Dear Friends,

After extensive due diligence, the city has decided not to pursue the purchase of 801 Asbury Avenue for permanent use as a police station. While the building has served well as a temporary home to the department, our inspections have revealed too many costs and too many unknowns to make the purchase advisable. Please know that we’ll always consider any potential opportunity to save taxpayers money, but we’ll always do our fact-finding before making any decision. 

Work to rebuild the Boardwalk from St. Charles Place to Fifth Street is expected to begin this month and be complete by Easter in April 2026. We have secured a $4.9 million Boardwalk Preservation Fund grant to complete the job, which will include replacement of deteriorated substructure, improved storm resiliency, and new ADA-compliant ramps. 

The project will include new lights to match those from Fifth Street to 14^th Street, and the city will be able to take over maintenance of this equipment from Atlantic City Electric. An existing section of hardwood ipe decking will be preserved in place. A similar project from 14^th Street to 16^th Street will begin in fall 2026.

We are exploring options to truck in sand to shore up some of our downtown beaches. The temporary demolition of the Boardwalk at the north end could provide an opportunity for easy access to the beach for the equipment necessary to complete the work.

Congressman Jeff Van Drew will be honored tonight with the Ocean City Exchange Club’s Book of Golden Deeds Award. I want to congratulate him and thank him for all of his hard work and advocacy on behalf of Ocean City over the years.

Our Ocean City Environmental Commission will sponsor a free presentation on emergency preparedness at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7 in the Chris Maloney Lecture Hall at the Ocean City Free Public Library. Ocean City Emergency Management Director Frank Donato will speak about information resources that anybody can use to anticipate and prepare for flooding events.

The Ocean City Fire Department will host its annual Open House for the community from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9 at their headquarters at 550 Asbury Avenue. Everybody is invited to this free event, which will include live fire safety demonstrations, face-painting, food, drinks and giveaways.

We lost a Boardwalk icon this week with the passing of Edmond J. Boesch, whom everybody knew as “Skip.” It’s hard to imagine anybody on the Boardwalk who has never run into this gentleman, who was a store owner, arcade manager and Music Pier team member at different points of his life. Mostly, he was an all-around good guy and a true friend to many. They broke the mold after they made Skip, so he’ll be hard to replace. Please join Michele and me in extending deepest condolences to his family and friends. 

A celebration of Skip’s life will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 13, at Ready’s Coffee Shop.

Warm regards,

Jay A. Gillian
Mayor