Thursday, May 9, 2013
Island Beach will not be included in Army Corps of Engineers' dune and beach replenishment program
South Seaside Park resident Donald Whiteman's family has lived on the barrier island section of Berkeley Township for seven decades. And they know a washout from a storm when they see one, going all the way back to the Hurricane of 1938, he has said at more than one Berkeley Township Council meeting. Whiteman again urged township officials at the May 5 meeting to pressure the state Department of Environmental Protection to include Island Beach in the Army Corps of Engineers dune and beach replenishment program. "Residents in South Seaside Park who stayed during the storm recognized there was more than one breach," he said. "Island Beach had about five washouts." Whiteman was one of those who rode out the storm. He noticed problems at the …
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Park now opened from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Island Beach State Park has returned to pre-Superstorm Sandy hours and more of the park has been opened to visitors, state Department of Environmental Protection Commission Bob Martin said. “We are keeping pace with the Christie Administration’s goal of having all of our state parks, including Island Beach State Park, fully operational for the peak summer season,” Martin said. “Having this popular destination getting closer to normal operations is emblematic of the state’s drive to have the Shore open for business this summer.’’ The park is now open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for all guests. Fishing access has also been extended to 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. The DEP recently awarded a $268,000 contract to a New Brunswick-based Tekton Development Corp…
Monday, April 29, 2013
Many storm victims have become Sandy zombies
They are easy to spot. They don't smile much. They look tired. They are tired. They are numb. They are the Sandy zombies. They are fried emotionally and physically from half a year of battling to go home, if they still have a home to go to. I am a Sandy zombie. Is it possible it's been half a year since that horrific day and night when Superstorm Sandy blasted the Jersey Shore and changed some lives forever? Six months since we left our Bayville home with three terrified cats and made our way to family in Toms River? Six months since we've been living in a basement? We knew Sandy was going to be bad, even when we evacuated at noon on Oct. 29. Trees were already toppling in Pine Beach, taking down power lines. But we didn't know then we …
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Sandy victims can also still apply online for physical damages until May 1 deadline, economic damages until July 31
The federal Small Business Administration will close the SBA Disaster Center in Manahawkin on May 1, SBA spokesman Mark Jamison said. The center will close due to a "steady decrease" in activity, he said. The Manahawkin Center is located in the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce building on West Bay Avenue. Hours: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., Monday through Friday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Saturday. Closing: May 1 at close of business day The SBA is also encouraging Hurricane Sandy survivors to visit one of the centers before they close, and reminding them the deadline to return applications for physical damage is May 1. The deadline to return economic injury applications is July 31. Survivors may also apply online using the Electronic …
Friday, April 26, 2013
Representatives from state and federal agencies will be on hand to answer storm-related questions
Berkeley and Lacey residents who need help dealing with Superstorm Sandy can get some answers today, when the state sets up a "mobile cabinet' at the Berkeley Township Recreation Center. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the center at 630 Route 9 South in Bayville, said Sean Conner, a spokesman for Gov. Chris Christie's office. Representatives from state and federal agencies will be on hand,including the Governor’s Office of Constituent Relations, the Department of Banking and Insurance, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Community Affairs, the Business Action Center, FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP.) They will assist residents and discuss ongoing recovery and rebuilding efforts. Residents …
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Board of Freeholders unanimously introduce 2013 budget; public hearing on May 1
Ocean County's equalized tax base dropped $10 billion after Superstorm Sandy slammed into the Jersey Shore last Oct. 29. The county's tax base fell from $100.2 billion in 2012 to $90.2 billion in 2013, largely as a result of the massive storm that devastated the barrier island and some mainland sections, Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr. said. The county tax rate will jump 3.7 cents for each $100 of equalized valuation. But using some of the 2013 county open space tax funds will pare the increase to 3.2 cents, he said. "The tax rate and base work hand in hand," Bartlett said. "We are not going to raise any more in overall tax." Bartlett made the remarks before the freeholders unanimously approved the introduction of the $386,188,713 budget, …
'Miracle of Route 35' video released by engineering firm that oversaw the closing of the Mantoloking breach
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Daniel Nee
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Thursday, April 4
Arora and Associates, a Lawrenceville-based consulting civil and structural engineering firm, released a video Wednesday that contains stunning footage of the Mantoloking breach created by Superstorm Sandy. The video chronicles the efforts of the company's employees to engineer a solution to closing the breach, shoring up the island and rebuilding Route 35 and the base of the Mantoloking Bridge intersection.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
The long slog to recovery is taking a toll
Show me the way to go home. Five months? Has it really been five months since the monster Superstorm Sandy roared into Ocean County and changed the landscape for all time? Has it really been five months since we fled our Bayville home and moved into my son and daughter-in-law's basement? I remember hoping in those first dark weeks that we might be back in time for Christmas. We are still out. It took awhile for reality to sink in. It took some time to realize that recovery, for many, won't happen quickly. And for some, it won't happen at all. I met a woman who lives on Cove Road West in Bayville at the township's informational session on home elevation recently. She moved into her house about 15 years ago and happily began making it a home…
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Deadline extension applies for homeowner, renter and business registration with SBA
Residents impacted by Superstorm Sandy now have until May 1 to register for individual disaster assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), according to a prepared statement from the governor's office. The deadline extension also applies for homeowner, renter, and business registration with the Small Business Administration (SBA) for Disaster Loan Assistance. Businesses applying for SBA Economic Injury loans still have until July 31 to apply. The loans are for businesses that did not suffer any physical damage, but lost revenue in Sandy's aftermath. State and federal offiicials have urged all residents and businesses affected by the storm, whether it was through flooding, wind damage or loss of business revenue, …
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
County will use open space funds to help make up the difference, Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr. says
Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr. has been compiling public budgets for 40 years. And 2013 is shaping up be the worst year of all, he said. "It is the most difficult budget I have ever worked on," Bartlett said a caucus meeting of the Ocean County Board of Freeholders today. "We have experienced unprecedented damage from Superstorm Sandy." The county fronted the money for storm cleanup for municipalities who signed on for shared services through a $100 million emergency appropriation last November. That money must be made up in increments of 20 percent over the next five years, Bartlett said. But most of the emergency appropriation funds will be recovered eventually from FEMA and the participating municipalities, he said. As it stands now, …
Joe
9:39 am on Saturday, May 11, 2013
Big mistake for the state to buy that property in the first place. Someone mades lots of money and the state wasted money on something they did not need. Makes ya wonder don't it? more ›