no more beer pong in belmar

[vladexodus]

nvm

[hobokenmatt]

New Jersey Borough Bans Outdoor Drinking Games

Council Orders Games Indoors In Belmar

POSTED: 8:43 am EDT August 3, 2005

UPDATED: 12:35 pm EDT August 3, 2005

BELMAR, N.J. -- Keep the beer pong and games of quarters inside.

In the ongoing tussle between summer renters and year-round residents of this seaside community, the borough council has banned outdoor games involving alcohol.

The so-called "Beer Pong" ordinance, which goes into effect Aug. 17, prohibits alcohol-related games or contests on porches, decks, lawns, front and side yards, or anywhere that can be viewed by the public and neighbors. Fines begin at $100 for a first offense.

Adopted last week, the regulation takes its name from a drinking game in which players bounce pingpong balls into cups of beer, with successful bounces triggering rounds of drinking.

Borough Clerk Margaret Plummer said residents near some rental areas have complained about people playing such games on their front lawns, getting progressively drunk and noisy.

Belmar, located about halfway between Manhattan and Atlantic City, has an offseason population of 6,000 that Plummer said can surge to 70,000 on a hot summer weekend.

Some summer renters, such as Michael Todd, say the borough is trying to drive out young people who provide an economic boost to the area. Todd, 27, filed a complaint against a police officer who issued him a summons for playing Wiffle ball, the Asbury Park Press reported in Wednesday's newspapers.

"I didn't know Belmar all of (a) sudden turned into a big dictatorship borough," Todd said.

The borough also plans to establish taxi stands around bars. A public hearing on that proposal is scheduled for Aug. 10.

© 2005 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.