The gigantic Tik Tok-driven “pop-up party” in Long Branch’s Pier Village that resulted in 16 arrests Saturday night badly hurt the upscale Jersey Shore destination’s shops and restaurants, Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday.
Speaking to reporters after an unrelated event in Ewing, the governor said the incident included “some modest amount of small-scale violence, but thankfully at the end of the day, we got through it.”
“Now who didn’t get through it? The small businesses in Pier Village didn’t get through it,” Murphy said. “They all had to close. That’s something that’s not acceptable. They paid a big price.”
Eleven adults and five juveniles were arrested as a result of fights that occurred during the party, Long Branch Public Safety Director Domingos Saldida said.
One police vehicle was vandalized — it was dented and the windows were broken out — but no other significant injuries or property damage were reported, officials said. The person allegedly responsible for the cop car was arrested three hours later.
The city also enacted a curfew Saturday night that ran from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. During that time no one was allowed to sit, travel or be present on any public street or public place.
MORE: After TikTok party draws 5K to N.J. Shore town, police report 16 arrests, use of flash bang, smoke
Murphy said said he felt the police response to the party “met the moment.”
“And the results are in the relatively modest measures of civil unrest,” he said. “The losers were small businesses,” the governor said.
Murphy said he understood people wanted to get together again and have fun as the state emerges from the coronavirus pandemic but stressed it needs to be done in a responsible way.
“We’ve just got to figure out a way to allow people to gather peacefully, get out and back with each other again as we all want to do, but to do it in a way and a place that affords that to happen without collateral damage,” he said.
“The concern is: When you look at the invitations that went out, it makes it look as though, in this case, Long Branch was all in on this,” he continued. “That is was an official, ‘Hey, come on down. They’re letting us have the run of the place.’ And that wasn’t the case. It’s a small community. That impression concerns me.”
The governor said he was aware of another planned party at Pier Village next month and said his office was looking into it and tracking it.
State Sen. Robert Singer, R-Ocean, had called on Murphy and the state Attorney General’s office to create a task force to prevent similar incidents this summer.
“This weekend’s incident followed the same script we saw last summer, when hordes of out-of-control teenagers swarmed to the shore,” Singer said in a statement. “This is not a case of getting some people together and going to the shore, it’s an orchestrated criminal act. These are organized incidents, promoted with flyers and posts all over social media calling for people to ‘bring your booze, bring you marijuana, and let’s go to Long Branch.’
Murphy was also asked about Singer’s proposal Monday, but it was in a string of questions and he didn’t address it.
Last year, Long Branch officials postponed a fireworks show planned for July 4 amid concerns that an unsanctioned party was planned for that weekend. Days before, authorities had broken up a huge beach party promoted on social media that had grown out of control.
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Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @johnsb01.
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