Friday night’s crowd overtook the parking lot of the 7-11 at Maple Avenue and West Front Street, among other viewing spots.
Red Bank police and other officials plan a debriefing this week to review the handling of Kaboom Fireworks on the Navesink security after large crowds put emergency personnel on their heels Friday night.
Of particular concern was a post-event crush of revelers at the train station, where many of the 20 arrests made that night occurred, said Capt. Steve McCarthy. Nearly all the arrests were for disorderly behavior.
Also on the table is what might be done about the throngs of visitors who annually crowd the West Front Street entrance to Riverside Gardens Park.
At this morning’s borough special events committee critique of the fireworks show, Capt. Darren McConnell said the KaBoom crowd was so thick opposite the park that an emergency might have resulted in injuries or even a fatality.
“It was to the point of being unsafe,” he said. “It was the worst I’ve seen in 20 years.”
Details of the arrests were not yet available, but officials said the number outstripped those of past years. Among those busted were at least one participant in a fight on Chestnut Street; a juvenile on alcohol possession charges; and several cases of public intoxication, said McCarthy.
Vehicular traffic in and out of town was believed to have been slightly lighter than last year, though post-fireworks traffic jams still took nearly two hours to dissipate.
But of particular concern to police was the number of out-of-towners who arrived by train — a mode of transportation that event planners promoted as a way for visitors to avoid traffic hassles. Though it was otherwise operating on a holiday schedule, New Jersey Transit put on extra trains to and from Red Bank, and provided a bolstered contingent of transit cops.
By one estimate, some 10,000 visitors arrived by rail, many of them less than an hour before the start of the 9:15 fireworks.
“The crowd came later this year, but when they came, they came with a vengeance,” McConnell said.
Police bike patrols working West Front between Maple Avenue and Broad Street had to put away their bikes because the crowd grew too dense to navigate, he said. And in that vicinity was one particularly unruly group of revelers, some of whom were arrested.
The crowds also impeded first aid responses to some 200 calls that night, many of them involving intoxication, and slowed Middletown firefighters who responded to an elevator alarm at the Hovnanian Enterprises headquarters shortly before 9p.
After the fireworks, several thousand visitors hit the station simultaneously, many of them needing to purchase tickets from the manned window inside the station or from the two ticket-dispensing machines outside. Eventually, NJ Transit stopped selling tickets and spread the word that rides would be free, as they had been in the past.
“They quickly gave up, because the crowd was getting rowdy,” McConnell said.
Even with a contingent of NJ Transit police, who made some arrests themselves, “we were still outnumbered” in terms of the ability to control the crowd, McConnell said.
McConnell said one suggestion he’ll make at this week’s review is that NJ Transit not bring extra carloads of visitors to town.
“This year, we were over capacity,” he said.
“We’ll look at what worked and what didn’t,” McCarthy said of the closed-door meeting, scheduled for Wednesday.
If NJ Transit cuts back on the number of trains they run, I’d expect more people to drive into town again causing even more traffic headaches for Red Bank and surrounding towns. Or it will lead to even more angry people at the train station when the outbound trains fill up too fast.
Why not run some buses instead, unload some people east, some west, pick up and drop off at commuter lot
Red Bank Engine 92 was on the call at 110 W. Front Street Hovnanian Enterprise along with Middletown Tower 180 and engine 182.
We machinated for an hour on whether or not to go into town for the fireworks. We thought about going in by bicycle (we live in the next town and have done this for 2 years) which makes leaving town easier. But, we recalled unpleasant encounters with drunken people, the crush of people, and decided to stay home. Based on this report, I’d say we made the right decision.
I would have to agree that Red Bank is far too popular a destination for the fireworks.
My brother and sister in law usually come to town with their kids to attend my annual fireworks party. This year I decided not to have a party. They took the kids to their hometown Wall Twp fireworks event and were really pleasantly surprised. They said the show lasted almost an hour. was very well done and had really impressive displays. Keeping in mind they have been perched on my balcony overlooking the river for the past 15 years watching the red bank show, so they have some perspective on this. They said the show ended and the were back home in minutes as opposed to waiting out the 2 hours here till traffic clears.
