May 2, 2025

Dear Friends,

I’m happy to report that our city mascot, Martin Z. Mollusk, saw his shadow this morning, in our local version of Groundhog Day. The event is always fun, and it signals another early summer. But it also means we have to be ready for the season. Here are a few updates and reminders:

• Paving of West Avenue is now complete from Ninth Street to 13th Street, and the stretch from 13^th to 18^th will be done by Memorial Day with striping to follow in the last week of May.
  
  
• Fourth Ward Councilman Dave Winslow and I have asked New Jersey American Water Company to finish up their sewer main repairs in Merion Park for the spring. They will restore the roadways and clean up the area by May 13, then return in the fall to complete the last few sections of the project. See updated map of remaining repairs. We will have more information and Mr. Winslow’s Fourth Ward Meeting on May 17.
    
• South Jersey Gas will be off Bay Avenue by Wednesday, and their contractor will start wrapping up their upgrades on some of the side streets from Sixth to Eighth.
   
• Our semi-annual Household Cleanup Days continue tomorrow (May 3) at the Shelter Road Recycling Center off Tennessee Avenue. You can discard your unwanted trash, furniture, cell phones, recycling and CFL light bulbs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free paper-shredding also will be available.
   
• Registration for our summer recreation programs opens at 9 a.m. tomorrow (May 3). Many of the programs are popular and fill up quickly, so take a look at our brochure and be ready to register online at ocnj.recdesk.com or in-person at the Ocean City Community Center (1735 Simpson Avenue) and the Ocean City Civic Center (Sixth Street and Boardwalk).
   
• Letter carriers in Ocean City, in partnership with the local branch of the U.S. Postal Service, will be collecting food for families in need tomorrow (May 3). Carriers ask that residents collect and bag non-perishable food items, then place them by their mailboxes for pickup on Saturday. All food will be donated to the Ocean City Ecumenical Council's Community Food Cupboard.
   
• The public is invited to a Community Wellness Day from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 4 at the Ocean City Free Public Library and Ocean City Community Center (1735 Simpson Avenue). The event includes free yoga, live music, Reiki demonstrations, blood pressure screenings, smoothie and healthy snack demonstrations and tastings, and discussions on mental health and other wellness topics. Protecting mental health will always be one of our priorities in Ocean City, and I want to encourage everybody to come out in support of the new Community Wellness Alliance.
   
• The state Department of Environmental Protection and our Public Works Department have launched a new program to recycle oyster shells and clam shells. Residents or restaurateurs can now drop off empty shells at our Shelter Road Recycling Center (see hours), and the state will transfer them to bay waters to create reefs where oysters breed. This is part of an effort to repopulate New Jersey waterways with oysters.
   
• The Ocean City-Longport Bridge and all other Cape May County bridges will go cash-free on May 10. Anybody who still has paper tickets has until June 30 to be refunded by the county: capemaycountynj.gov/1700/All-Electronic-Tolling. More information is available here.
   
• The Ocean City High School “After Prom” event needs volunteers to help make the annual drug- and alcohol-free event a success for our high school students. The prom is May 17, but they also need help with setup and cleanup. More information is available here or by emailing ocafterprom@gmail.com.
  
  
• Our Recreation Department is looking for volunteers to help staff the 2025 Special Olympics’ New Jersey Area 8 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties) Track and Field Meet on Sunday, May 11, at Carey Stadium.  More information is available here.
   
• The Ocean City Pops this week announced its full schedule for summer 2025 with a wide variety of featured artists and themed shows. If you’ve never seen a Pops show, I encourage you to check out this wonderful Ocean City treasure. Tickets and information are available here.
    
• Ocean City will celebrate the 70th anniversary of Night in Venice on July 26 this year, and our organizing committee today announced this year’s theme: “70 Years of Champions.” From our own high school to this year’s Eagles, we’ve been lucky to have seen so many champions over the past seven decades. This will be a fun year for Night in Venice.
   
• I want to congratulate the 17 Ocean City residents who graduated from our Citizens Police Academy this week. The program offers citizens the opportunity to learn about the internal operations of the Ocean City Police Department. Participants are able to share their experiences and information with family, friends, co-workers and neighbors to further improve and strengthen community-police relations.
   

I’m sad to report on the recent passing of Della Ostien. Paul and Della Ostien were the owners of the “Crown Bank Building” at 801 Asbury and an important part of our community. Please join Michele and me in extending deepest condolences to the family and many friends of the Ostiens.

Martin Z. Mollusk has predicted pure sunshine for tomorrow’s Spring Block Party on Asbury Avenue. The event will go off rain or shine from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. I hope you, your family and friends get a chance to check it out and enjoy all that our downtown has to offer.

Warm regards,

Jay A. Gillian
Mayor