September 25, 2026

Dear Friends,

We’ve had a couple days of wind and flooding, and it looks like we have a couple more ahead of us. Street flooding is predicted in the hours around high tide at 8:11 p.m. this evening, 8:31 a.m. and 8:50 p.m. tomorrow, and 9:09 a.m. Sunday. Please don’t be caught off-guard. When the wind blows from the north and northeast for extended periods, as they have this week, the tides stack up in the back bay and in the lowest parts of the island.

The latest information on the forecast, tide times, water level predictions and safe parking is always available at ocnj.us/oem. All of our municipal parking lots will be free this weekend.

The beach patrol cleared their equipment off the beaches earlier this week. The Public Works team is keeping our outfalls clear, and all of our other storm preparations are in place. All of our pumping stations are ready and operational.

The city’s outdoor recreation programs and activities for the weekend are canceled, but open play on Sunday inside the Civic Center will go on as scheduled. The MS Bike City to Shore Ride that had been scheduled for this weekend also has been canceled.

Please check on your neighbors who may not be in town. Make sure everything is secure in their yards and on their docks. And please check on any neighbor who may need help. That’s what our community is all about.

I will provide further updates as needed throughout the weekend.

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City Council approved a resolution last night to seek bids for the Shooting Island restoration project. We have a $5 million DEP grant to restore the tidal marsh there.

The work will restore habitat for plants and wildlife. It will rebuild a buffer against coastal flooding. And it will provide a beneficial way to use material dredged from the city’s lagoons and waterways.

I met with the DEP commissioner on Thursday, and he is fully supportive of this project. He made a commitment to advocate for us in obtaining the required Army Corps permits necessary to move forward.

Any potential contract would be contingent on obtaining these permits. But we want to have everything in place, so we can move forward with this important project once they come through.

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Council also approved a contract for a road construction project on Wesley Avenue from 1st Street to 6th Street.

We have an NJ DOT municipal aid grant to help pay for the portion from 1st Street to 5th Street.

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I had the honor last night of attending a reception at the American Legion for the participants in the Run for the Fallen. Runners are completing a 225-mile journey through New Jersey to honor service members killed in the War on Terror. The runners started in Cape May Point on Thursday morning and finished their first day in Ocean City. The team stops at a Hero Marker on each mile to make a presentation to family and friends of the fallen service members.

I want to thank the Ocean City Fishing Club for hosting one of the stops at the 14^th Street Pier, and, of course, I want to thank our American Legion for sponsoring the dinner. This is the 18^th year for the event in New Jersey. I’m proud that Ocean City is always so supportive of our veterans.

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Stay safe this weekend. I hope you get to spend time with family and friends.

Warm regards,

Jay A. Gillian
Mayor