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Posts Tagged ‘Hurricane Sandy’

Camp Meeting Association Seeking Funds to Rebuild — — Cost Could Be $3 Million. FEMA Money a Possibility.

Posted in Blogfinger News, Ocean Grove news, tagged , , , , on December 4, 2012| 11 Comments »

As planks are removed from the damaged boardwalk, they are saved in piles for possible reuse. Photo by Mary Walton

As planks are removed from the damaged boardwalk, they are being saved and evaluated for possible reuse. Photo by Mary Walton

By Mary Walton

The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association estimates that it will cost roughly $3 million to restore the boardwalk and pier damaged by Hurricane Sandy, interim administrator Ralph delCampo said Tuesday.

The cost for the pier alone is estimated at $500,000 to $750,000. In addition, the insurance policy which covers the damaged roof of the Great Auditorium, now under repair, has a $100,000 deductible.

DelCampo emphasized that the estimates are preliminary, given many questions about how to proceed. “We want to enhance the kind of construction,” he said. “We do not simply want to replace the boardwalk. What did we learn from other towns?”

One thing they learned is not to follow the example of Spring Lake, he said. After last year’s Hurricane Irene demolished the boardwalk there, the town rebuilt it in nearly identical fashion, only to lose it to Sandy.

In fact, planks in the heavily damaged section of the Ocean Grove boardwalk between the south side of the pavilion and the beach office were recently replaced at a cost approaching $300,000. “All of that money just went to the ocean,” delCampo said. That section, known as the Middle Beach, now must be completely rebuilt.

In probing why the pavilion itself and the boardwalk north of Seaview Avenue survived almost intact, initial credit went to the dunes. No one is discounting their importance, but, in addition, the Camp Meeting discovered that a hidden bulwark of massive boulders and rubble lies beneath them. “We believe that’s what saved the boardwalk and dunes,” delCampo said.

Dale Whilden, president of the board of trustees, who joined delCampo in a conference call with Blogfinger, said the boulder wall was built in 1953 following a major storm. Post Sandy, he discovered drawings and documentation in his files. “I had forgotten,” he said. “A couple of trustees remembered it vaguely.”

Under discussion now is extending that bulwark south in tandem with new dunes. DelCampo said the Camp Meeting is working with consulting engineer Peter Avakian and with local contractors in designing a plan. At present, the Middle Beach boardwalk is being systematically dismantled and inspected for structural integrity, a process that will take about three months. “We will remove joists and planks and even some of the pilings and save them to be reused,” delCampo said.

At the same time, he said. the Camp Meeting has hired a consultant “to help us work through applications.” Topping the list of potential funders is the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA will pay 75 percent of the cost of approved projects and up to 100 percent under certain circumstances. Gov. Christie has asked for the higher amount.

The Camp Meeting is also seeking private contributions from people in the community. delCampo said he was intrigued by Belmar’s “Buy a Board” campaign, which allows contributors to pay from $25 to $5,000 for individual planks, with their name and board level displayed at beach entrances.

The topic of private donations came up at meetings the Camp Meeting held last week with representatives of the Ocean Grove Home Owners Association and with Ocean Grove United. Both groups praised the meetings as positive but expressed reservations about a glossy fund-raising flyer titled “Let’s Rebuild” mailed to Ocean Grovers in late November. It stipulated that checks should be made payable to OGCMA “with ‘Now & Forever’ in the memo line.”

Home Owners president Ann Horan said her understanding is that the Camp Meeting’s “Now & Forever” fund is money that “they could take and use it for whatever they want. We think they should make it more specific.”

OGU raised a similer objection. The organization has a history of friction with the Camp Meeting, most recently over the speaking engagement of actor Kirk Cameron last summer for a Sunday worship service after Cameron had made anti-gay remarks in a television interview. Last week’s meeting between OGU and the Camp Meeting fulfilled a Camp Meeting pledge to improve communication between the two groups.

The flyer was a major topic at the meeting. “People are not comfortable giving to a general fund,” said OGU co-chair Harriet Bernstein. “They would certainly be willing to give to an earmarked fund with some accountability.” She and co-chair Luisa Paster told the Camp Meeting officials, “Everyone wants to help, but they want it dedicated to the replenishment of the beach and the boardwalk.”

Bernstein and Paster suggested that the Camp Meeting consider holding a fundraiser and also forming a coalition of community organizations to drum up financial support for rebuilding.

The Camp Meeting also met with board members of the Ocean Grove Chamber of Commerce, but the “Now & Forever” issue did not come up at that meeting, said Chamber president Rich Lepore, owner of Smuggler’s Cove on Main Avenue. “I’ve heard it more from customers,” he said. “They want to give but they don’t quite know how.”

