BELMAR, N.J. — After battling rowdy renters and out-of-control keggers for decades, this Jersey shore party town has finally decided to lighten up a little.
Belmar, sometimes called “Fort Lauderdale North” for its reputation as a raucous party enclave, has scrapped laws against giving the finger and requiring beer kegs to be registered. The town’s mayor said the rules were difficult to enforce.
“I’m not sure anyone even knew that making obscene gestures was illegal,” Mayor Ken Pringle said. “Right after we send out our tax bills, I tend to see a few.”
The repeals come as the borough has clearly restored some of the quality of life that was routinely shattered by revelers in the 1980s and 90s.
“People that have a hard time obeying our strict rules seem to have gone to other beach towns where the rules are not as tough,” he said. “Most of the people who are renting here who are deciding they can behave will not have a problem.”
Belmar has 7,000 year-round residents, but the population swells to 60,000 after Memorial Day. It has a slew of strict regulations for summer renters that include limits on how many people can cram into one building and when they can put their trash out at the curb. The town also has a “zero tolerance” policy for noise violations, and even leaving empty bottles or beer cups on the porch overnight.
“The cops are relentless here,” said Matt Errichiello, a 23-year-old from Haworth who is in his third year of renting a house near the beach with friends. “At night, if you even speak loudly, you get a ticket. The rules are ridiculous.”
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