The Shore was bathed in a warm sun this week that made it seem actually plausible summer will arrive. Not that long ago, a foot or more of snow was dumping overnight, leaving beach houses and boardwalk fudge stores encased in white. The wind blew the snow onto windows, casting a shadow into houses that made it feel a bit like the first day the awnings are put up. Ah for the awnings!
Things were topsy turvy. A grey seal wondered out from the beach after the storm and laid down in the middle of Long Beach Avenue in Harvey Cedars. Sidewalks and streets went unshoveled and unplowed for days, weeks even.
People posted videos of themselves ice skating on the frozen Wildwood beach.
Through it all, the bickering dragged on in Ocean City about what will replace Gillian’s Wonderland Pier, while Jay Gillian filed for reelection as mayor. He’s got two rivals. I looked at how the continued Wonderland vacancy and looming possible hotel is affecting merchants, and why a tiny neighborhood right behind the Ferris wheel is worried about its future.
Meanwhile, as a community group responded to reports of ICE activity, the Democratic primary for New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District was getting crowded. Cape May Mayor Zack Mullock declared his desire to oust Rep. Jeff Van Drew, and later got on a tractor to clear snow from his neighbors’ driveways. Another candidate, former USAID official Bayly Winder, was becoming a regular at Vineland City Council meetings, questioning a massive data center. Tim Alexander, the civil rights attorney and past candidate, was securing county endorsements. Also running in the June 2 primary: activist Terri Reese and Philly special ed teacher Bill Finn.
⬇️ Read on for more offseason highlights, as the Shore gears up for one of those extra-long summers (Labor Day is not until Sept. 7 for goodness sakes).
📮 How are people’s plans going for this summer? Anyone bailing on Jersey for Delaware or the Outer Banks? Somewhere else? Let me know by replying to this email.
🩴 Don’t kick sand. This summer, we’ll be settling some of the Shore’s pressing questions. Who has to move if someone is smoking a cigar upwind from you? Should low-speed e-bikes be banned from boardwalks? How close is too close to set up next to someone? At what point do you become a local? Should teens be banned from the beach at night? Is it OK to set up your beach canopy early in the morning to reserve your spot?
What is your predicament? Your Shore pet peeve? It’s never to early to complain! Let us know by replying to this email.
Have ideas or news tips about the Shore or this newsletter? Send them to me here.
⛅ It’s cold, it’s warm, it’s windy, it’s snowing, who even knows anymore?
— Amy S. Rosenberg (Find me @amysrosenberg. 📷 on Instagram at @amysrosenberg. 📧 Email me here.)
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Shore talk
🏖️ Federal officials say help is on the way for Shore erosion.
🦇 A.C. Batman had assault charges dropped.
🎰 The fight continues on banning smoking in casinos.
☘️ Atlantic City had what many are saying is its best-ever St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
🍊 New luxury townhomes in A.C.’s Orange Loop neighborhood are for sale starting around $699,999.
🛟 RIP to legendary Avalon beach patrol captain and Angelo Cataldi wrangler Murray Wolf.
👀 Watch Ventnor rebuild its boardwalk.
⚖️ A.C. Mayor Marty Small Sr. said he will sue the prosecutor after a jury acquitted him of assaulting his daughter and charges were dropped against his wife, La’Quetta Small, the schools superintendent.
🏗️ Jared Kushner’s waterfront rental apartment project got approvals from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority.
🛏️ Avalon is rethinking boutique hotels in its downtown.
What to eat/What to do
🍻 St. Patrick’s Day bar crawl in Ventnor and Atlantic City is March 14.
☕ Isabella’s of Ventnor has a new location in Lower Chelsea.
🌴 Go retro with the $19.26 Sunday special at the Palm commemorating its founding year. This month, it’s one from the vault: veal martini.
🍣 Nobu at Caesar’s has a 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday Tanoshi Hour at the bar and a new DJ-driven vibe.
