Editing Ocean City, New Jersey (section)

===Alcohol prohibition===
As a result of its religious origins, the sale or public drinking of alcoholic beverages in Ocean City was prohibited.<ref>[http://www.oceancityvacation.com/about-the-island/history.html History of Ocean City] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220003051/http://www.oceancityvacation.com/about-the-island/history.html |date=February 20, 2014 }}, Ocean City Chamber of Commerce. Accessed September 13, 2015. "Part of the original four's wish, that Ocean City remain a pure retreat that exemplified the Christian mindset, still remains today as strong as the cedar tree they first met under. Historically, Ocean City is a dry town—there is no public drinking anywhere on the island."</ref> In 1881, the Ocean City Association passed a set of [[Blue laws in the United States#New Jersey|blue laws]], which were designed to enforce religious standards. The town banned the manufacturing or sale of alcohol in 1909.<ref name="sen216"/>

Promoting water instead of drinking alcohol, the [[Woman's Christian Temperance Union]] donated a public fountain, dedicated on [[Memorial Day]] in 1915.<ref>Lowe, Claire. [http://www.shorenewstoday.com/ocean_city/temperance-fountain-rededicated-in-front-of-city-hall/article_e79dabd6-047b-11e5-835f-5be8f7af4290.html "Temperance fountain rededicated in front of City Hall"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222052809/http://www.shorenewstoday.com/ocean_city/temperance-fountain-rededicated-in-front-of-city-hall/article_e79dabd6-047b-11e5-835f-5be8f7af4290.html |date=December 22, 2017 }}, ''The Gazette of Ocean City'', May 27, 2015. Accessed December 23, 2017. "Steelman was on the corner of Ninth Street and Central Avenue Monday, May 25 for the rededication of the Women's Christian Temperance Union water fountain outside of City Hall. This year marks a century since Mayor Joseph G. Champion dedicated the fountain on Memorial Day 1915."</ref> Despite the prohibition of alcohol within the municipality, illegal saloons operated within Ocean City, and in 1929, prosecutors raided 27 [[speakeasy|speakeasies]].<ref>Miller, Michael. [https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/communities/upper_capemay/ocean-city-s-byob-debate-brings-city-s-history-with/article_7c8f4242-b5aa-11e0-9087-001cc4c002e0.html "Ocean City's BYOB debate brings city's history with alcohol to forefront"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028052532/https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/communities/upper_capemay/ocean-city-s-byob-debate-brings-city-s-history-with/article_7c8f4242-b5aa-11e0-9087-001cc4c002e0.html |date=October 28, 2019 }}, ''[[The Press of Atlantic City]]'', July 24, 2011. Accessed October 27, 2019.</ref>

In 1951, the town banned the consumption of alcohol on the beach. All public alcohol consumption was banned in 1958. During the campaign for a 1986 referendum to repeal the blue laws, ads in the local paper suggested that the repeal could be next.<ref name="sen216">Avedissiian, Eric. [http://www.ocsentinel.com/news/blue-laws-and-byob/article_ba6c2975-ccc3-5976-9e6a-5932bf691ab4.html "Blue laws and BYOB; Fight over city's blue laws in mid-1980s included subtext over alcohol"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608200946/http://www.ocsentinel.com/news/blue-laws-and-byob/article_ba6c2975-ccc3-5976-9e6a-5932bf691ab4.html |date=June 8, 2019 }}, ''Ocean County Sentinel'', February 16, 2011. Accessed October 27, 2019.</ref> In May 2012, 68.8% of voters rejected a ballot initiative for [[BYOB]]—bring your own bottle.<ref>Sherman, Ted. [https://www.nj.com/news/2012/05/ocean_city_voters_say_no_to_al.html "Ocean City voters decide: No shirts, no booze, no problem"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028052518/https://www.nj.com/news/2012/05/ocean_city_voters_say_no_to_al.html |date=October 28, 2019 }}, NJ Advance Media for [[NJ.com]], May 9, 2012, updated March 30, 2019. Accessed October 27, 2019.</ref> As of 2016, Ocean City was one of 32&nbsp;[[List of dry communities by U.S. state#New Jersey|dry towns]] in New Jersey.<ref>O'Brien, Kathleen. [https://www.nj.com/news/2016/12/dont_hold_your_office_party_here_njs_32_dry_towns.html "What it means to be one of N.J.'s 32 'dry' towns"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028052515/https://www.nj.com/news/2016/12/dont_hold_your_office_party_here_njs_32_dry_towns.html |date=October 28, 2019 }}, ''[[Inside Jersey]]'', December 21, 2016, updated January 16, 2019. Accessed October 27, 2019. "Some towns, like Ocean City, vote to stay dry and not serve alcohol in restaurants or bars, other towns are dry because there are simply no restaurants or bars within their borders."</ref> Despite the prohibition in the city, 18.3% of adults in the Ocean City [[metropolitan statistical area]] (which includes all of Cape May County) drink alcohol heavily or [[binge drinking|binge drink]], the highest percentage of any metro area in the state. ''[[USA Today]]'' listed Ocean City as the state's most drunken city on its 2017 list of "The drunkest city in every state".<ref>Stebbins, Samuel; and Comen, Evan. [https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/11/21/alcohol-abuse-drunkest-city-every-state/884359001/ "Alcohol abuse: The drunkest city in every state"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222060943/https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/11/21/alcohol-abuse-drunkest-city-every-state/884359001/ |date=December 22, 2017 }}, ''[[USA Today]]'', November 21, 2017. Accessed December 23, 2017. "In the Ocean City metro area, some 18.3% of adults drink heavily, a larger share than the 17.6% of adults across New Jersey as a whole and a slightly larger than the 18.0% national rate."</ref> Additionally, a loophole in the law allows private dining clubs adjacent to restaurants to serve alcohol to members.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/the-secret-spots-to-get-a-stiff-drink-in-dry/article_a298ba11-1030-5b09-853c-78b8ba8194df.html|title=The secret spots to get a stiff drink in dry Ocean City|last=Writer|first=CLAIRE LOWE Staff|website=Press of Atlantic City|date=February 2017 |language=en|access-date=2019-12-18|archive-date=December 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218010040/https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/the-secret-spots-to-get-a-stiff-drink-in-dry/article_a298ba11-1030-5b09-853c-78b8ba8194df.html|url-status=live}}</ref>