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Your Ocean City Father's Day Weekend Guide
🎡 Ocean City, NJ's only weekly newsletter
Kyle Scott
June 15, 2024
POW MIA chair dedication ceremony yesterday
Good morning to the now more than 14,200 Walking The Boards subscribers!
We have a jam packed issue today, including an increase in the size of trash cans allowed (but it doesn’t totally solve the problem), details on a proposed family-friendly recreational facility, and the sale of one of Ocean City’s only media outlets.
In the email today:
📆 Upcoming Events in (and around) Ocean City
Saturday, June 15
🏃♂️ Health and Fitness Expo | Music Pier | Details and times here
🍉 Somers Point Farms Market (Somers Point) | 1000 Shore Rd. | 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
🥅 Celebrating the 1974 Flyers (Avalon) | Surfside Park | Details here
🧺 Summer Crafts and Collectibles Show (Cape May) | 1048 Washington Street | Details here
Saturday, June 15 - Sunday, June 16
🦀 All You Can Eat Seafood Extravaganza | Ocean City Waterpark (8th and Boardwalk) | Details and tickets here
Sunday, June 16
🌷Skimmer Antique Auto Show and Parade (Sea Isle) | Promenade north of JFK Boulevard | Details here
🍑 Stone Harbor Farmers Market (Stone Harbor) | Water Tower Lot | 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 16 - Thursday, June 20
🦞 Wildwoods Restaurant Week (Wildwood) | Wildwood Restaurants | Details here
Wednesday, June 19
🍓 Farmers Market | Tabernacle Grounds | 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Friday, June 21
Friday, June 21 - Sunday, June 23
🦶🏻 Barefoot Country Music Fest (Wildwood) | Wildwood Beach | Details here
Next Weekend, June 22
🚗 Antique Auto Show | Boardwalk | Details here
Next Week
Two big concerts: Let’s Sing Taylor: A Live Band Experience Celebrating Taylor Swift (June 24), Kenny G (June 25)
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.
🚮 Stinky Trash Update
On Thursday, City Council approved Resolutions 10 and 11, which will allow residents to put out trash and recycling cans up to 64 gallons in size. This is up from the current 32 gallon limit, which no one was enforcing until this month.
More details
Stinky trash talk has been the topic du jour since a May announcement from the city informed residents that large 96-gallon trash and recycling cans would no longer be picked up by the city’s trash vendor, who cited an uptick in use of the larger cans.
The city’s contract, with Pineland Construction LLC out of Sea Isle, mandates the pickup of cans only up to 32 gallons in size.
So, City Council approved the proposals to increase the fee it pays to Pineland by $225k so that they collect cans… up to 64 gallons in size through October.
Not addressed: the 96-gallon cans so many residents use. These larger cans are meant for trucks with mechanical arms, which Pineland doesn’t use.
They had been taking the larger cans, but drew a line in the sand, citing increased worker’s comp costs to lift them.
At the meeting, Mayor Gillian took full responsibility for this issue, but said a solution was “not as easy as everybody thinks it is” because of all the considerations at play. He assured residents that taxes wouldn’t increase as a result of the additional payment.
You can watch the Mayor address the issue here:
He cited Ocean City’s many alleys and nooks and crannies, which make it difficult to fit the larger trucks. There’s also the impact on seniors, who may have more difficulty moving these larger cans.
On the other hand, with a population that swells to over 100k in the summer, having more smaller cans isn’t an ideal solution either.
The Mayor said the city will work on addressing the problem for next year.
The costs
Currently, based on the numbers provided in the resolutions, the city pays $1,136,375 annually each for trash and recycling pickup to Pineland, for a total of $2,272,750 per year. The new resolutions - $112,500 each for trash and recycling - bring that combined cost up to $2,497,750.
What isn’t clear is how that additional $225k enables the trash collectors to increase their capabilities from 32 to 64 gallon cans, or what is to be done with 96-gallon cans.
In 2022, when the city switched to Pineland from Gold Medal, it considered buying 96-gallon cans for every house in the city, but it would have cost upwards of $2 million. It was reported that switching to Pineland would save the city about $300k per year at the time. However, that number has inched upward, and with the proposed increase… well, you can do that math, with still no permanent solution.
🛝 Details on Proposed Family Recreation Facility and Indoor Golf Simulator
Last week we told you about the zoning application submitted by TJ Heist - owner of Totally Tubular Watersports, Aqua Park and Beachy Tiki - for The Yard, a family-friendly outdoor recreational facility planned for 741 West Ave.
I was able to speak with Heist through email, and he detailed some plans for the facility, which will be part of his OCNJ Watersports Family:
“I am super excited about The Yard because it’s a truly a one of a kind activity that will be unique to Ocean City. The main feature is an elevated netted playground with climbing features, soft slides, a crows nest, etc. The structure has the general shape of a ship, falling inline with the theme of our company OCNJ Watersports.”
The Yard would feature, go figure, yard games on the ground level, with picnic tables for parents to watch from.
Inside might be more interesting.
Heist is proposing an indoor golf simulator for kids and adults, along with a light concession area for birthday parties and group events.
The current building isn’t exactly the most scenic, serving as what looks to be office and storage space for Totally Tubular.
“We are proposing new fencing and lots of landscaping to improve the curb appeal of the current building on West ave. I think it will be an improvement to the street and a complement to other businesses on the block like Heritage Surf Shop and Wallace Hardware.”
The Zoning Board will consider Heist’s application on June 26.
If approved, construction is aimed to be completed in the fall and winter.
⚾️ Shane Victorino Was in Town
This picture is from Memorial Day Weekend and was shared by a friend of the ‘letter.
