'To Go Drinks' Doesn't Mean You Can Drink Them On The Boardwalk

This past Sunday, May 31st, the weather was gorgeous. There was some time to kill while a friend was waiting for an oil change so we went to Seaside for a walk along the boardwalk.

Aside from the size of the crowd on the boardwalk and lack of people wearing masks, saying that a tenth of the people out that day were wearing masks feels generous, something else stood out to me - a lot of people were enjoying alcoholic beverages on the boardwalk.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not a prude, I'm not making judgment either way. The reason that it stood out to me was strictly because I was pretty sure that there was a law that you couldn't leave a bar with an alcoholic drink.

I may or may not know that because maybe I've been stopped from leaving a boardwalk watering hole with a drink in my hand by a surly bouncer or two myself in my prime, but I can neither confirm nor deny that.

We're in this strange time where bars are serving once again with the catch that you can't sit at the bar and enjoy a drink.

At the moment, because of the continuing COVID-19 coronavirus restrictions establishments can only sell house-made cocktails in "sealed containers" for takeout.

What I witnessed was two laws running into each other:

New Jersey State Assembly Bill A3966, authorizing establishments to sell those cocktails for takeout.
And section 17-16 of the Seaside Heights Borough Code, which prohibits the possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages in public.

While I didn't see any enforcement taking place, a previous post on the Seaside Heights, NJ Facebook page took a moment to give us a friendly reminder and put it in a nutshell, saying, "...that rum bucket could become a very expensive rum bucket indeed!", and could land you a ticket soaring well past $1,000.

As summer arrives, there's nothing wrong with enjoying an adult beverage, just enjoy it at home to avoid it turning into a really costly adult beverage.