Asser Levy/Seaside Park

Just fine, and a nice jaunt off the boardwalk.

Just an update, that, as probably most people know, the Seaside Summer Concert series has been moved for the 2011 season to Surf Ave. & 21^st St. The park is still fine, as a park. It was a much better location for the shows, too. But no music there this summer. Thanks, killjoy religious lame-o’s! :-P

It’s a nice park right near the boardwalk, and their Seaside Summer Concert series is really fun. Count on a really diverse crowd, ranging from elderly couples on lawn chairs to families with kids to hardcore fans of the artists playing. The place tends to completely fill up, too, and when there’s no more room on the lawn, people cluster on the sidewalks outside.
The staff could work on their communication skills, however. When we saw a show there most recently, we decided to try the rented chairs in the reserved section of the lawn. How could we get to the reserved section? The first staff member we asked told us to go across the park to a white tent. We went to the tent and discovered it was a Verizon marketing booth. We asked a second staff member, and they told us to go «down that way.» We found the merch table and the disabled section, but didn’t see the chair rental area. We asked a THIRD staff member and he waved us back in the direction from which we had come. Finally, we spotted a blue flag indicating the chair rental section. Seriously, how hard would it have been for any of those staff members to give clear directions and just tell us to look for the blue flag?
Once inside, the confusion continued. There was an entire section of empty chairs that was closed off. I asked about it, and was told that it might be opened in the event they needed more space. The front of the empty section was for people who had paid for VIP seating. Okay, fine, that’s all good. Right before the set started, the staff opened the gate and let people into the empty area. Then they changed their mind about five minutes later and closed it off again.
About five minutes after we’d sat down in the new section, one of the ushers appeared and announced that anyone wearing purple wristbands – as opposed to the neon-​colored VIP bands – had to move back a few rows. We complied. About fifteen minutes later, another staff member indicated that we could all move up again. As soon as everyone had scurried up to the vacant rows, ANOTHER usher turned up and told us all to move back. When we told her that her colleague had moved us up, she denied it. We all moved back, again. I honestly wouldn’t have cared where the ushers wanted us to sit, but the game of musical chairs was insane.
Still, it’s a free (or in the case of the lawn chairs, $ 5) concert series so how much can you complain, really? It’s a fun time.

«This is a nice little park all year, but in the summer this place comes alive with. shall we say an eclectic music scene. …and it’s all free! add this to your free things to do in the summer list (for next year), you won’t be disapointed, at the seaside park you will find every thing from lounge lizards to hip hop stars it’s worth the metrocard swipe to go check it out.»