Seaside Heights Acts to Shut Down Three Motels, Six Rental Properties

Skyview Manor Motel, Seaside Heights. (Photo: Priceline)

Seaside Heights officials have filed revocation complaints against nine property owners – including three motels – who are accused of violating a local ordinance that is aimed at preventing excessive police calls and violations in rental units.

“Thanks to the ongoing laser-focused work of the Police Department and Code Enforcement Division, the first nine mercantile license revocation complaints have been filed and I anticipate at least another six complaints will be filed within the next two weeks,” said Mayor Anthony Vaz.

The complaints were filed against:

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• 234 Lincoln Avenue
• 45 Dupont Avenue (Skyview Manor Motel)
• 216 Sherman Avenue
• 223 Hamilton Avenue
• 108 Boulevard (Offshore Motel)
• 1402 Boulevard (Hammock Inn)
• 301 Sumner Avenue – Units 1, 3, and 12

The borough has been budgeting for, and dedicating, legal resources toward the administrative prosecution of the complaints, followed by what will likely be Superior Court litigation.

“There are numerous landlord-investors that only care about making a buck at the expense of quality of life of our community,” said Vaz. “They have no standards for operating their rental units and continue to ignore the serious consequences of their actions. They may pay their property taxes, but that doesn’t give them a license to be slumlords or act irresponsibly.”

“A Seaside Heights mercantile license is a privilege not a right,” the mayor said.

Full copies of each complaint were made available by the borough on its website. The motels are accused of being the site of hundreds of incidents over the past year, including drug overdoses, thefts, disturbances and other incidents that required the execution of warrants.

The complaint against the Skyview motel, for example, chronicles a staggering 272 calls for service which resulted in 22 arrests, plus three reported deaths. Charges against offenders at the motel have included aggravated assault on a police officer, assault with a knife, weapons possession and drug offenses.

At the Offshore Motel, there were 153 calls for police service, and arrests for homicide, numerous assaults, criminal restraint and narcotics crimes. The Hammock Inn property is accused of being the site of “dozens” of calls similar to those at the other motels. Most the offenses alleged to have occurred in the residential homes had to do with excessive noise, overcrowding and large gatherings being held throughout the nighttime hours.

The complaints are the latest tool Seaside Heights officials have adopted in their effort to transform the borough into a family-friendly resort town and shed the hard-partying image gleaned from media appearances, most notably MTV’s “Jersey Shore.”

“There are so many positive things happening in Seaside Heights right now,” said Vaz. “Dozens of new homes have been constructed and other homes are being renovated. The Carousel Pavilion construction is complete and we will soon begin the next phases of carousel restoration and local history museum development. The Boardwalk and beaches have been busy this summer, and I hear that businesses are having one of their best summer seasons despite the challenges created by the pandemic. Indeed, the future is bright, but we cannot allow the landlord-investors march to their own drumbeat.”