Seaside Heights Cracking Down On Rowdy Business

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, NJ - Seaside Heights officials are discussing ways to erase the borough's image as a party town and transform it into a family-friendly destination, Administrator Christopher Vaz said.

The issue will probably come up at the June 6 Borough Council meeting, he said.

Seaside officials have grappled for decades with problems from unruly visitors. But over the last few years there has been a concerted effort to develop a family-friendly atmosphere in the borough.

But problems surfaced over Memorial Day weekend, when an event at Karma let to four arrests for underage drinking and six overdose calls

That could include mandating that anyone who rents a property in the borough be at least 21 years of age.

John Saddy, one of Karma's owners, has blamed the police for the Memorial Day melee and said problems started because they were aggressively frisking patrons.

But Township Administrator Christopher Vaz has bluntly called that claim "a lie."

The business is violating its own site plan approval to operate primarily as a restaurant granted several years ago. Karma is supposed to operate primarily as a restaurant, not as a nightclub selling liquor, Vaz said.

And Vaz has no doubt that things got out of control at club Karma that night.,SubscribeHe knows because he was watching police and Tri-Boro First Aid Squad members trying to cope with problems created by underage drinkers who spilled out into the street from the club at 401 Boulevard.

"I was there and I was watching the building," Vaz told Patch

Seaside officials had already tried to prevent the club from opening over the holiday weekend when ads for "Hyperglow," which bills itself as "America's Largest Party" surfaced on its website.

"All Ages Welcome," the post states.

The borough went to court before Memorial Day weekend to prevent to the boardwalk business from operating as a nightclub, by revoking its ABC liquor license before the Memorial Day weekend, but the legal process didn't happen in time for that, Vaz said.

Borough officials are also considering establishing age limits for people who rent during the summer, he said.

The Borough Council caucus meeting starts at 4 p.m. on June 6, followed by the regular meeting at 5 p.m. on the second floor of the municipal complex at 116 Sherman Avenue.

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