West Haven prepares for crowds ahead of holiday weekend

WEST HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — As Memorial Day weekend approaches, those closest to the ocean are preparing for a different kind of wave.

“Everybody enjoys our coastline,” West Haven Mayor Dorinda Borer said.

After an April 16 party led to 12 arrests, West Haven officials closed the beach and all public recreational places for the “foreseeable future” from sunset to sunrise. Borer has been working to ensure the holiday weekend is enjoyable for all attendees.

The city created a Community Risk Reduction Task Force that meets every other week to discuss best safety precautions. She adds there have been zero incidents on the beach since the hours were limited.

The video below is from News 8 at 11 p.m. on May 22.

West Haven police said they have added several high visibility shoreline patrols, as they do every summer.

“It’s important after dark for [police] to be able to manage the crowd and the feedback has been pretty good,” Borer said. “I think people understand they want it to be safe and want people to be comfortable coming down here and if we had more issues and incidents no one would enjoy the beach.”

Residents have mixed opinions about the beach hours ahead of the holiday weekend.

“I’m against the curfew,” West Haven resident Gisel Cordero said. “The community is always well-behaved when there’s an excessive amount of supervision.”

Beaches in the area are closed from sunset to sunrise. City officials said they do plan on keeping this rule through the summer.

“After sunset it’s a good idea to close the beach,” said Paul Templeton, who lives in West Haven. “You don’t want to dangle the carrot in front of kids or anyone else.”

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