Potential Pop-Up Party In Point Pleasant Beach Shut Down

POINT PLEASANT BEACH, NJ — Point Pleasant Beach officials say a pop-up party that had been planned in the borough has been shut down.

Council President Douglas Vitale, at the April 18 Borough Council meeting, said he had seen social media posts inviting people to a pop-up party in the borough on Instagram and Tik Tok.

The posts were shared with the Point Pleasant Beach police department, which reached out to the organizer, Vitale said.

On Monday, Vitale said that the borough did not seek an injunction in court. He did not have details of when the pop-up was supposed to take place.

A message left for Police Chief Robert J. Kowalewski seeking additional details had not been returned as of 3:30 p.m.

Point Pleasant Beach was faced with a large pop-up party in June 2020, during the pandemic, that left trash all over the beach and prompted dozens of residents' complaints when more than 1,000 people showed up. Read more: Point Pleasant Beach Mayor: 'Town Treated Like Toilet' (UPDATE)

In 2022, borough officials took a more aggressive stance, actively monitoring social media and then taking organizers to court after a pop-up party in Long Branch that brought more than 5,000 teens and young adults to the city, resulting in 15 arrests and the vandalism of a police car.

The lawsuit Point Pleasant Beach officials filed last summer demanded the organizers remove the posts or face prosecution when they came to town.

The threat of prosecution seemed to be enough to curtail any additional efforts to throw the pop-up parties in the borough the rest of the summer of 2022.

There were no traces of the 2023 posting on Instagram or TikTok on Monday afternoon.