For years the rich
and well-healed members of the private exclusive beach clubs of Seabright New
Jersey were excluding the public from accessing, fishing, sitting and or even
swimming in the ocean beach property either adjacent or parallel to beach
property owned by these “member only beach clubs.” Many of these beach clubs were “legacy” clubs that were open only
to selected families with the right connections and recommendations of other
members. Their flimsy arguments in
support of such selfishness, was in part, are members pay for the lifeguards,
why should they save someone if drowning, because after all, they are
not-one-of-us and did not pay their dues to the club.
These heavens for
the privileged and wealthy had no shame in excluding access to the beach and
ocean parallel to their clubs notwithstanding that their beaches were
replenished with stand by for by federal and state taxpayer funds. Further, the great sea wall that allows
Seabright to remain on the map, and preventing it to remain above seal level,
by preventing flooding by the ocean into the Shrewsbury River was built by
taxpayers’ funds. The walls
construction started in 1914 and rebuilt and expended in 1962. The wall continues to be repaired to date,
with taxpayers’ money.
On Friday, September
28, 2012, a panel of the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey
made a great decision upholding the right of the common people to use their
beaches. Judges Mary Beth Catherine
Cuff, Alexander Waugh and Jerome St. John agreed with the State of New Jersey
(the people) and ruled that because the beach replenishment projects over the
years were paid by taxpayer dollars the private clubs and no right in
hogging-up and excluding others from their beaches. This is a great decision for the people of New Jersey who cannot
afford a million dollar home or membership in private exclusive beach clubs
that regularly exclude minorities, the poor and working class. The lawsuit was filed against the beach
clubs in 2006 during the Democratic administration of Governor Jon Corzine. It
is highly unlikely that Governor Christie would have allowed such a lawsuit
during his administration since he would be going against his wealthy
Republican power base of donors of Monmouth County.
The next lawsuit
that the State of New Jersey must bring against such towns as Seabright, Deal,
Mantoloking, and Bay Head among other snooty towns is to force these towns to
provide street parking. These towns in
the attempt to circumvent the public beach access laws provide no public or
street parking in their towns, thus, preventing the pubic from using their
beaches. The beach access laws have no
teeth and are useless if these towns continue to restrict street and public
parking which they do to skirt the law and prevent out-of-towners and
day-trippers from using their beaches.
In the movie the
Grapes of Wrath the last words by Tommy’s Mother are relevant here when she
said: The rich they come and they die off, but the people keep on coming, you
can’t stop the people. Thank you
Judges, St. John, Cuff and Waugh for siding with the people.
Law Office of
Vincent J. Sanzone, Jr.
Criminal Defense and
Civil Rights Attorney
Law Office of
Vincent J. Sanzone, Jr., Esq.
277 North Broad
Street
P.O. Box 261
Elizabeth (Union
County), New Jersey 07207
Office Phone: (908)
354-7006
Cell Phone: (201) 240-5716
September 29, 2012
Criminal Defense and Civil Rights Attorney fighting for the people for Hudson, Essex, Union, Bergen, Middlesex, Monmouth, Passaic, Morris, Ocean, Atlantic, Camden, Somerset and Burlington Counties
