By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
For more than 20 years, Sea Isle City gave local families an alcohol-free alternative to safely ring in the New Year.
Hundreds of children would pour into the former public school for a night of kid-friendly entertainment and to have their pictures taken with costumed superheroes such as Wonder Woman, Spider-Man and Captain America.
Mimicking the famous midnight celebration at Times Square, a ball would drop from a replica of the Empire State Building inside the gymnasium at Sea Isle’s old school precisely at 7 p.m. to usher in the New Year at an hour appropriate for children.
However, the family-style community party will not be held this New Year’s Eve because the heating system at the old school is broken and the building remains closed to the public, city spokeswoman Katherine Custer.
“There is no heat in that building so we had to turn off the water and shut down the building. Therefore, we can’t have the New Year’s Eve event, unfortunately, because we have no space that is sufficient to hold an event of that size,” Custer said Friday.
Sea Isle, though, will still celebrate New Year’s Eve with a fireworks display at 8 p.m. Fireworks will shoot off from the beach at John F. Kennedy Boulevard for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Like other communities nationwide, Sea Isle canceled its fireworks display last year while the coronavirus pandemic raged. It also canceled the community party inside the old school.
The old school, built in 1971, closed in 2012 due to Sea Isle’s declining student enrollment. The building has been deteriorating in recent years, including the broken heating system.
Mayor Leonard Desiderio and other city officials will hold a town hall meeting 10 a.m. Saturday to discuss Sea Isle’s plan to demolish the old school and redevelop the site at 4501 Park Road into a $20 million community recreation center. The meeting will take place at the Community Lodge next to the Sea Isle City Welcome Center at 300 JFK Boulevard.
During the meeting, blueprints will be on display, city officials will outline the uses planned for the facility, and members of the public will be able to ask questions about the project.
There will also be a presentation by the city’s auditor to explain how the cost to construct the community recreation center will impact property taxes.
Those who are unable to attend the meeting in person can view the event online via “Facebook Live” on the city’s Facebook page, which can be accessed by clicking the Facebook link on the home page of www.seaislecitynj.us.
