POINT PLEASANT BEACH – Chains and locks no longer adorn the gates of a popular Jersey Shore beach after it was closed off to the public.
Jenkinson’s has reopened three of its beach gates for the first time in about a month after having a dispute with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
On September 30, Point Pleasant Beach Mayor Paul Kanitra announced the reopening of the beach in a post on Facebook. Kanitra said the main pavilion gate, inlet pavilion gate and Forman Avenue access points were open.
Nearly two weeks earlier, the owners of Jenkinson’s Pavilion received a warning from the state DEP saying that the padlocked gates were a violation of the conditions of its Coastal Area Facility Review Act permit.
Quickly after Labor Day weekend, Jenkinson’s Pavilion locked their gates and sent people away since there were no more lifeguards on duty. The only open access was the borough-owned beach at Maryland Avenue.
Throughout this dispute, the company has not put out any public statement regarding the closures, the DEP, and reopening.
When the issue first arose at the beginning of September, Mayor Kanitra speculated that Jenkinson’s made the decision to close all their beaches and access points due to a drowning in the off-season and a subsequent lawsuit.
“Please understand that Jenkinson’s is a private company that owns the majority of beaches and beach access points in Point Pleasant Beach. I want to make it very clear that this decision is not the Borough of Point Pleasant Beach’s and that the only beach that the town owns, Maryland Avenue, is open for guests in accordance with our local beach ordinances,” Mayor Kanitra said.
The lawsuit was filed in 2021 by the family of a man who drowned in the surf at an unguarded beach in September 2020. According to the family, Jenkinson’s allegedly failed to provide enough warnings of the dangerous surf conditions, and said the company should have shut down all beach access.
Due to repeated incidents of people swimming without lifeguards, towns like Toms River and Seaside Heights said they would ticket swimmers, while Jenkinson’s closed its beach access.
