AVALON – Avalon captured statewide attention, when Mayor Martin Pagliughi issued an executive order restricting access to the town’s boardwalk and beaches from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m.
Pagliughi said he took the step to provide police with authority to disperse large crowds, mostly made up of young people, in the evening.
Pagliughi said the move was a “direct result of Gov. Phil Murphy’s destruction of effective enforcement of laws pertaining to juveniles.”
At the July 14 Avalon Borough Council meeting, resident James Lutz used public comment to urge the council not to forget the bayside.
“I applaud what the borough has done on the beaches and the boardwalk,” Lutz said. “I live on the bay, and want you to realize that the problem is there, as well,” Lutz said. “I see young kids in large numbers riding their bikes with total disregard for street signs and traffic lights.”
Lutz added that the teens “are sometimes in groups of 30 on their bikes,” urging borough officials to consider what can be done before “someone is seriously injured.”
Part of the state’s approach to marijuana legalization included measures altering how police can charge or detain juveniles, even those who are illegally using marijuana or alcohol.
According to Pagliughi, the borough has seen increases in vandalism, excessive litter, and rowdy behavior by young people congregating in large numbers at night, as a result of the changes in state law.
