Point Beach Mayor Blasts Pop-Up Party 'Idiots,' State's Response

POINT PLEASANT BEACH, NJ — Point Pleasant Beach Mayor Paul Kanitra blasted the Murphy administration and the “idiots” organizing “pop-up parties” that have caused damage in towns and created chaos, saying more needs to be done to stop them before they start.

In a video he posted to Facebook on Monday afternoon, Kanitra expressed frustration with what he said was a lack of response from Gov. Phil Murphy and Acting Attorney General Matt Platkin about the social media-driven events that have caused chaos in Shore towns.

That frustration includes the response to new flyers urging parties in Point Pleasant Beach and Long Branch on June 18 and 19 that started circulating just days after more than 5,000 people showed up for a pop-up party that led to arrests, damage to a police car and a curfew in Long Branch.

Kanitra said he reached out to the governor’s office when the new flyer surfaced May 24, and heard nothing from Murphy’s office for two weeks. An hour-long meeting Friday with other mayors and the attorney general’s office was “a complete waste of time,” Kanitra said.

“All I got was an hour of nonsense about preparation and sharing of information and monitoring the situation,” Kanitra said. “By the time enough people get here and gather together where we recognize a party is forming it's already too late.”

“We need to start going after the idiots that create and promote the event,” Kanitra said. “There needs to be state-level consequences.”

"The Governor’s Office wants to ensure that the safe enjoyment of the Jersey Shore is available to every family and resident of our great state, no matter where they may be coming from," Murphy's office said in a statement to Patch. "The Jersey Shore is among our most treasured assets and the memories friends and families make while enjoying our beaches last a lifetime."

"The Administration understands that certain types of pop-up parties have raised public safety concerns. As noted by our local and county partners, the Administration is in constant communication and is coordinating with our law enforcement agencies and mayors to ensure that people gather responsibly across our state," the statement said.

"We have the utmost faith in our law enforcement officers and know they are well equipped to safely handle these situations. As we have in the past, the Governor’s office stands ready to provide support and resources to our localities," the statement said.

Long Branch authorities say they have charged one person with organizing the pop-up parties, but so far they have not released the name of the person or the charges filed. Long Branch Mayor John Pallone has said he is "looking into" suing TikTok and Instagram for hosting the invitations to the mass gatherings.

Kanitra said the state’s “pandering political decisions that have stopped any kind of accountability for idiots like this” are encouraging the creation of these events, and changes in state law governing whether police can stop someone for the underage consumption of marijuana and alcohol has complicated matters.

“They (the state) screwed up our marijuana and liquor law so that young kids feel like they can just walk down the street ripping shots and taking hits without any worries,” Kanitra said.

The May 24 flyer encourages attendees to “BYOL” and “BYOW” – bring your own liquor and weed. It also encourages “boxing matches,” which Kanitra said are really just street fights that are being done solely for social media.

“They’re just doing it to create content for Tik Toks and their Instagram accounts so they can show off to the other idiots online who watch them,” he said.

“All it takes is one loser on Facebook like this guy here who thinks he's a promoter trying to look cool to his followers to create chaos and economic disasters,” Kanitra said, referring to the May 24 flyer. “He created it and shared it with his followers and those idiots share it with theirs all for the purpose of just publicly partying together, destroying things and causing chaos in one big group.”

Assemblyman Robert Singer, a Republican from the 30th District, has issued repeated statements calling on Murphy to do more, including urging the creation of a task force to include the New Jersey State Police, NJ Transit, the Monmouth and Ocean county prosecutors’ offices, sheriffs’ offices, and police chiefs’ associations.

“There needs to be better coordination among state and local officials to respond to pop-up parties along with some sort of funding mechanism to help pay for the unexpected cost of calling in extra police to respond,” Singer said Monday. “There also needs to be a real discussion about fixing our laws which prevent police from taking enforcement action for violations committed by minors. Kids know they can’t be touched and they’re taking advantage of it. It’s disappointing these issues weren’t discussed on the Attorney General’s call.”

Kanitra said the issue isn’t political, but about safety, security and not having to waste taxpayer money to prepare for or react to these parties.

“I have had three different Democratic Shore town mayors already tell me that they're just as frustrated as I am with the state's inability to stop these parties from ever occurring in the first place,” Kanitra said.

“There are both Republican and Democrat bills that have been introduced in our state legislature to try and help this,” he said, referring to legislation introduced in 2021 by Singer, S-1206, that would broaden the definition of a riot and increase penalties for certain crimes committed during a riot, and one Sen. Vin Gopal said he would introduce that would hold beachgoers responsible for any damage left behind.

“Not everyone out there is playing politics and not everyone has their heads in the sand,” Kanitra said.

“Point Pleasant Beach is supposed to be a safe haven for families from all over the state and from all backgrounds,” Kanitra said. “No family from anywhere wants to bring their kids through a cloud of weed smoke to an unsafe environment embroiled in chaos just to get to the kiddie rides.”

He said the advice to just be prepared comes with a significant cost in terms of coordination with local and state authorities, including police departments in neighboring towns. Long Branch needed law enforcement assistance with the May 21 event, and Point Pleasant Beach had to call on its neighboring towns for support during a June 2020 pop-up party that left garbage strewn around town and led to arrests.

“It’s not sustainable to keep allocating resources in case something happens,” Kanitra said. “Tax dollars are being totally wasted. Enough is enough.”

Kanitra urged not only Point Pleasant Beach residents but people from across New Jersey to contact their legislators, along with Murphy’s office and the state attorney general’s office, about the problem.

“Help us disincentivize this destructive and never-ending cycle,” Kanitra said. “Ask them to wake up and help us stop the idiots.”

Kanitra closed his video (you can watch it in full here) with a statement to those organizing the parties.

“Finally, I'd like to address you idiots directly. I want you to know that I've asked my chief of police and my borough attorney to find out how to fine the ever-loving crap out of each and everyone of you that is promoting this and planning to come to this town to cause chaos as part of an unauthorized and illegal event.

“New Jersey may have forgotten what it is to punish those who break the rules but I can assure you we here in Point Pleasant Beach have not,” Kanitra said. “You may think you can come to this town and make epic social media videos and increaser your followers online, but all you're going to go home with is an expensive souvenir violation ticket.”