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Pennsylvania charity puts youth trips to Ocean City on hold
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OCEAN CITY - A nonprofit group will not bring disadvantaged children to the resort this summer after losing a court battle with the city.
For the past three years, Angels on the Atlantic, based in Drexel Hill, Pa., brought inner-city children to the island for a fun day at the beach.
The company this week said it will not operate in Ocean City this summer. But it will offer other youth programs to try to fulfill its charitable mission, the group said in a statement.
In a lawsuit against the city, the group tried to persuade a state Superior Court judge that the city unfairly targeted the group through its code-enforcement office.
The city cited the charity for 16 municipal code violations for unauthorized portable toilets and ice-cream carts, among other issues, city Solicitor Keith Szendrey said. Those summonses still have not been heard in Municipal Court.
"The most recent action was the conditions we placed on the mercantile license. They had to operate the business in accord with city requirements," he said.
The group estimates that 4,800 poor children have been able to enjoy a day at the beach thanks to its efforts. The charity said it would resume recreational and educational day trips in July but did not specify the destination.
"Despite the situation with Ocean City, we will persevere and fulfill our mission," the group said in a statement.
Charity founder Vince Hubach on Wednesday declined to comment on the legal dispute with the city.
Earlier this year, the group lost an unrelated lawsuit filed by neighbors who objected to plans to build a three-story pavilion on the beach where Sugars Restaurant now stands. The pavilion would have offered bathrooms and indoor recreation space for children to get out of the sun or rain.
The court ruled the Zoning Board erred in allowing a private structure in the beach and dune zone.
The city's code office granted a mercantile license to the charity for 2009 with several conditions, including that it offer no food service after 6 p.m., install no portable toilets and confer with police about selecting an appropriate bus stop for the children, Szendrey said.
The latter restriction was designed for public safety, he said.
"We have an ordinance that designated that those drop-offs are to be done after the police review them," Szendrey said. "If the bus is dropping kids off, and they're in the street, that's not safe."
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Posted in Cape_may on Thursday, July 2, 2009 3:10 am
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