y " • 64 4 — Herald— Lantern— Dispatch 8 May '85

Police Told to Curb Bands of Rowdies

By JAC K SMYTH CAPE MAY - Mayor Arthur Blomkvest has ordered special steps including the expenditure of overtime pay for police to curb teenage rowdyism and vandalism "I suggest the city support overtime on Friday nights to see if we can clean this mess up." Blomkvest told Police Chief Harry A Stotz Jr Monday night "And I want to see if we can find a bus to gather up these Wild Indians, and have their parents come in as we've done in the past . ' ' said the mayor The remarks came after three guest • house operators complained about hands of youngsters roaming the streets, damaging property, and shouting obscenities on Friday nights in the city's historic district "WE'RE HAVING problems on Columbia Avenue and Gurney Street with bands of children that are unreal." Marian Taylor.

who runs the Heirloom guest house and beauty salon at Ocean Street and Columbia Avenue Taylor said they have damaged her sign, hung on the awnings of the store on the corner. pulled her carriage lamp out. "and kicked in the front door on Friday night " . Said Taylor: "They scream and curse at ^ou. and I'm talking 10-year-olds " Dane Wells, proprietor of the Queen Victoria guest house. 102 Ocean St.. said the problem was one that the f^lice have tried to control but can't. "WHAT'S THE FIRST image of Cape May that guests get ' " asked Wells Answering thenyeStion. Wells said. "It's a bunch of rowdies " Wells stud the/Vandals "figure we're big, rich, fat suckers, and they're going to kick us in." WelLs said a flag was damaged on his pro-

perty. and eggs were thrown at the windows "The kids we're having the problems with are not from Cape May," Wells said. "It's •kids from out of town." figaro's pizza shop on the Victorian Plaza at Washington and Ocean Streets, was identified by Wells as the place where most of the youths hang out. Taylor disagreed with Wells, claiming that some of the youths live on Sewell Avenue, between Madison Avenue and Jefferson Street. She estimated the cost of damage done to her property in the last two years by vandals at "a couple of thousand" dollars. Jay Schatz. proprietor of The Abbey guest house, and Wells blamed the problem on ac tivities held on Friday nights at the city's Convention Hall. They suggested that the programs be moved to the city-owned Franklin Street school where police would

be able to monitor them better. "I CAN'T AGREE with you," Councilman Harry A Gilbert replied. "You're punishing all of the kids, and that's not right." Jerry Inderwies. assistant superintendent of the public works department, pointed out that for the past two weeks there have been no programs at Convention Hall. Police Sergeant Robert Boyd said similar vandalism has occurred in the area where Coast Guard personnel are housed north of Pittsburgh Avenue. "They let the air out of tires-on IB cars, they've pulled fence posts up, and thrown flower boxes in the middle of the street." said Boyd. DORA JEAN WITNER. a resident, said the problem was "terrible, and with the good weather it's getting worse." Witner reported youths on skate boards "knocking people over outside the Acme. " Chief Stotz blamed the v-iiici oiuu uiamea me

problem on lenient courts. It ^ will stop, he said, "when the ■ judges start doing something with these kids when the police lock them I UP." City Solicitor John Ludlam rejected a suggestion that the city enact a lawholding parents responsible for vandalism as unconstitutional. Blomkvest suggested that Stotz hire part-time summer officers early to restore order. But he dropped the idea when Stotz told him traininjpor the summer officers made it impractical. Blomkvest said he plans to enlist the support of Capt . Jon Uithol. commander of the Coast Guard base. "They have some fine kids in the base houses, but they also have troublemakers." said the mavor IN OTHER BUSINESS. Council accepted a suggestion by innkeeper Schatz that construction of a sewer line along Columbia Avenue not begin before 7:30 a.m. The contractor. Tidewater Utilities Con struction Co.. of Linwood. N.J., wanted to start the work at 7 a.m. Schatz said noise that early would hurt guest house business Acquisition by the city of two more sections of privately owned beach was I, announced at the meeting. One of them, a 70-foot I wide stretch of sand near Beach and Patterson I avenues owned by Florence I O'Rourke. has been the subI ject of court litigation. • The other is a piece of beach 104 feet wide near the Playiand arcade and Decatur Street owned by I John Hagy City officials declined to I announce how much they I paid for the beach sections until a later date. IN A MOVE to end a long-standing deadlock over how to pay for repairs to pipes that carry Cape Island Creek underground. Council approved a resolution to apply for a grant of about I S400.000 from the state I Department of Community I Atfairs. Blomkvest said the grant application has the blessing of the county Board of Freeholders who. in the past, have declined to appropriate money for the project. The pipes to be repaired run from Perry Street in the city to Broadway in West Cape May. First laid in the early 1900s, the decaying lines leak and have caused cave-

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