Middletown Addresses Ideal Beach's Trash, Illegal Parking Problem

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Middletown's mayor and local residents have a message for out-of-towners: Stop using our beaches as a trash can.

Reports have been pouring in of unprecedented amounts of litter, public drinking, illegal parking and people "using the dunes as bathrooms" at Ideal Beach, beaches in Keansburg and along Bayshore Waterfront Park.

One Highlands resident even posted a photo of a couple participating in a graphic sex act on the sidewalk one recent hot afternoon, near the entrance to Sandy Hook.

Middletown's beaches are being inundated by New Yorkers and North Jerseyans fleeing COVID, the mayor says, but license plates have been seen from as far away as Baltimore and Illinois.

"This is a problem that is a direct consequence of COVID-19," Middletown Mayor Tony Perry told Patch Monday. "New York's beaches are closed, and Sandy Hook's beaches are limited to 25 percent capacity. So that's why we're seeing folks coming in greater numbers to Ideal. That's why we're seeing the problems that we're seeing now."

(Update: As of July 27, Sandy Hook no longer has any limitations, and is only closing when parking lots are full.)

The secret is also apparently out that Middletown's beaches are free, and with free parking.

"COVID-19 has shown that this is the place for people to come. People see it as a free beach; they see it as free parking and they are utilizing that quite frequently," Perry said last Thursday night, speaking at an emergency meeting held specifically to address the Ideal Beach problem.

"Sad things occur when people are cooped up in their home for too long. They need an escape," he continued. "But unfortunate things are occurring ... folks coming in with giant tents, their coolers, their bags of fireworks and bonfire kindling. This is a residential community and the folks coming in from anywhere have to respect the community that surrounds them."

Here's what Middletown is doing to address the problems:

Closing the beaches at 8 p.m.: All Middletown beaches will close at 8 p.m., except for passive use such as walking along the beach and star gazing.

Closing off the Weehawken Ave. entrance: Middletown has now closed off the Weehawken Avenue entrance to Ideal Beach. The beach walkway between the dunes will be filled in with sand.

Closing off the area by the pump station on the Middletown/Keansburg border: People have been setting off illegal fireworks in and around Ideal Beach all July long, well past Independence Day. They are being launched from the pump station.

"The pump station will be chained off. It will no longer be a quasi-parking lot for those from out of town," said Perry. "We believe that the majority of fireworks that are being launched are from that facility. They are entering from that entrance, walking onto the Middletown-Keansburg border and launching fireworks from there."

Lifeguards: Middletown is working with the National Park Service and the town of Sea Bright to explore putting paid lifeguards at Ideal Beach. "The more people we have out there, that will be a deterrent for the bad things that are happening on Ideal Beach," said Perry. Lifeguards would not be in place until summer 2021.

Middletown may implement beach badges, starting next summer: Middletown may launch a beach badge program, where you would need to pay for a beach badge to access Ideal Beach from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The Township Committee has not made any decisions on this, and is seeking public comment and feedback from Middletown residents. If beach badges are created, residents would start buying them in early 2021, for summer 2021.

Charging for parking at Middletown beaches: All Middletown beaches, and parking near them, are free. But the town seeks to change that, either before this summer ends or after. All the parking lots near Middletown beaches will become paid parking, and residents may have to get a parking permit.

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