The BrigantineNOW beach crew spent some quality time at The Cove & Lagoon this weekend. We wanted see if those reports of questionable behavior, lack of beach patrol & maintenance were accurate.
Here’s report from homeowner on Ocean Drive, just across from The Cove: “Not checking SUV passes is a mess. Freakin’ 18 year old kids driving on (clearly no permits), drinking like mad. Trash, wood, nails and other random sh**. What a disgrace. We’ve been here for over 13 years. I’m only 23 years old and this stuff pisses me off. Come on Brigantine. Where are the patrols?”
Here’s another one: All 3 potties were full and disgusting. Trash area beyond overflowing. I witnessed 2 vehicles, without permits stuck at main entrance. One being a minivan. A policeman passed by them upon entering and again when leaving. He never stopped to ticket them. Just drove on by.
As we entered the south end path to The Cove, the 4×4 permit checker hut was empty as usual. Some have reported seeing a checker on occasion.
It’s been years since we’ve seen anyone consistently check for 4×4 or beach tags at this popular beach entry point.
Think about how much city revenue is lost by not manning this entrance on a regular basis. Not just checking for valid 4×4 permits, but to also make sure all beach goers have a beach tag. 
We’d like to encourage members of city council to take turns manning that post, or maybe spot checking some SUV’s each week. Could be a real eye opener.
By volunteering to “tag check”, our elected leaders might just get a few good ideas on how to better manage & financially leverage one of Brigantine most valuable assets. Imagine seeing Councilman Pullella’s smiling face as he politely checks your 4×4 permit. Nice.
As usual for a July weekend on Brigantine Beach, we witnessed plenty of fender to fender fun. Long stretches of our inlet beach were two and three deep with vehicles.
Families, teens, and friends of all shapes and sizes were mixed in among the 4×4’s, jet ski’s, kayaks and every beach toy you could imagine. Lots of fun and laughter, especially coming from those hoisting red solo cups. Hmmm. I wonder what cool, frosty beverages were being consumed? We did spot a few prohibited beverages.
We spotted a few ALL-wheel drives which shouldn’t be on the beach due to their high chance of getting stuck.
It’s obvious why The Cove & Lagoon are so popular. It’s beautiful there. Well, except for those big freekin’ dredge vessels and/or Soylent Green factories floating just a few feet from shore.
We all love The Cove, but might it need better management & protection? Seeing toddlers splashing near jet skis, motor boats and fishing lines…makes us cringe a bit. When you mix in the lack of lifeguards, 4×4’s plowing thru the sand and a small handful partaking in adult beverages, we hope the City of Brigantine Beach takes a little more interest in properly managing this jewel by the inlet.
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Looks like a good time! I have been away since 1986, I should come back and show you how its done on the cove!
“Think about how much city revenue is lost by not manning this entrance. Not just checking for valid 4×4 permits, but to also make sure all beach goers have a beach tag.”
According to the beach badge office, you are not required to have beach tags on the 4×4 beaches.
should the 4×4 beaches require beach tags too? ….. in addition to 4×4 permits?
I don’t care either way, I have tags for the beach at my street. I’m happy to pay the money for them, where I grew up (Belmar) a season badge cost over $50 for the season. So now I get them early, and I buy enough to hand out to friends and family when they come to visit. And no I’m not rich, so money is tight. Although I guess with all the advertisements popping up on the beach, you can add that to the profits the town gets on the beach without providing proper maintenance.
Funny how in that open letter to the city, the author mentioned it took the town a few days to get the piles of trash off the beach at the jetty. Yet they’ve had time to add advertisements to lifeboats and trash cans, as well as replace all the old metal trash cans with fancy plastic ones. I could ramble on all day but I’ll stop there. People whine too much on this website. If everyone wants change…. show up at the town meetings!
YES! Beach badges should still apply. The 4×4 permit pays for the VEHICLE on the beach… not the humans. LOTS of lost revenue here :{
Beach tags should be a MUST for ALL on our beaches.
Too many 4×4 permits are being sold, but if you don’t need one to get on the beach, no wonder why there are so many 4x4s. All the rules are being broken. Wake Up City Council
Regarding the management of the Jetty 4×4 beach…I would just like the NO dogs allowed rule to be enforced! Too many dogs on the beach this summer with no leash!
possibly because there is no dog park to go to!
I agree. I have seen police actually drive by dogs and owners on the beach in the early morning.
Why do you think people pay so much for those permits? It’s so we can actually have fun on the beach. We don’t need more supervision, let parents be responsible for their kids. If you don’t like what’s going on at the cover, don’t go there.
hello, gives Brigantine a BAD Name. Wake up
“let parents be responsible for their kids. If you don’t like what’s going on at the cover, don’t go there”
if your response is serious and not a joke, heartfelt and not disingenuous then answer these
at what age should parents not supervise their kids 24/7?
at what age should a parent be responsible for their kid if he/she is cited for public drunkenness, littering, trespassing etc?
if I apply your logic to your statement above wouldn’t i come to this conclusion?…. im responsible for my “kid” (regardless of age), i dont like whats going on with my kid, i ignore and don’t get involved in whats going on with my kid because i dont like it
No lifeguard is assigned to the cove, therefore no beach tags are needed. Yes it costs a lot for a drive on permit, but many of the trucks do come with anywhere from 4 to 20 people with them. They should put a lifeguard there and sell cove passes. Each trucks should receive 4 cove passes when they purchase a drive on permit. There is revenue to be made here. No others town in NJ has this unique situation of drive on trucks. I suggested this to Jennifer Blumenthal. I have seen a few trucks together having a party and so many people were itch them that you couldn’t even count them. There is so much drinking going on there that it becomes dangerous when they drive off.
I don’t think a 4×4 permit should receive 4 Cove beach passes because they buy a $175 permit… I pay tens of thousands of tax dollars and do not get even one beach badge. I also think that the $175 permit is not a right to break the law (drinking and such) on our beaches. The 4×4 permit is to grant you to privilege of driving a vehicle on the beach…. that is all. It seems that this area needs a police presence until the laws have been re-learned and reinforced. This is not Wildwood folks.
Haven’t been to the Cove for a few years now, but I do know that beach tags are not needed due to not having a lifeguard there.
I would like to know why no one cares at ALL about the cove at all until the summer.
In the winter and the fall it is a great place to go…and guess what, NO ONE bitches about a thing then!!!!
May if people treated Brigantine as a year around destination like it is, things would be better managed.
when I worked there last in 1992,as a police officer,we mainly had “specials” that ck’ed the beaches for permits,etc..they were not highly pd.,no benefits,etc,BUT did a fairly good job,and kept people HONEST,who may have tried to beat the system,by not getting permit..When a special was not available,I many times would do a beach ck. myself if we were not busy w/other things..seems from what I hear the city has plenty of employees that could be used for that purpose..I don’t have any other answers..good luck to the frustrating writer of the aforementioned letter..jim tynan,ret. lt..b.p.d. 1992,long key,fl..(fl keys)
We went to the Cove on Sat morning (end of Lagoon), there was a female working the booth checking 4×4 and beach tags (same as last Saturday).
We used to have fires on the North end at night. Cops would take tag numbers and never say a word to us. For that privilege we left the beach cleaner than we found it.
In my day there as a cop,in re; to fires..we were ordered by the chief(s) to have them put out..many times I felt bad being the “BAD GUY”,BUT,some spoiled it by,making huge bonfires next to the dune grass,which are important erosion protectors..the Fire Dept. then had no veh. capable of going on the beach to put out a dune grass fire!!Jim Tynan Lt. BPD,ret..’92…
to the writer who states all red cups are not drunks,etc….touche’..some good points,I must admit/say,even from a ret. (92) brig p.d. lt…jim tynan
I’m wondering if city officials are purposely letting things go to shiz so they can say “look see what happens when you cut back on our pay” Might be the a classic case of fear mongering…cuts force crime to increase, cuts dont allow for proper enforcement etc.
Agreed.
In re; to ltr. writer in ref. to dogs running wild on beach..there are local ords(were,when i was there).The shift commanders may need to re-school their officers..some times getting out of the a/c cars causes people to forget their job descriptions??/poor policework,sadly..
I didn’t realize that the “lifeguard factor” was the deciding element on needing a beach tag or not… I’m at the North end- no Lifeguard… and I bought 6 seasonal badges…. Boy, what a waste of my money…:{ They should have a sign in the permit office ORRRRRRR perhaps the Cove people are supposed to BUY beach badges…. The 4×4 permit is for the vehicle- the beach badges are for HUMANS…. just sayin’ this again
Oh we don’t need to buy beach tags if we use the Club Drive Unmanned beach? Great!
Why are non-taxpayers allowed to purchase 4×4 permits at the same cost as Brigantine residents? It’s well known to non-taxpayers that ‘The Cove’ is the place to go to drink, party, & camp overnight.
Really? Lost Revenue, Ms Blumenthal? Fire the cops who don’t do their jobs patrolling & enforcing the laws.
YES!
So that’s what’s in the red cups. Hope nobody tips off BPD.
If there are rules enforce them. The slobs among us will only get worse if the rules are not enforced.
The cove area is a gem and should be managed to keep it that way and keep it safe.
Are we waiting for something bad to happen before we react ?
You are probably right Murray. Assign an officer. We still are paying for plenty of them. Enforce the laws and all will fall into place.
having ret. from b.p.d.,I know it is difficult to “fire” police deemed not doing their job,in re; to enforcing beach related ordinances,etc…the city will lose a costly trained officer,and will now need to rehire,retrain another to take their place;more wasted taxpayer money!! the **”specials” we used to use,did beach checks, 4 x 4 permit cks. ,parking lot sticker cks,,other on st. parking violations,reunite lost kids to parents,etc..we had some armed,some unarmed,if they could not qualify w/firearm..they were usually willing to get out of their vehs.,and do what they were suppose to be doing..They probably in most cases earned their salaries,with violations they cited..If they did not do a good job,they can be let go very easy..something to think about??.Lt. J.J. Tynan, Ret. Brig. P.D. 1992..Long Key,Fl.**the specials did not go on calls deemed dangerous,bar fights,domestics,etc,etc,..
I don’t understand what you want here..please leave all the same as it was..thanks..good job you’re doing..thanks..jim tynan,long key,fl.
Jeez no wonder nobody wants to vacation here ,when people do show up all you do is bitch,find something else to do all winter!!!