By Vashti Harris
Source nj.com
Sixteen people were arrested after thousands gathered for a social media-driven “pop-up party” in Long Branch on Saturday night,
The party was promoted on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram and created a public emergency as people poured into Pier Village, resulting in fights and prompting police to declare a 9 p.m. curfew.
“There were no permits for (this gathering),” said Long Branch Public Safety Director Domingos Saldida. “It was not authorized by the city in any way. It’s something people have been doing across the country and that people have been doing here in New Jersey, where they just show up and they take over public spaces and cause a public disturbance.”
The Long Branch Police Department estimates that 5,000 people showed up to Pier Village, a luxury, oceanfront mixed-use development that consists of 500 residences, about 30 restaurants and shops and two hotels.
Most attendees arrived by train, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
Multiple fights were reported among partygoers and “one flash bang and the deployment of smoke,” was used by state Department of Corrections officers assisting at the scene, authorities said.
Police from various agencies were called in to assist, including New Jersey State Police and NJ Transit.
Most of those who attended left peacefully, but 11 adults and five juveniles were arrested as a result of the fights, Saldida said.
One police vehicle was vandalized — it was dented, and the windows were broken out — but no significant injuries or property damage were reported.
Police arrested the individual allegedly responsible for damaging the vehicle three hours later, authorities said.
The city curfew, announced at 8:09 p.m., ran from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. During that time no one was allowed to sit, travel or be present on any public street or public place, according to Long Branch’s Twitter page.
Saldida said the city did not plan to enforce the curfew again on Sunday.
“The city of Long Branch is not going to do that, off-the-bat, right away,” he said. “We don’t want to inconvenience our residents and people coming to the shore that enjoy our community. But if we see anything that comes in that direction, we will immediately. Long Branch is a great city and a great place to come to, and we can’t afford to have our community go through this every single year.”
Pop up parties that are promoted on social media have been a problem for law enforcement for at least the past two summers.
In July 2021, police in Beach Haven had to disperse juveniles who were publicly drinking in a park who were called there by a social media post. And in 2020, thousands of young partygoers converged on the beach in Point Pleasant requiring help from neighboring police departments to control the crowd. That same summer, in Howell, officers from seven agencies broke up a house party promoted on Instagram that drew 300 people to a residential neighborhood.
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