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As Jersey Shore season teeters, a North Wildwood family motel says it will close for the summer

As the multimillion-dollar Shore industry teeters, some of the key numbers that define progress or loss in fighting the pandemic continue to go up. At least 105,523 New Jersey residents had been infected and 5,863 had died as of Saturday.

The deserted beach on the south end of Atlantic City on April 1. The spread of the coronavirus in New Jersey has turned Atlantic City and the Shore into a ghost town, and threatened the summer season on which many businesses and workers depend.
The deserted beach on the south end of Atlantic City on April 1. The spread of the coronavirus in New Jersey has turned Atlantic City and the Shore into a ghost town, and threatened the summer season on which many businesses and workers depend.Read more / File Photograph

Bill and Kathy Crane say they just couldn’t risk that someone could get sick at their North Wildwood motel, so they made a hard decision. They’re closing the Sandpiper for the summer beach season.

The ongoing doubt surrounding the spread of COVID-19, and around the timing of a resumption of normal life in New Jersey, led to their official announcement on Facebook, the couple said Saturday.

“The problem is there’s just so much uncertainty,” Bill Crane said. “My wife, my daughter, my granddaughter — I just can’t put them out there to possibly be infected. We just can’t take a chance that our guests, our staff, somebody gets sick.”

The family-oriented, family-run motel, built around 1945 near the start of the boardwalk and a short walk from the ocean, rents to families with children and to couples aged 25 or older.

It’s closed-for-the-season announcement comes as business owners and property managers contemplate how to save the Shore from the economic disaster of a lost summer. Many towns already wrote off Memorial Day weekend, hoping to save some of the season starting perhaps in June or on July 4.

Bill Crane said it was becoming apparent that a firm start date would remain elusive — and the need for safety overriding. This year would have been the Cranes’ 19th season operating the Sandpiper.

As the multimillion-dollar Shore industry teeters, some of the key numbers that define progress or loss in fighting the pandemic continue to go up.

An additional 3,457 New Jersey residents tested positive for COVID-19, state officials reported Saturday, bringing the total to 105,523. The death toll reached 5,863.

Gov. Phil Murphy said Saturday that the state’s efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus are working, but stressed that the state is far from reopening, especially as hospitalizations continue to increase in South Jersey.

“Public health must come before we can begin to restart our economy,” Murphy said.

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The Sandpiper plans to reopen for the 2021 season, and will shortly refund deposits placed for this year. The owners apologized for the inconvenience, saying safety was foremost in their minds.

“I couldn’t sleep well at night knowing that my employees got sick,” Kathy Crane said.

Many people have faced financial problems brought on by the pandemic, they noted, and closing for a season will be theirs.

“It’s going to be a hardship,” Bill Crane said, but “you can’t replace your family.”