By MADDY VITALE
Ocean City’s beaches remain “New Jersey’s Favorite Beach” in a statewide poll for the 11th straight year, reinforcing the message that “America’s Greatest Family Resort,” truly is loved the most.
Representatives of the N.J. Sea Grant Consortium announced the winners of the annual contest in a presentation on the Ocean City Music Pier on Friday morning. Voters of an online poll could only vote once.
Unfortunately, soggy weather that chased people off the beach forced the ceremony under the cover of the Ocean City Music Center’s loggia.
While Ocean City placed No. 1 overall, Margate in Atlantic County garnered the second spot for favorite beach, overall.
The contest includes winners in all four coastal counties. Ocean City received the top beach honor for Cape May County as well. Cape May beaches were No. 2.
Margate received the top spot for Atlantic County beaches and Brigantine was the second spot. In Ocean County, pollsters selected Point Pleasant Beach as the favorite beach, while Seaside Heights took second. In Monmouth County, Asbury Park was tops and Spring Lake garnered the second favorite beach accolade.
Mayor Jay Gillian thanked the Sea Grant Consortium and the voters for selecting Ocean City as the favorite New Jersey beach overall.
He called it “humbling.”
“It’s great to see Ocean City achieve this honor,” Gillian said. “It humbles us to think we have the best beach at the Jersey Shore. We are proud of that. We have a great team, great community, we have great traditions. It’s safe. Everyone is happy. Where else would you want to be?”
Gillian went on to congratulate and thank the city team, the public safety departments, the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Tourism Development Commission, the Boardwalk and Downtown Merchants associations, local businesses, all volunteer groups and the entire community “in making Ocean City a wonderful place to live, work and play.”
Gillian’s wife, Michele Gillian, who is executive director of the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce, also spoke of the latest honor for the shore town.
“We are incredibly proud that Ocean City has been named the number one beach in New Jersey,” she said. “It’s an honor to be part of such a wonderful community committed to preserving great traditions.”
Pat Power, superintendent of Margate City’s Public Works, represented the city at the event. He thanked the Sea Grant Consortium and the voters for the honor while holding up the proclamation designating Margate a winner.
The Sea Grant Consortium introduced the survey in 2008 to “inspire pride in and stewardship of New Jersey’s beaches while promoting a little healthy competition between New Jersey’s favorite beach towns.”
Peter Rowe, Sea Grant Consortium executive director, said this year there was “great participation from our beach communities and the folks who come down to the shore.”
He said the annual poll and event is a way to highlight the favorite beaches and give them a “shout out.”
“We like to showcase this for New Jersey because the coastal economy is important. It is also about nature. And everyone who has grown up living or going to the Jersey Shore should be proud about our beaches. This gives us an opportunity to showcase some of them,” Rowe said.
Among the honors bestowed upon Ocean City, it has been named “Best Beach in America” and “Best Beach” in other polls. “America’s Greatest Family Resort” has also been recognized for its Boardwalk, downtown, ecotourism, family destinations and women-owned businesses.
For more information about Ocean City, visit ocnj.us or oceancityvacation.com.
