A bold move by the City of Asbury Park to approve indoor dining at its June 10 meeting in contradiction to a directive from Trenton, has lead to a lawsuit being filed by State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal.
Before the vote Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn said all state safety guidelines would be followed.
Those guidelines include 25 percent capacity or 50 people, wait staff wearing masks and gloves and availability of hand sanitizer.
They made the decision to open the city to indoor dining as they approved amended guidelines for outdoor dining which will be allowed beginning June 15 at 6 a.m.
Governor Philip Murphy, in his daily update on Friday, said the state, after trying to resolve the issue of indoor dining with the governing body amicably, will be bringing a lawsuit against the city.
At his Thursday briefing Murphy noted the city’s vote and said the state must move forward as “1 New Jersey.”
On Friday, Murphy said the state had tried to work with the city to amicably resolve the issue.
When there was no resolution Murphy said Grewal would be bringing a lawsuit against Asbury Park.
Murphy said the state’s main concern is the implementation of health and safety protocols to ensure public health.
“There can only be one set of rules,” Murphy said.
He also said the protocols in place will ensure public confidence which is crucial to consumer success.
“Confidence is by far the greatest concern for our business owners,” he said.
Councilwoman Eileen Chapman said due to a potential for a lawsuit she could not comment on the matter.
“We’ve not seen anything yet, so we can’t comment,” she said.
