Seaside Park Pier Left in the Dark After Utility Company Abandons Lighting

Light poles, some with LED panels, at the 5th Avenue Pier in Seaside Park, May 2024. (Photo: Shorebeat)

Seaside Park officials have replaced much of the lighting at the J Street Marina, the borough-owned marina and park on the street which bears its name, and over the last year has begun to install some solar lighting at the 5th Avenue bay pier, but there is a reason most of the formally-installed lights remain dark and in a condition that is gradually deteriorating.

This year, the borough set aside additional funding for new lighting at both the marina and 5th avenue pier, but the replacements at the pier will not be in-kind replacements of the formal string of lights that are hard-wired to the dock that juts out into Barnegat Bay. The reason is a long-simmering dispute with electric utility JCP&L that remains under discussion between the company and the borough.

“It’s our property, but they own the lights, and they indicated they no longer wanted to service them, so they let them all go out and deteriorate even though they’re their property,” explained Mayor John Peterson. “We’ve never totally resolved that issue with them.”

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Light poles, some with LED panels, at the 5th Avenue Pier in Seaside Park, May 2024. (Photo: Shorebeat)

Light poles, some with LED panels, at the 5th Avenue Pier in Seaside Park, May 2024. (Photo: Shorebeat)

Peterson said JCP&L approached the borough and expressed its intention to abandon maintenance of the pier lights before he began his tenure as mayor. The company told borough officials at the time that rising labor costs led to the decision, but to date, no solution has been formulated.

In the mean time, the borough has made the decision to incorporate new lighting for the pier into a larger project that replaced lighting and electric pedestals for boat owners at the municipal marina. Progress will be made on both projects in the fall, said Councilman William Kraft said.

“Recently, we’ve put up temporary lighting until the new lighting is designed and put into place,” Kraft said.

Light poles, some with LED panels, at the 5th Avenue Pier in Seaside Park, May 2024. (Photo: Shorebeat)

Light poles, some with LED panels, at the 5th Avenue Pier in Seaside Park, May 2024. (Photo: Shorebeat)

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Light poles, some with LED panels, at the 5th Avenue Pier in Seaside Park, May 2024. (Photo: Shorebeat)

While the LED lighting that has already been installed provides a bridge to a larger project, the question remains as to what will happen to the old lighting system that has mostly – but not totally – been left to deteriorate. The LED panels are attached to the existing light stanchions, meaning borough-owned equipment is now attached to utility company-owned poles.

“We’ve taken it upon ourselves to put some LED lighting and other alternate lighting that is far less expensive,” said Peterson. “We’re going to be doing that, but in terms of what happens to the poles, stanchions and wiring is something we’ve debated with JCP&L, and we hope to resolve it soon.”