Based on what I saw from surrounding towns (I am in a mid rise bldg) I think Red Banks show has becoming greatly overrated. Not to mention the actual shows length just seems too short. Perhaps its time to re-think the whole thing. Mind you not to eliminate it but to scale it back, maybe make it land based so as to cut out some costs. I guess economic factors need to be considered but i really don’t think a ton of money would be lost by merchants. I look forward to hearing others thoughts and perspectives on this.
As a lifelong RB resident I always look forward to the annual fireworks display. In recent years we’ve decided to walk downtown and park our chairs in front of St. James Church - you can see most of the fireworks from there (over the buildings), then walk home - works for us! However, this year I walked down into Marine Park and to Riverside Gardens Park. Front St. was like a frat party - drunken 20 somethings carrying and spilling beers, people pushing people into others on purpose, and others trying to stop drunken fights. Lots of police around - but way too many people! I hightailed it back to my old perch, where I’ll stay!
What if Red Bank went dry after from 6-10pm? Perhaps that would attract more families instead of rowdies then? hmmmm….
We have lived in Red Bank since 1991 and have only missed the fireworks once or twice if we were away. We love fireworks so we also go to other towns’ displays. Red Bank has the best show. We don’t want to see it scaled down or moved off the river or changed.
When our kids were small, we would drive a little closer and then park and walk. Now we just walk up and find a spot, usually near the library.
We think it is great the so many people come into town for the fireworks. It is too bad that you get some bad eggs in the 100,000 people or so but it seems that the police and the town are working on these concerns.
Thanks for another great Kaboom!
A large part of the problem is that there’s too litle room for the number of people that come. When you think of Macy’s on the Hudson or East River, the show can be viewed by tens of thousands on both sides. In RB, the only ones who can view from the “other” side are the few who own homes there or are having a party. 99% have to view from the RB side. Allowing traffic to flow through RB during the event is also a problem. Why not, from 8:30 to 10:00, route the traffic down West Front, up Hubbard and back to 35 via Nav. River Rd? This way, you can get many thousands to safely watch from the bridge and lessen the “crush” along Front St.
life long resident use to watch by my boat when i anchored at Irwins that was the best. Then form the roof top of my office for several years which was great Last time i went was 2 years ago and watched from the elks club( fantastic ) but i was able to walk one block to escape the crowds but it was madness dont know how you would navigate out of there if you didnt want to stay if you where from out of town I lost a new pair of glasses in the stampeed. I skipped them this year and went to he Bradley Beach / Ocean grove area. You cant compare the shows but over the ocean is pretty sweet and you dont have to go crazy getting in or out of there if you arrive early enough My friend told me it took him an hour and a half to get from lincroft to red bank around 6 ish thats insane ! We were invited to a party on the north bank of the river but decided it wasnt going to be worth the hassle to get there. Its sounds as if we made the right choice And this town will NEVER go dry Its one of the biggest nights the bars have except St patty’s day I think its actually bigger If you cut back on the trains then you will have utter madness in the streets total gridlock Maybe figure out a better train schedule and more of them to accomidate the masses and more police to monitor the crowds it would make more sense they would be more intoxicated there not driving Buses wouldnt work they would be in grid lock and I would pitty the poor drivers dealing with the rowdy’s
I guess it appears that this has become a destination for a younger rowdier crowd so next year the people who enjoyed it will be back and the ones that think its to much of a hassle wont that just about it really about it your call
After the 2008 fireworks I warned the police chief that there were unruly gangs roming the streets, as usually the police chief ignored my concernes, and gee wiz guess what happened this year.
This year on my block (Chestnut street) there was what I would call a riot, there were about 100 blood thirsty thugs trying to kill each other with landscaping stones, and real estate signes and what ever else these thugs could get their hands on.
