Beach access points reopened along Jenkinson’s Boardwalk in Point Pleasant Beach, Oct. 2, 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)
Jenkinson’s has reopened three beach entrances following an abrupt closure that led to a dispute between the corporation and state Department of Environmental Protection – and local elected officials in Point Pleasant Beach.
On Monday, Shorebeat confirmed the three entrances were, indeed, open to the public. Jenkinson’s is allowing access to the oceanfront at its main beach entrance at Arnold Avenue, another at the beach closest to Manasquan Inlet (Jenks North) and on Forman Avenue, just south of the Jenkinson’s South bath house complex.
The company did not issue any statements regarding the reopening of the three beach entrances, nor did any representative from Jenkinson’s ever comment on the closure, though elected officials said a lawsuit involving a drowning victim in a previous off-season drove the company to close beaches. Within a day of the closure, the company received a warning notice from the DEP informing owner Frank Storino that the company’s Coastal Areas Facilities Review Act (CAFRA) permit, as a condition, does not allow access to the oceanfront to be blocked.
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Beach access points reopened along Jenkinson’s Boardwalk in Point Pleasant Beach, Oct. 2, 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)
That condition states that Jenkinson’s “cannot limit vertical or horizontal public access to its dry sand area, not interfere with the public’s right to free use of the dry sand for intermittent recreational purposes connected with the ocean and wet sand.”
State DEP officials have also, thus far, declined to comment on the dispute. It is not yet known if the three beach entry points will satisfy the permit requirements, or if the company will be compelled to provide more access.
Beach access is also available at Maryland Avenue, the only beach in all of Point Pleasant Beach that is municipally-owned.
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