Why do we need to stop the Beach Bar? Why do we need to re-zone? How can we do it?

We love the hustle and bustle of Atlantic City. We love the summer festivals, the outdoor bars, the parties and the creativity this town has to offer. There are SO MANY PERFECT spots for these types of things; But not one that’s primarily residential, on the “quiet side” of the boardwalk, with a fleet of senior citizens and families. How can we stop it? In the immediate, we need to log complaints about the Beach Bar. In the long-term, we need to be rezoned. If this area achieves new zoning, residents will have more rights about what happens here.

BEACH BAR VIOLATIONS - It’s breaking the law. It’s loud. It needs to stop.

• IT’S IN VIOLATION - The COCORICO / Chelsea Beach Bar / Goldfish Club constantly in violation of laws, leases and codes (city and state). See Here for more info. The city is not enforcing the law. It’s impacting us directly. Here’s a concise explanation of what’s happening by one of the Council Members. The Beach Bar needs to be shut down immediately, until they comply with the law.

• NOISE - You hear everything that they play, loudly inside your homes with the windows closed. Floors vibrate all night long. Many of us experience sleepless nights for ourselves, our children and our pets. The Beach Bar has been in violation of noise ordinances with over 1,000 complaints. Here are the NJ noise rules:

  • Daytime (7 a.m. to 10 p.m.): Continuous airborne sound exceeding 65 dBA at a residential property line is generally prohibited. 

  • Nighttime (10 p.m. to 7 a.m.): The sound level limit is 50 dBA at a residential property line. .

• TRASH - This has been a huge problem with the beach bar illegally dumping into an overstuffed dumpster. They said they’ve stopped doing this as of 7/2025.

• BEACH - The beach in front of this residential area is compromised! The structure is in direct violation of the legal agreement. In short, the structure is illegal.

• OVERNIGHT PARTIES - Hundreds of extra people per day for the bar, with ads for overnight parties. This is illegal, disruptive and unsafe.  

WE NEED TO BE RE-ZONED AS A GATEWAY - just like our neighbors.

We are improperly zoned. Directly to the South of us on the boardwalk, the zoning is under a GATEWAY designation. What this designation does is deem “low intensity” entertainment and boardwalk fun. It gives the residents a say in what goes on.

If we were zoned this way, we wouldn’t have had to fight the BRT festival. We wouldn’t have to fight the Beach Bar noise. It would be built into our zoning.

In short… we WANT this area to be fun and lively, but we don’t want Adult Only events or all night partying. If the city were to expand the zone just a little to include us, we would have a strong say in what happens here.

By the LITERAL definition, The Seahaus, Ocean Club, Island Club and Atlantic are the “entryway” to the busy part of the boardwalk. We need to be rezoned to match our neighbors. Still a little confused? This explains is all really clearly.