Metuchen's mayor is asking parents to keep an eye on their teens following a string of what he calls bad behaviors in the town plaza.

Metuchen Mayor Jonathan Busch says a group of teens was arrested after driving a car onto the empty plaza usually reserved as a large open gathering space on Tuesday night.

He also says large groups are also gathering together, even as the people are still supposed to be social distancing.

Busch adds that the borough is seeing an increase in property damage, littering, and other behaviors that are impacting business in the plaza area.

He is now telling teenagers, and is hoping their parents will listen, that this all has to stop.

"It's about calling out bad behavior when we see it,” Busch says. "But the biggest concern here is that, whatever the reason, there are some bad behaviors that we're noticing. There's been an uptick, and we want to be sure that we have a community conversation about what we say to our kids, what's allowed, what's not. We have a borough ordinance. It has to be followed."

Busch emphasizes that no bikes or cars are allowed on the plaza, and that property damage or littering are prohibited.

The borough will increase its police presence in the area to deter the behavior and educate the teens.