Police Break Up Larger-Than-Expected Car Gathering In Cinnaminson: Chief

CINNAMINSON, NJ — Cinnaminson Police spent several hours breaking up a large gathering Friday after more than 300 cars showed up for an organized event and sparked noise complaints, the chief said.

A local car club was holding an event near the Sonic parking lot on Friday, Chief Rich Calabrese said, and more vehicles arrived than were anticipated. Calabrese said the car club "coordinated with one of the businesses on the property" for the event and confirmed Monday that the club had obtained permission from the business owner, but not the property owner.

"Numerous attendees" did not follow the event organizer's posted rules and police began getting noise complaints around 7:35 p.m. that day, Calabrese said.

It took officers close to two hours to disperse all the cars, he said. As of Monday, he said, police have not filed any charges.

Township Police began asking people to leave with the assistance of the event coordinator, but " a lot of the attendees took it upon themselves to try and continue the event in the Burlington Coat Factory parking lot and create more of a disturbance," Calabrese said.

Calabrese said there were five officers on the night shift and one working DWI patrol who all worked to disperse the vehicles, as well as handle other calls.

"With the number of vehicles at the event and the fact that they were going between two locations, it took the Cinnaminson Township Police close to two hours from the first call to properly stop the disturbance," he said.

Calabrese said he continues to be involved in stopping "Boom Car Parties" which keep South Jersey residents awake, but said Friday's car gathering was not one of these events.

"I want to note that this specific incident was not a 'Boom Party' and that the local car club event coordinator thought they had the proper permission to be in our township," Calabrese wrote. "The car club did post specific conduct rules for their event, but unfortunately there are some followers who ruin it for everyone else."

Calabrese and several other New Jersey police representatives have previously met with Philadelphia Police Department officers to discuss how to partner in curbing these "Boom Car Parties," which usually consist of loud music echoing into nearby neighborhoods.

"The township is committed to helping solve this ongoing problem," he told Patch last August. "We realize how detrimental sleep deprivation can be for our residents, especially how our school-aged children’s learning abilities could be potentially impacted by not getting the proper undisturbed sleep with the upcoming school year just a couple of weeks away."

Calabrese asked Cinnaminson residents to continue calling the Philadelphia Police Department at 215-686-TIPS or 215-686-3150 when they can provide confirmed locations of boom parties within the city's limits. He also asked that the same information be provided to the Cinnaminson Police Department at 856-829-6666.