Posted on 08/03/2005 9:25:56 AM PDT by Puppage
BELMAR, N.J. -- Keep the beer pong and games of quarters inside.
In the ongoing tussle between summer renters and year-round residents of this seaside community, the borough council has banned outdoor games involving alcohol.
The so-called "Beer Pong" ordinance, which goes into effect Aug. 17, prohibits alcohol-related games or contests on porches, decks, lawns, front and side yards, or anywhere that can be viewed by the public and neighbors. Fines begin at $100 for a first offense.
Adopted last week, the regulation takes its name from a drinking game in which players bounce pingpong balls into cups of beer, with successful bounces triggering rounds of drinking.
Borough Clerk Margaret Plummer said residents near some rental areas have complained about people playing such games on their front lawns, getting progressively drunk and noisy.
Belmar, located about halfway between Manhattan and Atlantic City, has an offseason population of 6,000 that Plummer said can surge to 70,000 on a hot summer weekend.
Some summer renters, such as Michael Todd, say the borough is trying to drive out young people who provide an economic boost to the area. Todd, 27, filed a complaint against a police officer who issued him a summons for playing Wiffle ball, the Asbury Park Press reported in Wednesday's newspapers.
"I didn't know Belmar all of (a) sudden turned into a big dictatorship borough," Todd said.
The borough also plans to establish taxi stands around bars. A public hearing on that proposal is scheduled for Aug. 10.
It would be nice if there were more restrictions on rental properties. I miss what our beach community use to look like.
Check this out. And all this time I thought people drank booze for the taste, and never, ever, just to get wasted.
Never heard of Beer Pong, sounds like an east coast version of quarters!
What silliness!
Not at all. I've lived here going on twelve years, and I've met at least three people who weren't rude.
I've followed your posts for some time, and enjoyed them. There are good people from there.
I was being, well, you know.
My apologies to the rest of the good folks in NJ, you included.
ok...
I was being semi-serious. There are some good people here, but most of them are rude. As soon as I save up enough money, I'm going to pay my toll and go home.
What about the children?
"I can't believe those wacko-pinko fascists of NJ are banning "Beer Pong," of all things!"
What about bongs? Are they still okay?
We get our fair share of 'em visiting (and sometimes staying/living) in Scottsdale, AZ.
(guess that's the place to be).
You can tell 'em by a country mile.
Well, wherever home is for you, I'm sure they'll welcome you back with open arms :) Hope it's not too long!
A hall-of-famer, fer sure.
I don't know about that. I've been here so long, I've developed the accent. I'm not sure I can even pronounce y'all anymore. They might not let me come back.
I'll drink to that!
I first saw this game in Vernon.
Yeah, we're not so uptight round these parts :)
It's New Jersey, there is no freedom, it's only a myth.
But with that said..............I've got stories about parties in Belmar and Asbury Park from the late 70s and early 80s that I'm surprised I survived to tell about them :)
These people playing beer pong pay top dollar to rent these houses.
Trust me, I know how out of control it gets down there. We have owned a home there for 36 years. (I much prefer being down there off season.)
I just see this law VERY abusable.
I am sure we have nothing to worry about personally. Our beach community is members only and we patrol ourselves. (Probably why we have a clean beach too)
I would just hate some family having a BBQ and getting arrested for it.
To be honest, I wouldn't know.......my times down there was when I was working weekend ceramic shows at the AP Convention center.........so I only spent a grand totall of about 4 weekends there.....and we confined our partying to amongst a group of us working at the convention and some clients.
But I can understand your concern about this being open for abuse. I understand the desire to keep life within the realm of civility - but some measures can get out of hand - and this strikes me as one of those type measures.
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