WILDWOOD, N.J. (WPVI) — The City of Wildwood has approved an ordinance that will close its boardwalk daily from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., year-round, a move city leaders say is aimed at reducing late-night, unruly crowds ahead of the busy spring and summer season.

The ordinance was passed on Wednesday by the City Council and is set to take effect May 13, just ahead of Memorial Day.

Officials described the closure as an extension of existing safety measures, including a 10 p.m. curfew for those under 18 and a backpack ban, which they say have already improved conditions on the boardwalk.

“We don’t want to do this, but we have to be proactive. We have to,” Commissioner Krista McConnell said.

Deputy Mayor Steve Mikulski said the decision was driven by public safety concerns in a city that sees large seasonal crowds.

“This is a tourist destination, and we’re trying to keep our residents and our tourists safe,” Mikulski said.

Police Chief Joe Murphy told commissioners that simply adding more officers has not been enough to address late-night issues, particularly involving younger crowds. He said recent problems in places such as Fort Lauderdale, Daytona Beach, Myrtle Beach, and Virginia Beach helped shape his support for the ordinance.

“First and foremost, the mere presence of uniformed officers is not having a great effect on influencing the adolescent age crowds that we’re seeing down here,” Murphy said.

“We are more convinced that this closing time is needed to help mitigate these late-night crowd issues.” Murphy added. “I believe these closures will not only reduce our early morning offenses but will also help with the resilience of our officers.”

Wildwood has experienced unrest and some violence during warmer months, including the assault of an off-duty Stone Harbor police officer on the boardwalk last March.

The ordinance, however, has drawn opposition from some residents and business owners.

Oswald Salvatico of Wildwood questioned whether a full closure is necessary, saying, “There’s no need to shut down the boardwalk for a few bad apples.”

Business owners raised concerns about the economic impact during what they describe as a short and critical season.

David Zarfati of Cape May Courthouse said rising costs have already strained businesses.

“There’s a slim three-month season for these businesses to make it, and we’ve already had the cost of goods go up. We’ve had our minimum wage hike up. We’ve had payroll taxes hiked up, insurances are hiked up. It’s like we can’t catch a break,” Zarfati said. “Now you want to shave off, whether it’s 5% or 10% of our seasonal income, that’s just another blow to business owners.”

“Safety, of course, comes first, but we’re not sure this is the right way,” he added.

Zarfati also warned about the potential for further restrictions in the future.

“We want businesses to thrive and be busy up until 1:30, even 2 o’clock in the morning,” he said. “We don’t want a situation where we solidify 1 o’clock and then there’s a fear that 1 o’clock becomes 12 o’clock, and then 12 o’clock becomes 11 o’clock. That’s always a concern.”

Others spoke in favor of the closure.

Jimmy Murphy of Wildwood said, “Sometimes you have to look at the greater good of everybody and I think the 1 o’clock would be good.”

Mikulski said he believes Wildwood is setting a precedent for other shore communities.

“We are the first resort that’s actually closing something like this, and mark my word, you’re going to have other people that will follow us,” he said.

City officials said they plan to monitor the ordinance once it takes effect and assess its impact during the upcoming summer season.

In November, 2028 ATH Jaisier Gray received his first Power 4 offer from Syracuse. 

The offer added to a list that includes Temple and Delaware State, and the Orange have been in consistent touch since then. Gray got a closer look at Syracuse on April 9 for spring practice, and it was a chance for him to get to know the program better.

“The visit was an all around great experience,” Gray said to The Juice Online. “Not because we were in the college practice facility. But being able to interact with players and coaches and experience meetings first hand. 

“Then to be able to see the competition and the love shared between the players pushing each other to be better and strive for greatness, was the best way for recruiting. This allowed for me to get a real feel to how the next level operates and being able to mentally prepare myself for when the time comes.”

Gray gets to know the SU staff better

Among the coaches he got to meet with was defensive line coach John Scott Jr.

