An expansion of CocoRico Beach Bar in Atlantic City, near Tropicana Casino, is facing opposition from residents and city officials. The bar is located steps away from the Ocean Club Condominiums.
It’s possible a renovations could help improve the area, and be helpful to Atlantic City casinos. However, expanding into resident territory might not be the best move.
City Councilwoman Maria Lacca, has done her due diligence on the new project, speaking to 1,500 residents of the Ocean Club. She has rejected the idea, telling CBS:
“We love the beach bars, we love the expansion of the casinos to have beach bars, but not in a private area.”
Multiple residents spoke in front of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) for five hours last week. One resident said that the current setup is already difficult to deal with during the summer. Penny Gelfand, an Ocean Club resident for 20 years, said:
“People yelling, the radio is blaring, the music from the beach bar is unbelievably loud with a bass pounding.”
The bar would include an expanded outdoor area with a small pool and more food vendors. The CRDA will likely address the proposal at its next monthly meeting.
Atlantic City beaches have been fighting erosion
Atlantic City casinos count on a healthy beach to help with attracting business during the summer. However, the city has faced a shrinking beach in recent years.
The federal government dumped 1.2 million cubic yards of sand to the to the Atlantic City shoreline in November. The plan to make the beach larger is part of a program called Beach Nourishment, which is headed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Ocean Casino Resort invested $700,000 to add its own sand to prepare for Memorial Day weekend in 2023. The situation was so dire, Ocean Casino general manager, Bill Callahan, said it couldn’t wait for the next publicly-funded replenishment. He said in 2023:
“That would be a horrible guest experience. An unbelievable $2.5 billion resort with no beach? We just couldn’t have that.”
There is no word on whether beach erosion would impact the potential expansion of the CocoRico Beach Bar.
The federal program classifies beaches as “a precious national resource,” that helps to “define the physical, economic, environmental, and social fabric of our nation.”
It’s unlikely that the federal government would continue to let Atlantic City beaches erode without help.
