Hank's Take: Ocean City New Jersey's drunkest city?

Ocean City, NJ (WTXF) - Ocean City is known for a lot of things; the beaches, the boardwalk, the rides, but not really drinking. There's a reason for that-- it's a dry town. So how did it make headlines for the drunkest town in New Jersey?

Our Hank Flynn went to find out

Hey it's Hank, I'm on Asbury Street in beautiful downtown Ocean City, which some news reports have now as the 'Drunkest City' in New Jersey. My take is they're wrong completely wrong and I'll tell you why.

Retired toll-taker Tommy Agnes took me to breakfast at Uncle Bill's Pancake House neither he nor the manager Patrick can figure out a story about Ocean City being the drunkest town in the Garden State.

"You know walking on the Boardwalk strollers, family, it's not that type of town. I can't see it being that type of town," Agnes said.

I just drove all the way up Asbury Street over by the beach by the boardwalk there's not a bar in sight it's a dry town… what gives?

When USA Today ran a story picked up by others it was based on good research done by by 24-7 Wall Street, which is a financial news outfit. I got them on the phone and found out that people are getting terms confused.

"It's important for people in Ocean City to understand that there's a difference between Ocean City the city or town and Ocean City the metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses a larger area."

A much larger area all of Cape May County in fact. Metropolitan statistical area is a term used by the Federal Office of Management and Budget. While Ocean City itself has about 11,000 people the Ocean City metro statistical area has about $95,000, including the Wildwoods, Sea Isle City other places.

"The purpose of these studies is not to insult the geographic areas of the communities."