Beach Haven West, Still In Limbo

In every house that neighbors his own is a decision yet to be made.

John Defunia counts himself among the lucky ones. His Beach Haven West home was already elevated when Hurricane Sandy struck. The contents of his garage were lost and his dock was destroyed. Aside for damage caused to his sub-floor, Defunia's home made it through the storm largely unscathed. 

The same can't be said for his neighbors.

Many of the properties throughout the bayside community are gutted, or left in disrepair following Sandy, the familiar red inspection sticker informing all that the building is unsafe. The people across the street, he's not sure what they're going to do. Most of the houses around here that weren't elevated will have to come down, he guesses.

But people are waiting, he said. Waiting for flood insurance, waiting for Increased Cost of Compliance funding to elevate, or simply waiting to find out what the Federal Emergency Management's (FEMA) new flood elevation maps will dictate. Five months after Sandy hit the Jersey Shore, and his neighborhood is still largely empty.

"You drive around and you see contractors around, but a lot of the homes are just vacant," he said.

Signs of activity are present. Every few houses is an empty lot, a piece of property where a home used to be. In the building graveyard Beach Haven West has become, even demolition is a sign of progress. 

Rosemarie Elley is living in a home that once provided her rental income. Her primary residence is inhabitable. Reconstruction since Sandy has been like trudging through the mud. It's tedious and progress is slow. Stop moving forward and you're stuck.

"I'm seeing some people try to get their act together, but there's a lot to do. Everything is ongoing," she said. "It's very slow moving. You want to wait and see what happens, but people are hurting."

Much of the future for communities along the Barnegat Bay is dependent on FEMA's flood maps. Faced with conflicting reports - to rebuild or wait, to elevate, how much to elevate - residents have simply opted to wait it out.

Delays in insurance payouts, the state's acceptance of flood maps many community leaders see as incorrect, the prospect of facing insurance premiums in the tens of thousands of dollars, all of it is weighing on the minds of residents.

"It is what it is," Elley said. "We have to be patient, but people's patience in this area is running out."