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Residents push for beach-safety signage and police plan for July 4 after past violence at Caspian Avenue
Summary
A public commenter urged Atlantic City to post beach-umbrella safety signs based on a national standard; separate residents raised concerns about crowd violence at Cassin/Caspian Avenue on past Fourth of July weekends and asked the city to deploy extra officers. Police said additional officers will be assigned for the July weekend.
Two public-safety concerns about Atlantic City beaches — umbrella impalement hazards and volatile July 4 gatherings — drew extended public comment at the June 18 council meeting.
Edward Quigley, who described himself as the founder of Beach Umbrella Safety, urged the city to post donor-funded signs at beach access points and lifeguard stands describing how to secure umbrellas. Quigley said a national standard developed by an ASTM task group and incorporated into Consumer Product Safety Commission guidance specifies tests and performance needed to keep a beach umbrella secured in winds up to 30 mph. He summarized the engineering takeaway: “A standard beach umbrella that's 7 and a half feet across at the canopy takes 75 pounds of resistance to keep it secure in the sand when there's a 30 mile per hour wind.” He said the standard was published in April 2024 and offered a 12-by-18 aluminum sign the city could use.
Separately, Atlantic City resident Steve Lascarides described violent and disorderly behavior he said recurs at the Casspian/Caspian Avenue beach on July 4 weekends, including youths running in the street, thrown rocks and a report of a BB gun. He told the council the area “basically had, best way to put it, a riot of adolescents” last year and asked whether the city had a proactive plan for policing the holiday.
Police Chief Sarcos responded that the department staffs extra officers for the July 4 weekend—“it is one the busiest weekends that we have of the year”—and said the department will “surely be keeping a check on Caspian Avenue as well as the other areas of the city that will be bustling for the fourth of July weekend.”
Council members and administration staff also noted related park and field enforcement concerns raised by other speakers; the administration said it would coordinate police presence and public-safety resources for expected busy summer weekends.
No council action was taken on signage at the meeting; Quigley said he would leave a sample sign and contact information with staff. The chief’s assurance addressed the immediate enforcement question for the holiday but did not commit to a specific staffing level or written operational plan at the meeting.
