Mayor John Pallone – Statement about Pop Up Beach Parties 

Our Long Branch Police Department has tracked down the organizers of these “pop up” events and plans to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.

We have made contact with NJ Transit and will continue to do so to find a solution that does not call for letting thousands of people off a train at once, swelling our city to capacity limits.

We are looking into legal action against social media platforms such as Tik Tok and Instagram that allow users to share these posts about the event.

Lastly, we have contacted Governor Murphy’s office and have asked for his help. This issue affects the entire Jersey Shore and we need his assistance to stop it.

I want to be very clear that people that want to visit Long Branch are welcome here. However, our City is not going to be a place for those that will disrespect our city, public spaces, streets, or businesses with acts of violence, drinking or smoking.

On May 21^st a “pop up” beach party of what turned out to be about 5,000 young people gathered here in the City of Long Branch. The Police Department was made aware of a possible “pop up” beach party earlier last week and was prepared to mobilize for the event with the help of other local, county, and state agencies. The City of Long Branch Police Department and assisting agencies all did an excellent and professional job.

These gatherings start as social media posts which entice young people to come to the beach area and attract most visitors to come here by train. These flyers promote drinking and smoking in public areas which is illegal.

The City of Long Branch requires that all formalized gatherings must obtain a special event permit, per city ordinance. In the case of these “pop up” beach parties, that does not happen. The City has now made a total of 15 arrests due to the fighting and unruly behavior that ensued at this event.