Other Phillies folks in town: Tom McCarthy (who owns a place on the island) mentioned on the broadcast last week that he was in town when the Phils were on national TV two weekends ago. So, too, was John Kruk, who, according to the broadcast, didn’t leave the house. Last night, they mentioned peach pancakes and shouted out Uncle Bill’s.
A GOOD FRIEND of the Phanatic is also a Walking The Boards subscriber.
Spot a Phillie or celebrity? Send a pic to us by replying to any of our emails!
📲 New Cell Towers in the Works
One of our co-owners is on 17th Street, and every time we have a FaceTime call to discuss Walking The Board’s BIG PLANS, his service drops out like he’s broadcasting from Mars and the planet has rotated just so that the signal inches through a small gap in the space-time continuum. Is that Matt Damon planting potatoes in The Martian? Nope, just the ol’ digital media business partner in his car hanging a right on Asbury.
I tell him to come to the Gardens, where I have full bars. He calls me an elitist. And so it goes.
Point being, cell service is inconsistent across the island. And at the City Council meeting on Thursday, the Mayor said something will be done about it.
The city will look to see where temporary cell trucks can be placed, likely around the 14th and 35-36th Street areas
More permanent towers will be considered
The mayor was hesitant to add more mobile trucks or towers in general because he thinks they’re ugly, but cited reports of spotty service as the reason for the pivot
It was becoming a public safety issue since so many people rely on cell phones and not having service could impact the ability to call 911
Worth noting: newer iPhones allow for satellite communication to contact emergency services if you are without service, but this isn’t a very user-friendly feature, especially for senior citizens
Last year, the city passed an ordinance that new cell towers would only be placed on city-controlled property after resident pushback surrounding proposed cell antennas on 34rd Street on a building owned by developer Eustace Mita
Perhaps Verizon can bury some Fios cables while they’re at it.
🛟 List of Guarded Beaches
The Ocean City Beach Patrol guards beaches from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekends and holidays, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.
From Saturday, June 15th, 2024 through Friday, June 21st, 2024, the following beaches will be guarded:
Surf Road
Atlantic
North
Stenton
St. Charles Place
Park Place
Brighton Place
8th Street
9th Street
10th Street
11th Street
12th Street
14th Street
26th Street
30th Street
34th Street
44th Street
55th Street
58th Street
EMT Services will be available at 1st Street, 12th Street, 34th Street, and 58th Street stations.
📰 OCNJ Daily Sold to New Owner
Notice a lack in city coverage lately? That’s because, according to multiple sources, OCNJ Daily, which employs pretty much the only two full-time reporters who cover the city, was recently purchased by media entrepreneur Jim McDonald and Access Global Media, according to the sources.
Details are sparse, but here’s what we know:
Access owns Breaking AC, which covers the Jersey Shore, and McDonald runs a media advisory group under the same brand (Access).
McDonald has a history of publishing local media and acquiring distressed newspaper brands. He was previously publisher of Metro Philly, and launched and subsequently sold BreakingNews.com to MSNBC.
We’re told OCNJ Daily plans to retain one or both of its reporters, but they haven’t written on the website in over a week.
Some context
The media landscape is very thin in Ocean City. OCNJ Daily was (and is still listed as being) owned by MediaWize, a local media group run by digital marketing entrepreneur Ken Wisnefski.
In recent months, the site has taken to posting an overwhelming amount of spammy paid SEO articles that are completely irrelevant to Ocean City— usually a sign of media distress.
Meanwhile, the two other main outlets that cover news in Ocean City are The Patch - a network of local sites - which typically aggregates other coverage and has one writer for multiple markets, and OC Sentinel, which is an old school paper that’s been around forever.
And then there’s the AC Press, Philly Inquirer, or Victor Fiorillo, all of which only stop by when there’s major news, a stabbing, or Fiorillo wants to complain about the Boardwalk.
Where do we come in? We think Ocean City and other Jersey Shore towns can do better. We see this as an opportunity to create informative and engaging content to reach people where they spend most of their time (email and social).
So, challenge accepted. If you like what you find in the newsletter, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
🔗 News Links
🍳 Doozie’s Place Grand Opening This Weekend
We first told you about Doozie’s Place back in the winter. The new restaurant at 100 Asbury Ave. had its soft opening last week, and we were there (video on our Instagram page).
We had the honor of being a part of Doozie’s PLace soft opening this weekend and we can’t say enough about the new North end spot!! The vibe is calm and cool with beautiful art work by Kristina Young, surfboards covering the ceiling and a big smile greeting you right as you walk through the door from doozie herself! The menu was full of variety from sweet to savory and the perfect mix of healthy! This little slice of heaven is exactly what the north end needed and we can’t wait to go back!!! Check out Doozies Place for their grand opening Father’s Day Weekend!
Doozie’s Place is open from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. every day.
🌊 Tides
June 15, 2024
• High Tide: 3:06 AM
• Low Tide: 9:39 AM
• High Tide: 3:58 PM
• Low Tide: 10:12 PM
June 16, 2024
• High Tide: 4:00 AM
• Low Tide: 10:21 AM
• High Tide: 4:46 PM
• Low Tide: 11:07 PM
June 17, 2024
• High Tide: 4:52 AM
• Low Tide: 11:02 AM
• High Tide: 5:31 PM
• Low Tide: 11:58 PM
June 18, 2024
• High Tide: 5:43 AM
• Low Tide: 11:44 AM
• High Tide: 6:15 PM
June 19, 2024
• Low Tide: 12:46 AM
• High Tide: 6:31 AM
• Low Tide: 12:26 PM
• High Tide: 6:57 PM
📊 Poll
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