Long Branch, NJ Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)
Key Facts
- Banned locations
- Streets, parks, beaches, boardwalks
- Also banned
- Possession with intent to drink there
- Public intoxication
- Banned if it annoys another person
- Adopted
- Ordinance No. 999, October 15, 1990
- Max penalty
- $2,000 fine / 90 days
Summary
Long Branch bans serving, selling, dispensing, drinking or consuming any alcoholic beverage on public streets, sidewalks, parks, beaches, boardwalks or marine basins, and even bans possessing alcohol with intent to drink there. Public intoxication that annoys another person is also prohibited.
B. No person shall serve, sell, dispense, drink or consume any alcoholic beverage on a public street, highway, avenue, alley or road of the city; or upon any public grounds, parks, sidewalks, beaches, marine basins, beachfronts or boardwalks in the city; or in any automobile, other vehicle or in any other means of transportation on the public streets, highways, alleys, avenues, grounds, sidewalks, beaches, parks, marine basins, beachfronts or boardwalks in the city. C. No person shall possess any alcoholic beverage with intent to violate Subsection B.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4904719; v48 updated 2026-06-10; through 06-10-2026).
Full Breakdown
City of Long Branch Code § 218-7, Drinking of alcoholic beverages, added to Chapter 218 by Ordinance No. 999 in 1990, sets three linked prohibitions. Subsection A bars any person from being drunk or intoxicated in any street or public place in the city, or in any private home or place, to the annoyance of any citizen or person. Subsection B is the core open-container ban: no person may serve, sell, dispense, drink or consume any alcoholic beverage on a public street, highway, avenue, alley or road, or on public grounds, parks, sidewalks, beaches, marine basins, beachfronts or boardwalks, or in any automobile, other vehicle or means of transportation on those same public ways.
Subsection C closes the obvious workaround by also prohibiting mere possession of an alcoholic beverage with intent to violate the drinking ban. This section is cross-referenced to Chapter 103, Alcoholic Beverages, which governs licensed premises separately. Notably, § 218-7 is the only substantive provision left standing in Chapter 218: the chapter's original loitering sections, §§ 218-1 through 218-6, covering definitions, prohibited loitering, police discretion and loitering by minors, were repealed outright by Ordinance No. 27-09 on January 26, 2010, leaving the open-container and public intoxication rule as Chapter 218's operative content today.
Violations & Fines
Drinking, serving or possessing alcohol with intent to drink in any of the public places listed in § 218-7(B), or being intoxicated to another person's annoyance under § 218-7(A), is punishable per § 218-7(D) and § 218-8 as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, § 1-16. That default sets a maximum penalty of a $2,000 fine, up to 90 days' imprisonment, or up to 90 days of community service, at the Municipal Court judge's discretion, with each day of an ongoing violation counted separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I drink a beer on the Long Branch boardwalk?
Is it illegal just to carry an unopened alcoholic beverage in a public park?
Does the open container ban apply inside my car?
What happened to Long Branch's old loitering law?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Long Branch
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