“We spoke about how he got to evaluate my film,” Gray said. “We also talked about me coming back up to Syracuse to their big man camp so he could get the chance to teach me in person. Not only that but we also spoke about so factors that helped me gain weight since the last time I visited and what am I doing in the offseason to develop my skills as a player.”

Gray also appreciated seeing the culture of the Orange.

“I found the program really strong minded and influential,” Gray said. “The determination to make their players the best, not only athletes but people they can be. This action invites a very mentoring aura to it. They are very family oriented with a lot of coaches and players sharing great bonds, with common knowledge and experience.”

Gray respects D.A.R.T.

Among the culture at Syracuse includes head coach Fran Brown’s mantra of D.A.R.T. (detailed, accountable, relentless, tough). 

“I respect it due to me being an athlete who takes my sport very serious, D.A.R.T. is the type of mindset that coaches love and players who want to be great but into,” Gray said. “Being Determined, staying Accountable, playing Relentless, and showing how you’re Tough is the way to play. This ideal eliminates the “losing mentality” and keeps you locked in and working always.”

As a result, Gray thinks highly of his SU offer.

“I felt extremely honored but worthy at the same time,” Gray said. “I knew that this accomplishment was a blessing but it was earned through hard work and dedication. Not just in the field and making plays as a young star but also studying and making sure my grade are up to par.”

His Indians team went 6-3 in the 2025 season, and he’s looking to show this fall that he’s continued his improvement. 

Gray is a two-way, two-sport athlete

“My 2025 football season was a big step for me,” Gray said. “I showed a lot of growth, both physically and mentally, and I feel like my game slowed down in a good way, I was reading plays better and playing more confident. I had some strong moments, but I also saw where I need to improve, especially in consistency and finishing plays. Overall, I’d say it was a solid season, but not my peak yet. It motivated me to lock in even more, because I know I can take it to another level.”

The Newark (NJ) Weequahic athlete is a two-way player who plays both offensive and defensive line, but he is being recruited on the defensive side of the ball. He is also a two-sport athlete, excelling on the basketball court with his 6’7” 250-pound frame.

“I’m the type of player who plays fast, strong and disciplined,” Gray said. “I take pride in every play throughout the game, no matter where I’m positioned on the line. I’m a very physical and high motored kid who can play both inside and outside setting  the edge. 

“I try to outwork anybody and be the best at all times, but also staying humble and knowing there’s something ti learn and someone’s who’s better than me. Being naturally gifted with length I use these strengths to my advantage and focus on my technique. Overall I’m a versatile lineman who can do the dirty work, be a leader( by example or verbally), be accountable, and still impact the game positively when my number is called.”

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As the University moves to cut employee benefits amid rising healthcare costs, officials in the  Municipality of Princeton and across Mercer County are confronting similar budget pressures. Mercer County has already taken steps to reign in spending on the state health plan.

The State Health Benefits Program (SHBP) for local governments, which is used by around 55 percent of New Jersey’s eligible employers, saw a 36.5 percent increase in cost last year, with further double-digit increases expected this year, pushing some entities to take their employees off the state health plan.

Mercer County, which contains Princeton, began pulling its employees out of the SHBP last year. In his budget address on March 26, Mercer County Executive Dan Benson said that the county worked with its unions to find a different, cheaper option with the same benefits. He added that the county will work with “other county agencies,” including the Mercer County Improvement Authority, to move more employees off the SHBP.

“Thanks to that partnership, we were able to reduce the expected increase in health care costs for active employees from approximately 31 percent over prior year cost to approximately 17.5 percent annualized,” Benson stated in the address. However, he noted that healthcare costs are rising significantly across the board, resulting in a $12.3 million cost increase overall.

In a statement to The Daily Princetonian, Theodore Siggelakis, director of communications and intergovernmental affairs of Mercer County, wrote that year-over-year SHBP cost increases have made the program unsustainable for both the county and the employees. “By transitioning to a new plan, we were able to reduce projected [healthcare cost] increases by 13 percent,” Siggelakis wrote.