Whilden explained that the press of time was why people were asked to donate to a general fund rather than one earmarked for rebuilding. At the time the fund-raising flyer was sent out, he said, “We were planning an immediate response. We didn’t have a strong idea of where the money ought to go. We wanted flexibility to put donated funds where they needed to be.” He said that if donors specify a preference in the “For” line of their checks, such as “boardwalk” or “pier,” or specify the intended use in a letter, the Camp Meeting is legally obligated to use the money for that purpose.

Meanwhile, delCampo said, the Camp Meeting development committee is meeting Thursday and will be coming up with an alternative “for those who don’t want to give more broadly.” In addition to donations for beachfront damage, he added a plea for funds to help pay for the auditorium repair. “We cannot forget the auditorium. It is a central focus of the community as well,” he said.

 

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Ralph Returns. “Everything’s All Right.”

Posted in Blogfinger News, Ocean Grove news, tagged , , on November 11, 2012| 3 Comments »

Ralph, the Ocean Grove Fisherman. Photos by Ted Aanensen

The Ocean Grove Fishing Club’s house and much of the pier it stood on may be gone, devoured by Hurricane Sandy, but the Club’s beloved mascot, Ralph, has reappeared, happily perched above the waves.

He looks more isolated than he used to, but still…

Blogfinger staff photographer Ted Aanensen noticed Ralph’s return on Sunday and filed these pictures. He is one of several people we know who were taking photos of Ralph, cheerfully emailing them to friends and posting them on Facebook for all the world to see.

Says Ted, “The first time Bob Border and Carol Boniello put Ralph up on the pier, it was in the middle of the night and there he stayed.

“He is their creation and he has adorned the fishing pier for many years, stolen, retrieved, stolen, remade, always a symbol of hope and a smile. I just saw him today and smiled. We are all back to ‘normal,’ whatever that is.”

To read Paul Goldfinger’s story, from last March, on the history of Ralph, how he cheered our town following another destructive storm two decades ago and then became the subject of a children’s book, go here.

— Charles Layton

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Report From Shark River Hills — Where It’s REALLY Bad

Posted in Blogfinger News, Neptune Township News, Ocean Grove news, tagged , , , on November 1, 2012| 4 Comments »

Wrecked building at the Shark River Marina. Neptune Township, NJ. Paul Goldfinger photo. Click left for full view

By Mary Walton

Neptune Township opened a command post Wednesday on South Riverside Drive in Shark River Hills, a largely middle-class neighborhood that is by all accounts the sector of the Township hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy.

Boats still remain in people’s yards, tossed like children’s tub toys by the same tide-propelled surge of water that shattered the Ocean Grove pier and boardwalk.

In front of one house uphill from the marina, what looks to be a long wooden deck is, on closer inspection, a section of dock.

The municipally-owned marina suffered the complete loss of its repair shop. All that remains is a concrete slab and a pile of debris.

Some homes were destroyed and many are at least temporarily uninhabitable. One of the fortunate owners, Rick Stimson, standing in front of his home at 111 Hillcrest Avenue on a sunny Thursday morning, said he ended up with two feet of water on his first floor after the surge burst through his garage door.

Because of its proximity to the water table, his home and others similarly situated have no basements. In a yard next door sat two boats. On one side was a small 15-footer named “Sputnik,” its outboard motor still attached.

Directly in front of the house sat a sleek 40-foot luxury craft with no name. A woman rounded the corner of the house from the back. “Are you the owner?” she asked, sounding annoyed.

Told no, she turned away abruptly.

Stimson, who was at home with two children, said the water came up quickly after 7 p.m. “You could hear the wind and the waves.” He watched the larger boat as it plowed up Hillcrest Avenue. “It bumped off the telephone pole and kept right on going. The wind was blowing so hard it went right up the street.”

A strong odor of fuel oil filled the air. “We were worried about being overcome by the fumes.”

In the Township’s command post, a small trailer equipped with two laptops, a TV and a view of the now-placid river, Neptune Mayor Randy Bishop was juggling calls on his cell. Between calls, he said they plan to set up a hot spot outside the trailer with Internet access for individuals.

“Soon we will be announcing the opening of a charging station,” he added. It will not, however, be in The Grove.

With respect to power, “JCP&L has told us it’s 10 to 15 days, period. They will not prioritize.”

He said they will be “bringing in lines live to test the lines. It looks like they’re working from the substations out,” and Ocean Grove “is at the end of the line.”

A widespread rumor that the water was shutting down “is not true,” Bishop said. Also, “there are no boiled water advisories.”

He was surprised to hear that people described as FEMA representatives had been in Ocean Grove Wednesday telling residents on Broadway that a substation would open. He warned that disasters bring out scam artists. “That’s the first I’ve heard of it. Did they ask to see their ID?”

