Tip Of Ocean Grove Pier Will Remain Closed For Safety Reasons, Town Says

OCEAN GROVE, NJ — The tip of the cross-shaped pier in Ocean Grove will remain closed, as engineers say it is not structurally sound.

This was announced Tuesday by the Camp Meeting Association, the Methodist Christian group that built the pier and owns nearly all the land in Ocean Grove.

"Regrettably, we have been advised by our engineers that the Pier extension may not be be structurally sound enough to be used safely," the Camp Meeting Association said Tuesday on its Facebook page. "Accordingly, the end of the pier will continue to be closed for the foreseeable future while we pursue remedial options."

The pier was only open for a few months in 2024 before the town closed it after it was damaged by strong waves. The Camp Meeting Association hired professional divers to look at the pier underwater and they discovered it "suffered damage when unusually strong ocean wave action caused three of the 88 newly installed pier pilings to break."

Some in Ocean Grove previously argued the pier too closely resembles a cross and that religious symbols should not be in a public space that is open for all to use. Pier In Shape Of Cross Stirs Up Anger In Jersey Shore Town (2022)

The Camp Meeting Association previously said the pier was designed, in part, in a "T" shape to withstand strong storms.

Ocean Grove, a tiny Shore town just south of Asbury Park, was originally started as a Methodist summer camp.

The Camp Meeting Association built the new pier to replace the well-known Ocean Grove fishing pier that existed at that spot for decades. The end of the old pier was closed to the public because it was owned by a private fishing club.