At one time, rolling chairs along the Atlantic City boardwalk were a visual thing of beauty and fond memories of days past. Today, these old-school people movers are economy killing eyesores that Atlantic City Council members continue to ignore.
Introduced to the Atlantic City Boardwalk in the 1880s, it was once a sign of luxury for vacationers to ride in a rolling chair.
For too many years, owners and operators of these iconic rolling chairs have done little to enhance the look & operation of those doing the pushing. Most agree, even council president Frank Gilliam, that the current dress of operators leaves much to be desired. Councilman Moore recently stonewalled efforts to institute basic upgrades to the current system of operation.
Councilman Steven Moore was not shy about his position on rolling chairs. At the recent July council meeting, Moore knit-picked the simple plan set forth by Dale Finch of the AC Department of License & Inspections. Moore was successful at tabling the ordinance again…for the umpteenth time.
One vocal member of the audience was heard to say ‘Moore is gonna lose his council seat with monkey business like that’.
Moore will have to defend his 3rd ward seat against the very popular Kaleem Shabbaz in November.
How to fix? ‘Wearing some type of simple uniform or shirt’, says a local business owner. ‘Those chair pushers can be seen wearing anything from soiled sweat pants to torn jeans exposing their underwear. It’s horrible. If Atlantic City is to recapture some of the classic glory days of the Boardwalk, fixing the visual embarrassment known as rolling chair pushers should be job #1.’
In the early days, chair operators had a nice, neat look. They were kind and courteous. Over the past several years, a noticeable lack of oversight by the chair owner has become apparent. Many have noted fights among pushers and allegations of other inappropriate behavior has increased.
Back in 2012, one operator made efforts to address this issue. READ MORE in Press of Atlantic City