Stepping outside to show a Blogfinger team the storm damage, Bishop was approached by a woman in tears. “There’s people walking down the streets, asking ‘Can we take this? Is anybody getting rid of stuff?’ ” she sobbed. “People are trying to get into The Hills and trying to get into people’s homes. People who don’t live in Shark River don’t belong here.”

Bishop put his arm around her. “I’ll make a phone call,” he said.

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Today’s Big Problem — The Gasoline Shortage

Posted in Blogfinger News, Neptune Township News, Ocean Grove news, tagged , , on November 1, 2012| 31 Comments »

Our founder, Rev. Stokes, had a close brush with damage as a tree fell right in front of him. He didn’t flinch. Tough old guy. Photo by Paul Goldfinger

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NOTE: This article was updated at 1 p.m. Thursday.

By Paul Goldfinger, Mary Walton and Charles Layton

The lack of gasoline is becoming an emergency concern in Ocean Grove, throughout Neptune Township and across a huge part of New Jersey. It threatens to leave us stranded without transportation, but it also threatens in another way: People fortunate enough to have home generators are running out of the gas that runs them.

No one knows where to get gas. Mayor Randy Bishop said word got around on Thursday that Hess stations were selling gas, and people started descending upon  those stations.

Waiting to fill containers at the Hess station in Bradley Beach. Paul Goldfinger photo

We witnessed this at the Hess station at 1009 Main Street in Bradley Beach. People arrived early in the morning carrying yellow and red gas cans. Those in cars formed a line that ran north on Main Street, then onto Corlies Avenue and then onto Memorial.

The station was not actually pumping gas. People were waiting for a generator that was in the process of being installed. When we were there, at about 11 a.m., cars had already been waiting for at least four hours. At one point a rap performance broke out among those waiting.

Mayor Bishop said the Township would continue to impose a curfew from 7 at night until 7 in the morning. Asked the purpose of the curfew, he said, “Have you been on the roads at night? It’s like playing dodge ball on the streets.” Another reason for the curfew is to prevent looting, he said. Some looting has already been reported in Shark River Hills, which suffered the most storm damage of any Neptune neighborhood.

Bishop said the total storm damage suffered in Neptune is estimated at between $60 million and $75 million. “That’s significant,” Bishop said. “If you think about it, it’s twice our municipal budget.” There has been no specific damage estimate yet for Ocean Grove, although Camp Meeting Administrator Ralph delCampo said Thursday that only about 25 percent of the boardwalk appeared to be salvageable.

Even in the daytime, streets are a bit of a free-for-all. There are no traffic lights, and police are not present at most intersections. Police have closed many streets, meaning people cannot take some of their familiar routes to get from here to there.

There was hardly any traffic on Thursday morning, even along Route 33. This was undoubtedly due to the gasoline shortage. A few stations along the Garden State Parkway did have generator power — and therefore could pump gas — but state police were forming people into huge waiting lines. Those stations providing gas only had super, at $4.50 a gallon.

Apparently only a few major food stores are open in our general area: Wegmans, Food Town and ShopRite. Costco and Wallmart are also open now. Wegmans closed at 7 p.m. on Wednesday to save its generators. On Thursday morning people arrived in its parking lot expecting it to open at 6 a.m., but it didn’t open until 7. There were lines.

Many were coming to Wegmans to charge their devices and to use the Internet — it is one of the few places where that can be done. The store was limiting each person to 30 minutes at an electrical outlet.

In Ocean Grove on Thursday morning, Main Avenue was shut down. The only stores open  were the flower shop and the hardware store, and they were dark inside. No one had power. Even the Barbaric Bean was closed this morning.

The Neptune Municipal Building opened on Thursday. And the Township set up a “command post” on South Riverside Drive in Shark River Hills, which was being manned by the mayor and others. It was hoped that people would be able to register for FEMA assistance right there.

Neptune Township Clerk Rick Cuttrell said in spite of the lack of power next week’s election will go forward. He said most polling places are in fire stations and other places that have generator power. In other polling places the Township will make arrangements, he said.

Bishop said the Township Committee meeting scheduled for November 8 has been cancelled. instead, a Saturday November 10 meeting is planned, which will be totally dedicated to the storm. “The governing body will take action on a variety of resolutions that we need to pass to continue with recovery,” Bishop said.

Regarding our FEMA status, the entire state of New Jersey has been declared a disaster area. Assistant Business Administrator Vito Gadaleta said we are in two FEMA categories at present: Category A, which is for debris removal, and Category B, which has to do with protective measures such as police protection. For other categories we have had partial but not yet full declarations of disaster.

As for property damage, Gadaleta said, “People need to reach out to their insurance carriers first.” This would be important later in dealing with FEMA.

To read our Wednesday story on the storm damage and recovery, click here.

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