A Memorial Day Unlike Any Other

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WILDWOOD – Memorial Day weekend may be one to remember this year, but for all the wrong reasons. Better fill the ice trays because bars will be closed. Get the paper plates and napkins ready, because restaurants will be takeout only. That giant Ferris wheel? You’re not going to see the view from the top of it. And your souvenir Wildwood sweatshirt? Not essential.
“It’s like having a dinner party when your kitchen is being remodeled,” said North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello.
Beaches and the boardwalk will be open for the unofficial summer kickoff, as the first small steps toward reopening New Jersey in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic are taking place. 
“The Jersey Shore will be open in time for Memorial Day weekend with social distancing guidelines in place,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in a news conference last week. “The shore is central to our Jersey identity, and we want to ensure that families can safely enjoy it this summer.”
Rosenello says that’s all spin and he feels calling it open season while forcing the infrastructure closed is going to lead to problems. Hotels and motels will be closed. Short-term rentals are not allowed for the holiday weekend. Bars and restaurants will not let anyone dine-in. And strict restrictions are still in place about which other “non-essential” businesses are prohibited from operating.
“He didn’t have to say anything,” North Wildwood’s mayor said. “It was a PR [public relations] statement that failed to recognize or address the realities that the individual shore towns were going to be facing as a result of his PR campaign.”
On the flip side, some say Murphy’s approach is calculated. Opening the flood gates and packing the town and businesses could cause a spike in cases and put the rest of the summer in jeopardy. Many people will be traveling to the county from areas “hot” with the virus, like New York, Central Jersey, Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs. 
“Good health equals good economics, so you have to start with the health issue, number one,” Wildwood Mayor Peter Byron said. “The governor is a very bright man. Every move he’s making is calculated and based on numbers. I think by opening things incrementally I think it’s going to stop what you’re talking about. We’re not going to have that, wow, we went from zero to 60 over night.”
Rosenello said other states which have reopened have not seen this problem.
“I’m not an infectious disease expert, but from what I have read in the media, the areas around the country that have reopened, that has not happened,” he said.
Takeout restaurants in shore towns have already been experiencing extreme volume, struggling to keep up, with wait times well over an hour, and having problems distancing arriving customers. For those with liquor licenses, the inability to operate their bars will cost them big money.
“I think they are ignoring the facts on the ground that we have been witnessing the last few weeks, which is long lines at takeout places, multi-hour waits to get takeout. So, I’m disappointed he didn’t lift some of these restrictions before he announced to the world the Jersey shore is open,” Rosenello added.
On The Boardwalk
The tramcar will not be running for the holiday weekend and Morey’s Piers will be closed.
A Morey’s spokeswoman said the organization could not provide a comment or statement beyond what is on their website, a brief update announcing the four hotel/motels they operate will reopen June 1 and giving no target date for the first day for the waterpark and rides.
Rosenello, who also serves as an executive for the Special Improvement District (SID), which oversees the boardwalk businesses, estimated 50 percent of the boardwalk shops may be open.
Homeowners And Seasonal Tenants Only
Hotels and motels were ordered closed by the county freeholders until June 1. North Wildwood and Wildwood have decided to allow their hotels and motels to open May 26, the day after Memorial Day.
Michael Lerro, general manager of the Bolero Resort in Wildwood said he’s installing new software to handle takeout orders but is unsure if it will be in place by Memorial Day. With the hotel closed, he said he isn’t expecting much restaurant business anyway.
Lerro said he understands the reasons the hotel and restaurant can’t be open to customers, but is disappointed he’s not allowed to open while other not-so-essential businesses are.
“There’s some double-standard, so to speak. If you can go to Lowe’s and buy a grille, which is obviously non-essential then why can’t you go sit down at a table and have the tables properly spaced, at least outside of the restaurants?” Lerro asked.
“The fear was there was going to be a lot of people who do want to come down and if everything opens up Memorial Day, you might get that big, big surge of people down here and that could theoretically cause a spike in the number of cases. If that happened that could really negatively impact the rest of the summer,” he added, recounting conversations with local officials and the hotel and motel association.
Where Will They Go?
Memorial Day weekend is notorious for drunk crowds and packed bars. But this year, if the buildings that usually house the shenanigans are locked and shut, there is concern as to where the party will spill to.
“You’ve flung open the doors, invited everybody down and restricted the infrastructure that has been built up over 100 years to handle those crowds,” said Rosenello.
Both Byron and Rosenello said they will not be looking to aggressively enforce social distancing policies, but will play reminders over boardwalk loudspeakers and have ambassadors on the boardwalk to encourage and remind people of CDC guidelines.
“We’re not looking to be super aggressive. It’s more of a reminder,” said Byron.
According to Rosenello, the county prosecutor’s office is handling enforcement of restrictions.
So, How Will Things Look?
“I think it’s going to be slow. Memorial Day obviously isn’t going to be a normal Memorial Day,” Byron said. “I’m thinking the summer is going to start to kick in in some watered-down version by the second week of June, third week of June and we’ll get some traction going into Fourth of July.”
“It’s going to be different,” Rosenello said. “I would anticipate we’re going to have a fair number of people.”
To contact Shay Roddy, email sroddy@cmcherald.com.