🎠 Ocean City nears decision time | Down the Shore

It may finally be decision time in Ocean City for the site of the former Wonderland Pier at 600 Boardwalk. It’s been nearly two years since the beloved amusement park owned by Mayor Jay Gillian shut down.

Read more ‘Don’t cut these funds, Gov. Sherrill’ | Inquirer South Jersey

Eustace Mita, the developer who proposed a luxury hotel with a seashore theme anchored by Gillian’s old carousel and Ferris wheel and maybe a kiddie ride or two, told me he’s in the dark about what will happen. The Icona developer has turned his attention to other things lately, he says, like building a Soul Sanctuary Catholic retreat on the grounds of a once-notorious abbey in County Cavan, Ireland.

Closer to home, Ocean City’s City Council is scheduled to vote Thursday evening on whether to designate the Wonderland site is in need of rehabilitation, a designation Mita has been seeking that would then allow a negotiation with Council over zoning and other matters (the Boardwalk is not zoned for a hotel).

The council hired a planner to come up with a report, which pretty much said what an earlier report said: that there is justification for such a designation “to prevent further underutilization and deterioration of the Property and to encourage redevelopment of the Property.”

The city’s planning board in January deadlocked on a recommendation and punted the topic back to Council.

There are a lot of strong feelings about this in town, though the Save Wonderland movement seems to have resigned itself to the idea that an amusement park is probably no longer in the site’s future.

Council is expecting a big crowd and has moved the 6 p.m. meeting to the City’s Music Pier. Stay tuned.

📮 Is it time for Ocean City to move ahead with the hotel plan at 600 Boardwalk? Is it time for another idea? Let me know what you think by replying to this email.

Have ideas or news tips about the Shore or this newsletter? Send them to me here.

🌤️ It’s quite lovely out there. Hope it lasts. The recent spate of land breeze days that left the beach a bit suffocating and ocean water temps plunging was not that great.

— Amy S. Rosenberg (Find me at @amysrosenberg. 📷 Follow me on Insta at @amysrosenberg. 📧 Email me here.)

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🚲 New Jersey says it is now taking appointments for people to get their e-bikes registered, as a new law requires (though not of Pennsylvanians). Read more about the confusing law here.

🚨 An Atlantic City police officer who was shot in the femoral artery, then saved during surgery at the city’s emergency room, was released from the hospital as hundreds gathered.

👰‍♀️ Taylor Swift may have other ideas than Sea Isle City for Jason and Kylie Kelce over July 4 weekend.

🐢 Diamondback terrapins are trying to find suitable nesting spots and are crossing busy Shore roads, especially causeways and blocks near the bay. Please watch out for them!

🤍 A plane took off from Ocean City’s airport and crashed on its way back to Maryland, killing its three occupants.

👑 Egg Harbor Township wrestling alum and Preps Pizza employee Kylie Wright was crowned Miss New Jersey.

Read more Media’s homegrown World Cup star | Inquirer Greater Media

🏀 Margate’s favorite basketball superstar, Jalen Brunson, celebrated Father’s Day with brunch at Steve & Cookie’s. His wife, Ali Marks Brunson, is teaching (sold-out) workout classes in Ocean City.

🎡 Go to a pretend Shore Boardwalk at Six Flags.

🏁 Watch Atlantic City’s offshore powerboat high-speed Grand Prix.

📖 Read Brother Epistles, by Shore resident Shanda McManus, a memoir of her brother’s Christmas Eve 1992 shooting death in Philly. McManus talks here about holding joy and grief on the same page.

🫐 Savor South Jersey’s amazing blueberries here.

✈️ Fly direct from Atlantic City to Vero Beach on newly announced flights from Breeze Airways.

🍗 Check out the new New Jersey Black Heritage Trail marker commemorating Chicken Bone Beach in Atlantic City, and the city’s new Black Cultural Heritage Tour.

🏖️ Spend a perfect weekend on 7 Mile Island.

🇺🇸 Indulge in a Mino’s Bakery strawberry shortcake (red, white) and the iconic blueberry pie (blue) at Ventnor’s 7311 and get ready for fireworks.

The pizza magnate whose family owns half of Ocean Casino is now buying the entire pie, and will be sole owner of one of Atlantic City’s most successful casinos.

Which pizza company is it?

A. Lorenzo’s

B. Domino’s

C. Tony’s Baltimore Grill

D. Little Caesars

If you think you know the answer, click on this story to find out.

A reader wrote: “Friday used to be the heavy traffic day from Philadelphia to the shore on the Expressway. Now the congestion seems to start as early as noon on Thursday and continues straight through Friday night.”

We turned to our Shore Line group chat (join us here!) and asked: Which is the best window to drive to the Shore?

Here are some replies:

Have another Shore dilemma? Or an opinion on traffic? Let us know what you think by replying to this email.

I’ve been talking to a lot of people about changes in Sea Isle City for an upcoming story, and Diana Dougherty shared these reminiscences of the old days:

My husband was an altar boy at St. Joe’s. When we got married, we started renting for a couple weeks every year with in-laws, wonderful times, low key restaurants, crowds not as bad, felt safe, no issue with teenagers. Now it’s all changed in maybe last 20-25 years. We finally build our own house in 1985. It looks like a tiny house to what is now. Miss my beloved place, but will never sell and just redid inside.

Send us your Shore memory in 200 words! Tell us how the Shore taps into something deep for you, and we will publish them in this space during the summer.

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