New rules increase prohibitions in parks

Boro closing parks at dusk under ordinance to be considered Tuesday

By sandi carpello
Staff Writer

By sandi carpello
Staff Writer

There’s a lot you can’t do in Red Bank’s parks. Under a newly proposed ordinance, carving your initials in a tree is strictly prohibited. Taking a midnight stroll in Riverside Gardens Park also is out of the question. And forget about archery.

Currently, a midnight curfew is in effect in the borough’s Eastside Park, Count Basie Park, Marine Park and Riverside Gardens Park.

However, if the borough council adopts an ordinance on Tuesday, entry in the parks would be prohibited from dusk till dawn. In Count Basie Park, the curfew would be 10 p.m.

Exceptions would be granted through an authorization of the Special Events Committee, or a special permit from the Parks and Recreation Committee, according to the ordinance.

"The borough’s recreation committee has been working on the ordinance for the past few weeks. We want to bring our parks up to speed with other municipalities. Most other municipalities have a dusk-till-dawn curfew," said Borough Parks and Recreation Director Linda Sharkey. "There have been a number of people calling and saying that people are in the parks late at night," she said.

The borough has introduced a separate ordinance defining and redefining appropriate park behavior.

Under the new rules of conduct, a park visitor is prohibited from using profane or abusive language; consuming, possessing or being under the influence of alcohol; igniting a fire anywhere other than a barbecue grill; littering; carrying firearms, bows and arrows, or slingshots; hunting or trapping; soliciting for the sale of any goods; defacing trees or park property; or playing golf.

In addition, pets, which are entirely prohibited from attending special events, must be leashed at all times. Participation in a public assemblage except by special permit would not be allowed.

Sharkey said the park rules were defined because of a number of incidents.

"There has been vandalism problems in the parks. A lot of people have been [causing damage] by physically digging [into the ground]," she said. "Because of these incidents there will be more police presence in the park," she said.

There will be a public hearing on the ordinance Tuesday.

In other park business, Sharkey said the borough’s summer recreation camp, which began Monday, got off to a great start.

"We have 100 children signed up," she said. "People were late signing up because of all the rain we got. … It’s really the best deal in town."

For a $125 fee, campers will spend the next six weeks going on field trips, visiting the beach and swimming in the pool at the Riverview Swim Club.

The borough has hired roughly 20 camp counselors to run the program.