer. The company's trained raptors, including falcons and hawks, are used to deter the gulls. Despite the program's success in previous years, there are concerns that the birds are becoming more resilient or "smarter."

  • The raptors now cover more ground than just the Boardwalk, including downtown business districts. This broader focus may be contributing to a perceived decrease in the effectiveness of the program on the Boardwalk.

  • Council members urged the public to report any seagull disturbances to help the city and East Coast Falcons respond promptly and effectively.

Perhaps we can ban the falcons from carrying backpacks?

Fun facts:

1) I was on the Wildwood Boardwalk a few weeks ago for my once-per-decade trek to the ā€˜Woods, and I can tell you that whatever problem anyone thinks we have here, it is NOTHING compared to the full-on air raid taking place to the south. Terrifying stuff.

2) The city pays East Coast Falcons nearly $320k to ward off seagulls, making the raptors in aggregate the highest paid city employee, by a wide margin, a fact I greatly enjoy.

3) Perhaps the most efficient animal spend by the city is the $1,251.17 paid to Geese Chasers South Jerseyā€” a border collie who chases geese off public and commercial property. And heā€™s suuuuuch goooooooooowd boyyyy!

I donā€™t know about you, but I havenā€™t seen one goose on the island this summer. Dog is ELITE. The falcons should take note.

šŸ« Kilwins Chocolate Is Now Open

Thank GOODNESS, Ocean City has its chocolate and candy store at long last!

Kidding.

Kilwins opened last week and is located at 736 Wesley.

šŸ—³ļø Third Ward Council Race Challenge Is Over

Ocean City is a small city. There are roughly 11k year-round residents and 9k registered votersā€” roughly 25% of them are receiving this very email. And City Council and Mayoral elections are usually won by hundreds or tens of votes.

In the case of the Third Ward, as you may have seen elsewhere, this year Jody Levchuk defeated his challenger Amy Vaules 402 votes to 400.

Two votes.

Needless to say, the vote was contested.

Over the previous few months, Vaules has accused Levchukā€™s brother, who voted, of not being an Ocean City resident and, thus, ineligible to vote.

For his part, Levchuk has accused Vaules of having her primary residence in Florida, where she owns a home.

Thereā€™s more details about the back and forth here.

But last week Vaules withdrew her challenge:

Vaules announced July 22 that she would forgo a July 23 Superior Court date to try to overturn Levchukā€™s 402-400 win in the ward elections. She said the two absentee ballots she needed were not going to be counted. 

Part of her challenge also centered around contesting the residency of Levchukā€™s brother, Randy, but that point became moot when she saw she couldnā€™t get the absentee ballots to even the vote tally at 402-402. If those ballots were counted in her favor and she successfully disqualified Randy Levchukā€™s vote, Vaules could have won 402-401.

OC Sentinel

This followed some drama during a swearing in ceremony earlier this summer when Levchuk and Keith Hartzell, who challenged Mayor Jay Gillian unsuccessfully in 2022, voted against Pete Madden to be reinstated as council president (he still received enough votes to maintain his role).

Levchuk and Hartzell are the two members of council who have criticized the mayor and other council members with whom Gillian is closely aligned.

For now, though, looks like everyone is moving forward. Until the next electionā€¦

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Thanks! Enjoy the weekend.

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