It seems to me that the fireworks should be cancelled, before the mobs burn the town to the ground next year. If people were smart they would not even consider attending the fireworks in the future since their safety cannot be assured. The residents of Red Bank cannot enjoy the holiday with the mobs of people coming into town, the only people who apparently profit from the fourth are business owners. If the business owners want to foot the bill for hiring the entire Red Bank police department and 100 transit police and the national guard then and only then should we consider continuing the fireworks.
I too as a 20 yr resident of Red Bank always enjoyed going to see the show, my kids look forward to heading down to Riverside Gardens Park every year, as you can not beat the view from that location. The increase in the crowds was definetly noticable this year. If you didn’t have a chair or blanket in place to claim a spot for yourself in that park by 5:00PM, you were out of luck. That never seems to detour the “special people” of the world who think they can show up at 7:30PM and either park themselves on your lap, or practicly crawl up your rear to squeeze their chairs in. A few comments on the positive side, the show was great this year under financial constraints, timely to near perfection with the simulcast. I was very happy to see those buckets being passed with many people coughing up that donation. Any one get those buckets over to the other side of the river, some big money being spent over there on those party’s from what I could see with my binoculars? I look forward to see the published amount of what was raised? The street crowds leaving near Riverside Gardens were actually scary this year. And who the hell continues to allow some of those street vendors to block the passage way from the R.G. park to the street ? There was a gap maybe 10ft wide between the vendors that 1000+ people were bottlenecked through. People with small children were being crushed, even more scary for the people who had strollers. Thank God, I know the back alleys and roads, as I did everything in my power to get off the main streets away from the young mobs who were looking for trouble so I could walk home. Another great effort this year by the KaBoom Comm., but something has to be done next year to control the crowds.
I had attended this year, after not attending for almost 20 years. My thoughts right now are “never again”, even though they were spectacular.
We decided to use NJT; which was a joke. We took a 2:43 train from Bradley and the conductor told us NOT to purchase round trip tickets, because after the fireworks, tickets would not be needed. Found out otherwise after we got back to the station. The crowds were out of control, the police were doing their best, and the RBPD were the ones that made NJT stop selling tickets and to just get people on the trains.
As for the rowdy crowds, I believe the majority were late teens/early 20’s that apparently have NEVER been disciplined or reprimanded for bad behavior, or worse yet, never taught how respectable people act. From the towns they were heading towards, I would assume these were upper middle class and beyond people. I now have a new definition of white trash, or should I say “trashed”. There were very few exceptions, and those that were, were trying to help elderly people, people with children, and not acting like complete idiots. My ride back to Bradley was definitely on the “party train”, and some of these fine “well bred” young adults were carrying on, “racing” on the luggage racks, and thinking as if they were the only ones that mattered. And apparently they don’t pay much attention to what they are taught in school, because most of them didn’t know if they needed to board a northbound or southbound train, or maybe didn’t even understand the concept of north and south.
Overall, I think the RBPD did a superb job, in the face of all of this, and that NJT has the bigger part in the blame for this mess. Either make it common knowledge that tickets are/are not required, make sure yoiur employees are on the same page, and be prepared to handle the volume with more cars on the trains, more frequent trains, better ways to queue the passengers waiting, whatever it takes!
large unruly crowds, roving thugs looking for trouble, alcohol, blocked egress, overwhelmed first responders, etc. This is a ticking time bomb for the town as it seems yet again civil unrest was a mere stones throw away. Why is this perpetuated? I fail to see where this sheds out town in a good light.
OMG real estate signs?? I heard that there were knives being pulled on the cops over on Maple Ave., after the show. I did not leave my house so I didn’tknow how bad things were all over.
Here are some suggestions for next year:
1. Close the Rte 35 Middletown to RB bridge to traffic and use it as viewing area
2. Have the traffic free viewing area extend from the bridge east to Marine Park.
3. Secure the entire viewing area with barricades and a limited number of “entry” points
4. As they now do at Pro Sporting events restrict access at every entry point to people who have proved they have no alcohol and are not intoxicated
5. Have mounted cops patrol the viewing area using their high perch to identify signs of trouble early on.
6. Dedicate a portion of the viewing area to families with children
Restricting alcohol won’t eliminate trouble.
