Street Closures, Indoor Dining: Asbury Park Creates Reopen Plan

ASBURY PARK – The City Council has developed a comprehensive business and community recovery strategy plan to reopen Asbury Park during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ReOPEN Asbury Park: Business & Community Recovery Strategy plan, which was announced at Wednesday's council meeting, aims to expand capacity for restaurants and retail; utilize public space as a mechanism to allow people to maintain social distancing; and provide opportunities for residents to safely enjoy their neighborhoods.

The plan was developed based on guidance from the state of New Jersey, with input from city staff, the Asbury Park Business Committee and the Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce.

The plan, which will launch as a pilot, will implement open streets on a temporary basis allowing residents the opportunity to maintain social distancing while participating in recreational activities.

It will also provide street closures in select areas to afford businesses additional outdoor space due to the reduction in capacity and social distancing requirements as per Gov. Phil Murphy’s Executive Order 150, which permits outdoor dining and in-person non-essential retail effective Monday, June 15 at 6 a.m.

In addition, effective June 15, the city of Asbury Park will allow businesses to operate indoor food and beverage service with a capacity limit of whichever number is lower: 25 percent capacity of the dining room or 50 people as outlined in Murphy’s Executive Order No. 152 regarding indoor gatherings.

That part drew a sharp rebuke from Murphy during his Thursday news conference. Read more: Gov. Murphy Rebukes Asbury Park After Indoor Dining, Bars Reopen

Restaurants must comply with all requirements as outlined in Murphy’s Executive Order No. 152 and Executive Order No. 150, including wearing face coverings, remaining six feet apart at all times, and not allowing the sharing of physical items by multiple attendees as well as sanitizing items before and after uses.

While council has approved indoor food and beverage service with restrictions, businesses should be aware this could be overruled by the state of New Jersey. Since Governor Murphy has not yet allowed indoor dining, participating businesses could be considered in violation of Executive Orders and may be subject to fines by the State of New Jersey.

City Council has also temporarily relaxed existing ordinances and procedures to help businesses, creating a “2020 Outdoor Dining & Outdoor Retail Sales Temporary Permit” to allow for expanded use of sidewalks, public streets and private property, including parking lots, to assist in increasing dining and retail space to mitigate against the required reduction of capacity. For details and to apply for a “2020 Outdoor Dining & Outdoor Retail Sales Temporary Permit”, visit www.cityofasburypark.com/reopen

“As we begin to reopen, it’s important for us to focus on all areas of the city when providing opportunities for our businesses to succeed and for our residents to enjoy their neighborhoods,” said Mayor John Moor. “We will continually assess the plan over the next few weeks as conditions evolve during the pandemic and as we learn about what is working, and what is not, and will make adjustments accordingly.”

“We are excited to reopen Asbury Park,” said Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn. “COVID-19 has had an enormous impact on our community. As council, it is our responsibility to do everything that we can to help our struggling businesses rebuild while keeping our residents and visitors safe during this pandemic. The governor’s Executive Order No. 152 already allows indoor gatherings of up to 50 people and we simply decided to extend it to food and beverage service.”

Here are the specific plans:

Expanded Capacity

• Expand outdoor capacity through November 30th
• Provide several options for expanding capacity that allow flexibility
• Expanded use of sidewalks
• Use of public streets
• Use of private property/parking lots
• 6-foot separation must be met between tables

Outdoor Dining and Retail

• On closed streets, businesses may utilize contiguous sidewalk and street space
• Pedestrian walkways for pedestrians only
• Must be clear of sandwich boards, planters, host stations and anything else
• At a minimum, chairs must be stored each night – no seating after 10pm

Vehicular Access

• City deploys barricades for closures and posts no parking signs
• No vehicles would be able to access the closed areas between Thursday 3pm and Sunday 7pm
• Non-motorized vehicles (bikes, scooters) are prohibited from operating through closure area
• Deliveries can be done from side streets or may need to be rescheduled

Events and activities

• Events/large gatherings are prohibited in accordance with Governor’s Executive Orders
• Public art is encouraged but must be removed at the end of each closure period
• No music of any kind is permitted

Food and Beverage

• Restaurants provide reserved table service
• Seating areas must be defined by ropes, planters or decorative barriers
• Last reservation for seating must be no later than 8:30 p.m. – all tables must be cleared by 10pm
• Alcoholic beverages may be served through extension of premises licenses at seated tables ONLY
• NJ State ABC has created a new COVID-19 Expansion
• Permit through ABC’s POSSE Online Licensing System www.nj.gov/oag/abc
• Security plan must be provided by the applicant

Expanded Dining/Retail

• Boardwalk restaurants may resume use of café license space on the Asbury Park Boardwalk – no expansion from previous approvals
• Rooftop outdoor dining is permitted throughout city (if already an established use)
• Other areas with excess property/off-street parking
• Temporary expansion of use for outdoor dining permitted