This weekend, residents and tourists adjusted to Ocean City’s newest ordinances. The new rules come as the city aims to tackle unruly teenage behavior, which made headlines over Memorial Day weekend.
A youth curfew and backpack ban went into effect Thursday in Ocean City, adding to earlier rules that closed beaches at 8 p.m. and boardwalk restrooms at 10 p.m. to try to prevent rowdy, disorderly situations.
“The last few weekends have been exactly the way that everybody would expect Ocean City to be — peaceful family environment,” said Ocean City Councilman Jody Levchuk, who owns a small business on the boardwalk. Ocean City had no choice in how to react to the huge crowd of teenagers that caused chaos over Memorial Day weekend, he said. “Even though there are some people who are unhappy with it, we’re going to tackle it … And, Ocean City beach closure is not a forever thing.”
Bridget Jacobson, the director of operations at the Stainton’s by the Sea gallery, said, “It might have seemed a little drastic, but I think we had to convey a message that we weren’t going to tolerate this behavior anymore,” Jacobson said.
