OUR POSITION

WE LOVE ATLANTIC CITY! We love the hustle and bustle. We love the beach festivals, theactivity, the creativity and the movement. We love that it’s non-conventional. We love that things move forward. We support this town for everything it is. But, this is the Chelsea District. We’re in a residential area. We are families, churches, small businesses and schools. This is the Southern edge of the boardwalk. And while we love all that’s happening in Atlantic City, this is not the right place for massive festivals and all-night parties. Why? Because this is residential. And because there’s an entire boardwalk and beach without a residential component (areas with casinos, busy shops and no issue for anyone) that are more appropriate.

THE BEACH BAR IS IN VIOLATION

The Chelsea / Cocorico Beach Bar / Goldfish Club is quite frankly…. illegal. It has already gotten truckloads of complaints because of noise violations, parking violations,
liquor license violations, excessive trash and unruly disruptions. In 2025, Goldfish Productions tried to put on an adult-only BRT event here, but we managed to stop it.
See photos of previous BRT Weekend festival and the Beach Bar HERE.

This is not the right area for large scale festivals and a beach bar of this size. In April 2025, we filed a lawsuit. There’s a bunch of press about this. In July, 2025 our lawyer is back on the case,
and working on our behalf.The Chelsea Beach Bar (which is also called the Cocorico Beach Bar and The Goldfish Club), is an open air nightclub. It has been an issue in the community for years. In 2024, the bar submitted plans to expand into a larger area that would have impacted residential units even more. Residents put up a fight and won. Following are violations taken from the article
to the right (Thanks to Councilman Tibbitt and The DownBeach Buzz).

Non-Compliance with Essential Requirements:

• Lack of Required Insurance: Concern over Chelsea Beach Bar’s alleged failure to possess a “$4 million umbrella policy” and other necessary insurance. The Councilman states: “for 9 years, this guy has never followed the contract, allegedly has never followed the contract with the $4 million umbrella.” This lack of insurance is deemed “criminal” and puts “the resident taxpayers at risk for any type of catastrophe that could happen,” including incidents like fights, stabbings, or drunk driving.

• Absence of Mercantile License: The Councilman highlights the bar’s alleged lack of a mercantile license, noting that a “yes or no question” is met with evasive answers like “Well, they’re working on it.” He asserts that a mercantile license cannot be obtained without proper insurance and a trash contract, leading to the conclusion: “Do they have a mercantile license? Which would be no because you don’t have a trash contract, which also would be a no because you don’t have a $4 million umbrella policy.”

• No Trash Contract: The absence of a trash contract is cited as another key reason the bar should not have a mercantile license.

Unfair Competitive Advantage and Double Standards:

• Disparity in Insurance Costs: The Councilman alleges that other Atlantic City beach bars pay for insurance where Chelsea Beach Bar doesn’t. How would you like to have to compete against that?

• Differential Enforcement: The Councilman contrasts treatment of Chelsea Beach Bar with hypothetical businesses like “Johnny X,” who would face immediate shutdown and license revocation for similar non-compliance.

Liability and Risk to Atlantic City Taxpayers:

• Direct Financial Exposure: The lack of proper insurance means that in the event of an incident at the bar, “The liability that falls on the city of Atlantic City” is substantial. The Councilman Tibbitt warns, we are on the hook for this.

• Failure of Oversight: Councilman Tibbitt questions the role of the city’s risk manager, asking, “Why do I have a risk manager in the city of Atlantic City that doesn’t know for nine years this person has put the people of Atlantic City at risk because they were not properly insured.”

• Call for Criminal Investigation: Given the severity of the alleged non-compliance and the risk to taxpayers, the Councilman suggests that “this should be forwarded to the prosecutor’s office for a complete investigation on why this person is allowed to operate without the proper insurance putting the resident taxpayers at risk.”

Lack of Transparency and Accountability from City Officials:

• Evasive Responses: City officials are described as giving evasive answers or avoiding questions regarding the bar’s compliance. The Councilman notes, “When you look at director’s eyes and their feet move so fast to get away from you when you ask these questions because they don’t want to answer questions because they know they know it’s wrong.”

• Fear of Reprisal: The Councilman publicly states that officials are “afraid to do their job because if they weren’t, you would have already shut them down.”

• Circumvention of City Council Approval: The Councilman alleges that the Chelsea Beach Bar’s contract was “the only contract done without the approval of city council and the sitting mayor.”

Impact on Ocean Club Residents:

• Violation of CAFRA Permits and Construction Laws: The Councilman alleges violations related to building “over the heights of the dunes” and other construction and CAFRA (Coastal Area Facilities Review Act) regulations.

Role of the CRDA and State:

• CRDA Oversight Questioned: Councilman Tibbitt: Is CRDA doing their job with all the construction that’s taking place down there on the beach? Why is CRDA (Lance Landgraf) allowing this to happen when they’re violating construction codes?

• State’s Initial Contract and Subsequent City Responsibility: While the state initially entered into the contract without AC City Council approval, Tibbitt says, “for the last nine years it was the city of Atlantic City’s responsibility to manage that and to make sure that every beach bar is compliant with no risk to the taxpayers of Atlantic City.

CLICK HERE to see Beach Bar photos and last year’s BRT Weekend.

Important Ideas and Facts:

• Alleged 9-Year Non-Compliance: The issue of the Chelsea Beach Bar not following its contract, particularly regarding the lack of $4 million umbrella policy.

• Chiesa Law Firm Connection: Optics of this law firm representing the bar to secure a contract without city council or mayoral approval seems suspicious.

• Ocean Club: 2nd Largest Taxpayers: The Ocean Club condo residents are crucial stakeholders due to their significant tax contributions.

• Information Source: Councilman Tibbitt explicitly states his information regarding mercantile licenses and insurance comes “directly from the city of Atlantic City.”

• Current Status (as of recording): As of “yesterday, 5:00,” the bar still lacked proper insurance. The Councilman also noted that “as of a couple weeks ago, they didn’t have a trash contract.”

• Call for Immediate Shutdown: The Councilman advocates for the bar to “be shut down until bar owner meets the requirements.”
  

WE NEED TO BE RE-ZONED

Right now, the SeaHaus, Ocean Club, Island Club and Atlantic are incorrectly zoned. We fit the very definition of something called "A Gateway”. What is that? How does it work? It’s actually kinda simple.

Atlantic City understands that there are residents on the boardwalk, and that there has to be a transition from residential to boardwalk retail and restaurants. They call that transitional area “A Gateway”. In other words, the gateway areas are designated for restaurants and shops, but they are supposed to be on the quiet side. These small business establishments "start” the boardwalk and are designed to act as a transition between the residents and the boardwalk’s night life.

Our area is the EXACT definition of a Gateway. Directly to the South, right next to the Atlantic, is zoned as a Gateway. But truly, the shops begin with us. We need the city to expand the Gateway designation just a tiny bit to include us (it’s only 4 blocks). Then, we won’t have to fight these issues. The residents will have a say. Family friendly types of shops will be built into our zoning. And we can stop fighting. See Here for our page about Zoning and a visual explanation.