Politics & Government

Christie Back In Seaside Heights For Meeting With Business Owners

Gigantic crowd comes out to greet governor on his latest visit to boardwalk fire scene


By Daniel Nee and Pool Reports


Gov. Chris Christie returned to Seaside Heights on Saturday to meet with local residents whose businesses were destroyed in a wind-swept fire that claimed a four-block boardwalk area in Seaside Heights and Seaside Park.

The Thursday afternoon fire, which flared up again briefly Saturday morning, claimed between 30 and 50 businesses between the two towns, including two popular bars and what was left of Funtown Pier after Superstorm Sandy left it heavily damaged last year.
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Christie met privately with 30 of the more than 50 business owners who suffered losses in Thursday's fire, promising an aggressive response to haul away rubble from the fire and help again rebuild the boardwalk only just replaced after Superstorm Sandy.

"I wouldn't be anyplace else,'' Christie said, having canceled a weekend getaway to Florida to celebrate his wife's birthday. "When a crisis happens you have to be here to help organize things, to lend encouragement and deliver help.''

Christie said he spoke with a few business owners on Thursday, as they watched their businesses burn to the ground. Saturday was the first time he addressed them as a group.

On Friday, Christie told reporters he had ordered state agencies to expedite the demolition of burnt-out businesses and the rebuilding process as a whole.

It took more than an hour for Christie to move one block as a crush of residents thanked him for his continued support, while others expressed sadness over the one-two punch from Sandy and the fire.

Accounts of Christie's visit in social media described a "rockstar" reception for the governor, who is in the midst of a re-election campaign.


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