Asbury Park may ban smoking at beach and boardwalk

ASBURY PARK - The city wants butts off the beach – in this case we're talking about cigarettes.

City Manager Michael Capabianco said the city is considering instituting a ban on smoking at the beach and the boardwalk, citing public health concerns and the amount of trash generated by improperly discarded cigarettes.

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Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra club, applauded the move. "People are just turning the beach into an ash tray," Tittel said.

"When we do our beach cleanups we clean up thousands of cigarettes on just one little patch of beach sometimes," Tittel said. The video above details the problem of trash on the beach.

He noted other harm from smoking: the ill effects of second-hand smoke and pollution caused by cigarette butts entering local waterways.

"The cigars, the cigarette butts on the beach, the filthiness it leaves is a problem," Mayor John Moor said.

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Moor said he would be in favor of limiting the smoking ban to the beaches in Asbury Park. He said he didn't think the ban should be extended to the boardwalk.

It remains to be seen if the city would also ban electronic cigarettes or vaping on the beaches and boardwalk. Officials have not yet said whether the ordinance would ban those items as well.

Long Branch bans smoking on the beach, boardwalk, promenades and city parks. It also bans vaping. Long Branch Police Chief Jason Roebuck said it hasn't been a major issue for law enforcement.

"We give them a city ordinance summons based on the city ordinance that we passed," Roebuck said. "I don't think we see that much of them."

Belmar, Point Pleasant Beach and Spring Lake have also banned smoking on their beaches. A 2016 law bans smoking at state parks and beaches; then-Gov. Chris Christie declined to extend the ban to county and municipal beaches, saying the matter should be handled in individual localities.

Dan Bryan, a spokesman for Gov. Phil Murphy, declined to say whether the new governor would support legislation broadening the ban. "We defer comment on legislation until it reaches the governor’s desk for signature," Bryan said in an email.

Marilyn Schlossbach, owner of Langosta Lounge, a popular eatery on the Asbury Park Boardwalk, said she'd welcome a ban on smoking.

"Hallelujah!" Schlossbach said. "I have no problem with people smoking but the environmental repercussions of them not disposing of their cigarette butts properly and the amount of cigarette butts I clean around my venue is insane."

Moor said he hoped the city would take action on a measure restricting smoking before the summer season begins. "We have to do something," Moor said.

Austin Bogues 732-643-4009; abogues@gannettnj.com