Seaside Heights Must Temporarily Suspend Daily Playing of National Anthem

The Seaside Heights beach and boardwalk. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

A daily tradition in Seaside Heights will temporarily be suspended, borough officials decided Monday.

Earlier this summer, the borough began playing the Star-Spangled Banner each morning at 11 a.m. on the boardwalk following repairs to a public address system that allowed them to do so. Those repairs, however, were apparently not enough.

“The FM transmitter that links the music function to the wireless speakers continues to transmit loud and annoying static through the system no matter what we do,” said Borough Administrator Christopher Vaz. “The vendor hasn’t been able to solve the problem despite flying in a technician in June to troubleshoot the problem.”

---

Get Daily Island News Updates Your email address:* Please enter all required fields Correct invalid entries

Vaz said officials had tried to use the transmitter just once a day for the playing of the national anthem, but even under those circumstances, loud static could sometimes be heard all day long.

“And it’s random. We never know which particular speakers are going to annoy everybody,” he said.

At this point, Vaz said, the borough is obtaining prices for a hard-wired system that will remedy the issue, but in the mean time, the system – including the daily playing of the national anthem – will be shut off.

When a new PA system is installed, officials plan on restoring the daily tradition.