As you no doubt have heard, the public will have regular access to Sea Isle City’s beaches starting Saturday morning, May 16. I can’t stress enough the importance of maintaining a social distance of at least six feet between yourself and others at all times while on the beach and promenade (except for immediate family and household members). It’s up to each and every one of us to make sure that our beaches and promenade remain safe – and, in turn, remain open.Yesterday afternoon, I had the pleasure of speaking directly to the people of New Jersey during Governor Murphy’s daily live broadcast from Trenton. I would like to thank the Governor and his staff for their kindness to me and their dedication to the people of the Garden State. As I said on-camera, this pandemic is not a Republican or a Democratic problem – it is a problem that requires all of us to work together to reach our common goals and keep everyone safe.As you may have heard, earlier this week the Sea Isle City Beach Tag Office re-opened and is selling seasonal beach tags, distributing pre-purchased tags, and presenting veterans tags to the men and women of our community who served in our nation’s military.This year’s veterans beach tag honors Corporal Michael Crescenz, who spent the summers of his youth here in Sea Isle City before being shipped off to the Vietnam War. In 1968, at the age of 19, Corporal Crescenz lost his life while helping save other men in his company during a horrible battle. Following Michael’s heroic sacrifice, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 1970 – and we are very proud to dedicate this year’s veterans tag in his memory.
And speaking of honoring the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country, I have news to share about our 2020 Memorial Day Ceremony. Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus, we will not be able to hold our annual Memorial Day Ceremony at Veterans Park, as is our tradition.However, we still intend to mark that solemn day with a virtual ceremony that everyone can watch from the comfort of their home or on a mobile device. Information about our pre-recorded Memorial Day Ceremony will be forthcoming – and I promise it will be worth viewing.In closing, I want to remind everyone to please practice social distancing; and as always, please stay safe, stay well, remain optimistic, and remember that we are all one Sea Isle City and together we will be stronger than ever. Sincerely,Mayor Leonard Desiderio