🇮🇪 Willow Creek Winery in West Cape May has its annual St. Patrick’s weekend festival with Irish dancers, bagpipers and drum performances, an artisan market and Irish music, food, and drinks.
🍴 Atlantic City has expanded its restaurant week into a monthlong Taste Atlantic City.
👟 Bring your sweetie to the Mother & Son Sneaker Ball in Atlantic City on April 17.
👀 Watch how Longport is rebuilding the Point.
Shore snapshot
Dept. of Inventions: Wooder Board
Steve Holland, 41, of Blue Bell is building a better way to pull younger kids at the water’s edge, after tiring of dragging his 5-year-old through the wet sand on a boogie board. He’s calling it the “Wooder Board,” and it’s a skim board with handles for your toddler to hold and a leash to pull them, kind of like a kiddie sled. There’s more information at this Kickstarter link.
🧠 Trivia time
Which of these is an actual town on the Delaware Bay named for a more famous beach town in Florida?
A. Miami Beach, N.J.
B. Vero Beach, N.J.
C. Hollywood, N.J.
D. St. Augustine, N.J.
If you think you know the answer, email us here for a possible shout out.
📖 Shore slam book: Liz deBeer
Liz deBeer, a Fair Haven-based teacher and writer with Project Write Now, has been churning out flash fiction (very, very short fiction, between 500 and 1,000 words or less). Her debut chapbook, Farewell to Emptiness, a novelette in flash fiction, will be released in April by Norristown’s Thirty West Publishing House.
Favorite beach/beach town: Monmouth Beach
Favorite Shore breakfast: Booskerdoo’s breakfast sammy and iced coffee
Perfect beach day: Morning beach yoga with Monmouth Beach Yoga — watching dolphins jump while we’re doing sun salutations. Then read on the beach before crowds arrive.
Perfect night at the Shore: Listening to live music at a Mexican restaurant’s outdoor patio in Red Bank while the sun sets.
Best season to be down the Shore? Fall — after Labor Day. Beaches are free and the weather’s great.
Surfing or fishing or … Yoga and beach walking
Can you describe this winter in a few words? Got blisters from breaking up the snowy ice sandwich on our driveway.
What are the most critical issues facing Shore towns? Affordable housing and the Shore communities’ chronic flooding. And, of course, summer traffic.
Shore pet peeve? People leaving trash on the beach.
What have you learned from your years living near the ocean? How life is both calm and wild, how human behavior affects other species, how nature creates beauty every day.
Do the rhythms of the Shore sync up with the rhythms of flash fiction? Nature offers messages without overt explanation, [which is also] a key quality of flash, which sometimes is called hint fiction.
Can you give us a starting prompt for Shore flash fiction? Describe a moment at the shore, including sensory details. Add a character, a conflict, emotions. Flip back to the scenery. Goal: a full narrative arc under 500 words.
📮 Send us your Jersey Shore flash fiction and we’ll publish the best (or shortest) ones!
Your Shore memory
A gem from Joe Grinkewicz: We were about 19. We decided on a Friday night, about 9 p.m., to hitchhike to Wildwood where our friends were. Our friend Earl drove Gus and me to Olga’s diner on Route 73 and we stuck out our thumbs. After about five minutes, a guy pulled over and asked where we were heading. “Wildwood,” we said. “Well, I can take you as far as the Villas,” and we hopped in. The man knew every back road in South Jersey and we were in the Villas in about an hour. He left us on a seemingly deserted road but in about 10 minutes, a souped-up Chevy comes roaring down the road, passes us but stops about 100 yards away. We ran up to him and got in. Twenty minutes later, we left the hot-rodder at Uncle Lou’s Pancake House where our friends were hanging out. Sat down to a plate of pancakes at 1 a.m. while the BeeGee’s “New York Mining Disaster 1941” played in the background.
📮 Send us your Shore memory! In 200 words, tell us how the Shore taps into something deep for you, and we will publish them in this space during the summer.
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