But it should significantly cut down on problems.
And of course NJ Transit has to have a clear plan is place before 7/3.
Maybe by regulating access to the platforms using similar “entry” points letting people know in advance the times of 2nd & 3rd eastbound & westbound departures after the fireworks.
Pro sporting facilities are designed with crowd control in mind. Red Bank is an ad-hock maze of streets and transportation corridors with a major hospital plopped right in the middle of it. With all respect Kevin, while your ideas are well thought out and smart, I just don’t see how logistically it could be made to work. There is not enough enforcement to man the barricades, there are too few mounted patrols available in the area even if all the local towns volunteered their services. There should definitely be a dedicated area for families and seniors but how wold they be transported too and from. This event has simply outgrown our towns ability to host it as is.
It is a shame that youngsters can’t behave with civility and young adults can’t police themselves. Sometimes necessity dictates change. Would a calamity such as a stomping death or mass injuries sustained during a crowd herding incident force a change? Why not get ahead of the curve and scale this thing back.
I have very early memories of my parents taking me down to Marine Park with my siblings, setting up a blanket on the grass, and watching the fireworks. It was crowded but hardly choked with people
Haven’t been in years. I can’t imagine putting up with all that’s described above for a 20 minute display. A shame really that my experiences are not attainable to the kids of today. Progress. Sigh.
notsureanymore yes it was called the Hunt In Middletown
How about we just keep the Red Bankers in Red Bank and let all the stupid Bennys stay home that minimizes crowd sizes and fights by a lot. All the out of towners are the ones that cause trouble. I can’t tell you how many times i was pushed or shoved to instigate a fight. If you really enjoy seeing our fireworks then come and keep to yourself, this town doesn’t mind you coming to enjoy something we provide, but if your in a mood to fight our police, me, or any of the residents of this town then I’m bringing a baseball bat in my pants leg next year.
Not sure how the town would be able to successfully assess those who are too intoxicated to be allowed entry. I think the crowd was too thick in some spots for even a mounted policeman. On the “East Side” of town, we had a turbo flow of humanity down Mechanic, Spring, E. Front and Washington Sts. In front of Riverview Med, many teens were too drunk to walk around spectators, others too drunk to stay out of the way of LB and Fhold motorcycle cops, who did a great job escorting ambulances to the hospital. I took a hit on this site last month because of the post-party mess on my street and conceded these types of events are a comforting and much anticipated event. But this year’s crowd was whacked and truly scary.
Notsure,
I think it could work since:
1. Basically you’re just closing off Front St. (and maybe the Rte. 35 bridge) with cheap wood or metal barricades. Even platic “police line” tape can be used. Volunteers placed every 20 feet or so could prevent people from slipping under even plastic tape.
2. You would not use paid police officers to protect the access points. I see dozens of “Fire Police” & other volunteers every year. If these volunteers can direct vehicles, they can certainly direct people at the access points. The volunteers would call nearby police at the first sign of someone trying to get past them. Very few people would try, especially when anyone who does is immediately arrested.
3. One other thing you’d need are large well marked liquor collection containers where people can voluntarily surrender any liquor they have before trying to go through the access points with it.
JB,
I sholud have said they can keep out VERY intoxicated people. It won’t be problem to pick them out. If there’s a question a trained Police Officer(or bartender) can make the final call.
Kevin,
Are you out of your mind ?
Why would a volunteer want to risk harm by trying to keep drunks from crossing a plastic tape line ?
The Fire Police are for use as traffic control,not crowd control !
You sound like one of many who have NO idea the danger our TAXPAYERS, and visitors are put in every year for this event.
Hwy 35 is a State Hwy, not so easy to shut down for your entertainment.
You seem like a nice guy, but you are as naive as the rest of em who think there is nothing wrong with what has happened to this event over the years.
I cant stand the FACT that tax dollars are used to support this over rated, filthy, friggin frat party.
What do you do with all the booze collected ?
Scale it back. Why are we throwing a party for all these out-of-towners?
How big is this going to get? What’s the point? how does it benefit anyone?