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Madison Marquette has invited the Asbury Park Drum Circle to play in the green space on Fourth Avenue [pictured above] after this week’s dispute over crowds that formed to watch them on the boardwalk.

The Circle has played on the boardwalk weekly every summer for the past 13 years and has more than 150 members, but not everyone plays at once. This summer, they’re playing each Tuesday and Saturday starting at 6:30 p.m. On Tuesday night, police broke up the circle after the drummers attracted a large crowd, reportedly moving boardwalk benches and inhibiting passersby from traversing the boardwalk.

The Fourth Avenue green space is used for a variety of fundraisers and events. Madison Marquette is responsible for programming the green spaces at First and Fourth avenues, both of which consist of a paved surface with a tent overhead, surrounded by gravel and vegetation. The green spaces front on the boardwalk.

“This allows them to continue what they’ve been doing and it will hopefully relieve some congestion on the boardwalk,” said Carrie Turner, Madison Marquette’s director of retail services, today.

Musicians on the boardwalk are subject to permitting and regulations established in the city’s street performer ordinance, Turner said, although Madison Marquette is sometimes tasked with ensuring the performers abide by the rules.

For example, performers may only set up on the side of the boardwalk closer to the beach, so as not to disrupt retailers. If a performer sets up on the wrong side of the boardwalk or plays music on a loud amplifier, retailers often contact Madison Marquette seeking assistance.

The green spaces at First and Fourth avenues are programmed by Madison Marquette, meaning they must be reserved ahead of time.

Supporters of the Drum Circle attended last night’s council meeting to speak out against the actions of the police on Tuesday night.

John Eustor, a member of the Drum Circle, said he was told last week he needed a permit to perform on the boardwalk, although he was not told to obtain a permit over the past 13 years. He received a permit early on Tuesday allowing him and up to 40 people to perform on the boardwalk, he said.

When the crowd grew on Tuesday night with bystanders and people using Hula Hoops in time with the music, police told him to ask them to move, he said.

“I said, ‘I can’t do that. I can’t tell people where to stand,'” Eustor said. “Then, around 8:30, they came in and shut it all down.”

There was also some confusion as to whether everyone in the group needed their own permit, he said.

The Drum Circle will be moving to the Fourth Avenue green space, Eustor said in an emailed statement today, but “the area is smaller and it would just not be the same energy as where we were, but at least it’s a viable alternative to stopping the circle completely.”

“We see a tradition that was invaded, dismissed and tossed aside for what we would consider greedy materialistic intentions,” the statement said.

Officials plan to review the street performers ordinance and fine-tune communication between the city and performers, city manager Terence Reidy said.

“We have to look more closely at exactly what’s going on, what’s legal, what’s not legal,” Reidy said at last night’s meeting. “One of the challenges is the more successful we are, the more people that come [and] want to be artistic and express themselves.”

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