Asbury Park Boardwalk draws big crowds as daily beach passes sell out

People made their way to the Asbury Park Boardwalk early Sunday to escape another day of scorching temperatures.

News 12 Staff

Jul 19, 2020, 1:39 PM

Updated 1,616 days ago

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People made their way to the Asbury Park Boardwalk early Sunday to escape another day of scorching temperatures.
As many searched for relief on the beaches of the Jersey Shore, some were turned away.
All daily passes to go on the beach at Asbury Park were sold out by 9 a.m. Only those with season passes or who purchased their daily pass were allowed to spend the day on the beach.

There are 3,000 available daily on the Viply app starting at 6:30 p.m. the day before, and roughly 300 in person starting at 9 a.m. the day of.
On Saturday, several beaches also reached capacity by mid-afternoon, including Belmar, Ocean Grove, Silver Lake Beach and Asbury Park.
"It's tough, I have people who are driving here two and a half hours to get there and they have young children and the kids are crying because they can't get on the beach," said Asbury Beach Safety Supervisor Joe Bongiovanni. "But our hands are really tied with it because of the situation people need to think about what's going on here and it's not business as usual. They think the beach is never sold out because normally we would never be sold out but because we're involved in a pandemic, we have to limit things."
While the heats drew people to the beach, some restaurants on the Asbury Park Boardwalk who are restricted to outdoor dining said the hot temperatures hurt their business.
Marilyn Schlosbach, the owner of Langosta Lounge and Pop's Garage, said it's challenging keeping staff and guests from overheating on hot days.
"We can only do what we can do, umbrellas and water to keep guests happy. It did affect the daytime numbers yesterday for business, so I'm sure that will happen again today," Schlosbach said.
As the heat continues, the risk of heat exhaustion grows, even near the water. Asbury Park beach managers said several cases of heat exhaustion on the beach were reported over the last week.
"Hydrate, bring shade down, wear a hat, sunglasses, cool off in the water. We have showers at every stairway. Cool under the shower and try to keep your body temperature down," Bongiovanni said.
The Jersey Shore remains under a heat advisory through Monday night.
Long Branch, Bradley Beach and Belmar are also among a list of beaches all selling out their daily badges by the afternoon.
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