The Municipality of Princeton is still on the SHBP, despite learning last year about the expected increase in the state plan premium. According to councilmember Brian McDonald ’83, an alternative private plan the municipality considered would have increased premiums by more than 20 percent, still significantly less than the recent 36 percentage point cost increase in the SHBP. However, discussions with the municipality’s police, fire department, and public works unions did not conclude in time to switch plans last year, according to McDonald.

“We are currently beginning the process of looking for an alternate health insurance plan for 2027, and if we can find one, we will begin conversations with the unions much earlier this year,” McDonald wrote to the ‘Prince.’

“In the case of health insurance, 36 percent this year. That alone, as you will see, is about $1.9 million higher than it was last year,” McDonald said at the March 23 Princeton Council meeting. “If we just pass that expense on to taxpayers, it would require a one-year increase of 6 percent. So we’ve had to work extremely hard and again make very challenging choices.”

At the March 23 meeting, the municipality’s Chief Financial Officer Sandra Webb shared that the current proposed budget would increase the municipal tax rate by 2.87 percent.

Although the municipality of Princeton remained on the SHBP this year, McDonald wrote that the “recent level of health insurance increases is totally unsustainable” in the long term. He added that if increases cannot be curbed, “there really are only two options: pass the increases at all levels of government on to taxpayers, who already pay some of the highest property taxes in the country, or reduce services and, potentially, staff levels.”

Princeton Public Library is also still on the state plan. The library is also facing challenges with its budget — in January, it shortened its hours by one hour each day due to increased operational costs. Currently, the library is seeking greater funding from Princeton municipality in the municipal budget and is in negotiations with the Princeton Council.

“As a public institution, Princeton Public Library has limited options for trimming our health insurance costs,” Jennifer Podolsky, executive director of the library, wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “We did eliminate the most expensive employee plans as a cost-saving measure last fall, and … trust me, we have explored every other coverage option available to us. The SHBP is still the most cost-effective.”

Princeton Public Schools (PPS) is not enrolled in the School Employees’ Health Benefits Program (SEHBP) — the SHBP plan for public schools — because of a cheaper cost offered by their private insurance plans. In a statement to the ‘Prince,’ PPS Superintendent Michael LaSusa wrote that the rising costs of health benefits are “largely passed on to the taxpayers through the local tax levy increase,” which is the focus of their current budget discussions.

At the district’s March 17 Board of Education meeting, LaSusa explained that the total premium increase for the SEHBP was 31.9 percent, including a prescription cost increase of 58.6 percent. Since PPS is privately insured, their projected total premium increase, including prescription costs, was 15.2 percent.

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According to a March press release from the New Jersey Department of the Treasury, some entities with “lower-cost employees” who use fewer health services are switching to cheaper plans, leaving “higher-cost” employees to make use of the plan but with less premium revenues to cover the cost.

This exodus of lower-cost entities from SHBP has further increased burdens for employers still on the program. In a May 2025 report about the SHBP, the Treasury noted that, although the program was initially designed to offer “affordable, high-quality coverage to public employees,” the program is no longer financially viable partly due to declining enrollment.

This and various other factors, according to the report, “have created a self-reinforcing loop of premium increases and employer exits — what actuaries commonly refer to as a ‘death spiral.’”

It remains unclear how extensively University employees will be impacted by benefit cuts. In a memo about general benefits cuts in February, Executive Vice President Katie Callow-Wright and Provost Jennifer Rexford ’91 wrote that the University would be cutting employee benefits and limiting pay raises, citing “dramatically rising costs of medical and prescription benefits.”

They added that “forthcoming changes to the University’s benefits offerings” have been previewed, and that these changes were “made necessary by dramatically rising costs of medical and prescription benefits here and nationwide.”

Elizabeth Hu is a senior News writer, assistant head Copy editor, associate Data editor, staff Podcast producer, and contributing Features writer from Houston. She can be reached at exh[at]dailyprincetonian.com.

Oliver Wu contributed reporting.

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.