Press of Atlantic City from Atlantic City, New Jersey • A1

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2024 Serving Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland southern Ocean counties PressofAtlanticCity.com Rain snow coming this weekend. WEATHER, A10 EE Volume MMXXIV, Issue 3 A Lee Enterprises Newspaper Copyright 2024 Follow us online: BILL BARLOW StaffWriter overcastMon- dayafternoon in January looked like aper- fect beach day, with huge crowds on the Boardwalk and on the beach for the First Day celebration. Cars jockeyed forparking spacesdown- town, and the shops thatwere staffed and open saw long lines.Several hundredpeo- ple decided to take a swim. The dip Day has be- comea family tradition formany inOcean City, with generations lining up for the countdown and charge to the water. At about48degrees, thewaterwasnotmuch colder than the air, but the shockwas still apparent for many of the plungers who went all the way in.

For some, the charge back out seemed MICHELLE BRUNETTI POST StaffWriter ATLANTIC Council was set to vote on about 20 legal contracts at its reorganizationmeetingMondaywhen questions aroseaboutwhether twocoun- cil members should recuse themselves from voting on one $150,000 contract. this law office is a member of the legal team of one of the members of the governing body, are they permitted to vote on a contract or do they need to ab- Jesse Kurtz, the lone Republican on council. Antonelli Kantor Rivera, of Living- ston, Essex County, is representing 5th Zia in a lawsuit by Republican candidate Maria is seeking a recount of theNov. 7 election. Zia won by 46 votes, and Lacca is claiming errors were made in the counting.

Antonelli Kantor also is representing council candidate Viana Bailey, who was endorsed by the Democratic Committee, in her lawsuit to overturn the results of the 2nd Ward Democratic primary by incum- bent Councilwoman Dunston. Dunston then won the general election MICHELLE BRUNETTI POST StaffWriter ATLANTIC judge on Tues- day ordered the Atlantic City Housing Authority toprovide a rebate to tenants in a lawsuit over lack of heat and hot water, gas leaks and other health vi- olations at the 420-unit StanleyHolmes Village. The rebatewill beon rentpaid since the start of the lawsuit in November 2022, said Superior Court Judge JohnC.Porto, andwill continuegoing forwarduntil the endof thecasewhen individualized larger abatements are possible. a smaller initial rebate than re- quested by the attorney, but the authority had not proposed any imme- diate rebate. Instead the authority asked for more time to research conditions in each unit to provide individualized re- bates based on each history.

About 30StanleyHolmes residents at- tended the court hearing, inwhichPorto alsocriticized theauthority fornot taking responsibility for how its longtime poor management led toburstwaterpipes, in- consistent heat and hot water, gas leaks, pest and mold infestations, and water intrusion. surprisedusing the square cornerdoctrine that thehousing author- ity say, our res- Porto said. hear the BILL BARLOW, STAFF WRITER A large and enthusiastic crowd turned out for Ocean First Day plunge on Monday afternoon, with hundreds of people charging into cold water to start 2024. Political lawsuits focus of A.C. reorganization Judge orders rent abatement to Stanley Holmes residents TAKING THE PLUNGE Crowds brave cold waters for New Day traditional dip VIEW: Formore photos from the Ocean City plunge, point your smartphone camera at the QR code, then tap the link.

MATTHEW STRABUK, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Atlantic City residents Colleen Bey and Boran Rem retreat from the ocean after taking the dip during the 32nd annual Polar Bear Plunge held in front of Re- sorts Casino Hotel. The plunge the Cancer Support Community New Jer- sey. VIEW: For photos from the Atlantic City plunge, point your smartphone cam- era at the QR code, then tap the link. Please see LAWSUITS Page A2 Please see RENT, Page A2 Please see PLUNGE, Page A2.