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City council unanimously passed an ordinance on Thursday, Jan. 25 to raise the fee for a performance permit to $200. The regulations also limit musicians and other performers to two "entertainment zones" along the boardwalk.
The zones for performances will be between Fifth and Eighth streets, as well as 12th through 14th streets. Performers must also stay within four feet of the boardwalk railing and in certain designated areas within the zones. Anyone who violates the ordinance could be fined up to $2,000.
Several boardwalk buskers told city council how important they feel the entertainment is to themselves and Ocean City visitors. They were also concerned the regulations could hurt the future of busking on the boardwalk.
One entertainer who spoke at council's meeting was Bryan Woolbert, a legally blind professional pianist from Egg Harbor Township. His website said you can usually hear him and his piano on the boardwalk on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday nights in the summer.
Woolbert said this will be his ninth year playing on the boardwalk and prefers it over other venues because of the "amazing community."
"For me, inspiring families, just getting some little kid to dance, playing a song that maybe some older folks would remember from good times in their life, that's worth a lot more to me than the green stuff that flows in the bucket," said Woolbert.
Marie Sacks-Wilner, the self-described "flute lady," said she thinks the permit fee is expensive and she hopes the regulations don't prevent new entertainers from keeping family-friendly music alive.
"We do have one common bond and that's the love of performing, seeing the crowd, interacting with them on a warm, summer night, watching their children and grandchildren dance like nobody's watching," Sacks-Wilner said. "For those of us that have the experience, I can tell you it's joyful, it's spontaneous, and on a really great night, I think it's magical."
The licenses only permit performances from 7 to 10 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Special events and parades also take priority over busking.
Certain types of acts are banned, including ones involving nudity, fire, animals, drums, and balloons. Sharp and dangerous weapons are also prohibited from all performances except for sword swallowers.
Music also cannot be audible more than 30 feet from the boardwalk railing. The noise regulation is meant to prevent boardwalk entertainment from being a nuisance to businesses.
Wes Kazmarck, president of Ocean City Boardwalk Merchants Association, said oceanfront businesses want more rules for entertainers.
"I don't think we're sitting up here right now if people are performing in a Central Park kind of atmosphere, but we are in a business district," Kazmarck said. "It's a district that we don't have a lot of time to make a living and it is affecting business."
City council member Jody Levchuk said busking should still be allowed, but if unregulated, it can be abused and turn into panhandling.
"While I respect all of this entertainment and I respect the reasons that it's done, you're in the minority," said Levchuk. "It is very disruptive to the boardwalk. It's disruptive to employees who work in many of the stores. They'll say they want to go home because they're having a panic attack because they're hearing one set of music in the store and then, they're hearing all the music coming into the stores that's overpowering the conversations."
Council member Tony Polcini said the new rules are a great compromise for businesses and performers trying to maximize their earnings in a limited busy tourist season.
"When it's affecting businesses, that hurts," Polcini said. "You don't have those days to make to make them up."
Egg Harbor Township saxophonist Andrew Ehrhardt said he hopes the regulations don't hurt businesses or the variety of boardwalk entertainment.
"Without performers, some of the busiest stores with lines stretched across the boardwalk will see people less likely to buy their goods," Ehrhardt said.
Performances will be allowed starting on Wednesday, May 1, and ending on Thursday, Oct. 31.
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