Governor Murphy Forces Closure of Tilton Theater after Opening This Past Weekend

Governor Murphy Forces Closure of Tilton Theater after Opening This Past Weekend

NORTHFIELD, NJ – As promised earlier today, Governor Phil Murphy dropped the hammer on the Tilton Theater in Northfield on Thursday.  Murphy promised that the entire state will adhere to his directed schedule Thursday afternoon.

“We cannot have communities mirroring the cavalier actions in other states,” Murphy said after several businesses and the City of Asbury Park announced reopenings ahead of his schedule. “We have lived this already folks. We don’t want to go living it again. We’ve gone through hell. Let’s please not go back through it.”

The theater is now closed indefinitely and the governor has not given any indication as to when movie theaters will be allowed to reopen.
“It is with great disappointment and frustration that we announce the forced closure of the Tilton Theater in Northfield. We received an onslaught of citations and threats of legal action against us, despite providing a higher standard to keep our customers and our employees safe compared to other businesses that are permitted to operate. Under the circumstances, we regret that we are left with no choice but to cease operations until the Governor allows us to reopen,” the business said tonight. “We believe we have been unfairly targeted and denied the right to engage in lawful business activity while other businesses are able to operate legally. This is a great loss to the community during these trying times and we encourage our customers and supporters to contact their local politicians to ask that our theater be permitted to open safely.”

“We remain a strong partner with the city and community of Northfield and we will continue to assert our right to provide safe family entertainment here,” the owners added.

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash