The politicians are just doing the "cover their a$$" routines. One week later we have all seen the photos and I think we are aware enough to know what to expect when we get there.

I've seen hundreds of photos and yes there are areas which are devastated, but I've also seen photos of homes in my area (Chadwick area) and they are still standing and appear to look surprisingly good.

Let the owners in to assess their homes.

My suspicion is they want to keep owners out so they can condemn homes and start knocking them down before the owners can say anything.

How dare the Mayor label Irtley Beach as ground zero.
These are homes not people. You should resign Mayor today.

They won't do that because Ortley Beach is Toms River's cash cow.

I have a picture of my street and it is clear and my house is standing as are those around me. ALL IS WANT IS TO GO I AND GET MY CAT WHO WILL NOT LET ANYONE ELSE RESCUE HIM, THOUGH THAY HAVE TRIED. iT WILL TAKE ME 10 MINUTES. a POLICE ESCORT, AND i'M OUT OF EVERYONE'S HAIR. i CAN'T WORK, SLEEP OR EAT BECAUSE i AM SICK OVER THIS CAT. i HAVE BEEN TOLD BY TR POLICE NOT TO CALL ANYMORE. i'VE CALLED ALL THE ANIMAL RESCUE AGENCIES AND NON HAVE FOLLOWED UP WITH ME. Why can't some discretion be involved here. I don't care about my possessions or the house. That can be replaced down the road. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE someone help me.

Can you say... Reassessment!!!
I expect the Town and School will need to credit the property owners until such time power and gas is restored... I can see many converting to oil heat and electric to cook as all homes will need new heating/ac units.
There are 2 assessment values on a property.... Land and Building..
All residents will pay for the taxes on value of the Land.... I suspect they will waive taxes on the building until such time the building is habitable.
Which means.... everyone elses taxes will go up unless the State or Feds subsidize.

Some Pics:

http://tomsriver.patch.com/blog_posts/photos-of-ortley-beach

Our house has a new address, in front of our neighbor's house, across Diane Lane. We are reasonably sure it has four sides and a roof, based on photos collected after agonizing days/nights spent online. We would love nothing more than to see the house once again, and recover something. The guest book our friends and family wrote in when they came. Our daughter's drawings, that were in the front closet. The "Girls Clubhouse" sign that my daughter hung on the BR door, that said "no boys allowed, except my brother".

Ortley was called Ground Zero because the destruction is worse than in neighboring towns. "Ground Zero" was not a derogatory statement, but rather a dubious honor. The decision to not allow property owners and residents to enter yet was made because it is unsafe. Sinkholes have been identified underground, that have not yet collapsed. Also, unless you are a structural engineer, could you be certain your house is safe to enter? Is it worth your life?

Siding with the DOT and the township officials. As heartbreaking and devastating as it is for all of us, Ortley needs to protect its people, first and foremost. Any more loss would be too much to bear. We've lost the place our kids were going to spend their childhood/teenage years, the dream that came true for 4 years. We'll try to go back, but without flood coverage, hopefully we can find a way. Grateful for our home "up north", and thinking of all those who are suffering a loss, big or small.

With all due respect, I get the frustration. Ortley has been my beach for over 30 years and my heart breaks for every property owner there. I've seen the pictures and I understand the hazards. It will take years to restore it. The initial responsibility of first responders was preservation of life. Unfortunately, many on the barrier island can be credited with this delay in homeowners returning for not having evacuated when ordered to do so. As a result, the SOS calls arrived and our brave rescuers spent far too much time getting those neighbors (duly warned) back to safety. The Mayor or any other elected official is doing the best they can in untenable circumstances. Safety first and with sinkholes measuring 8 ft. deep and houses rocked off their foundations, I'm unsure whether many of those dwellings will be safely accessible even when the homeowners arrive. I will continue to keep you all in my prayers.

understanding that it is not safe is ok,understanding that sports figures and others are allowed over to see what happened is not ..let the residents over street by street if you have to in order for them to get their things What a shame!

This is what I stated above, do not trust the Government and Politicians, that never works out well for the private citizen. They deem it safe if you have political connections or are a semi-famous former athlete.

Private citizens rights are trampled.

God Bless everyone involved. To the women who wants her cat rescued, I hope and pray he gets out. Everyone, else, gosh, this just continues to be such a tragic event. I do truly believe that Mayor Kelaher and all the emergency workers, etc. have Toms River/Ortley Beach's best interests at heart.

To Dianne re the cat: have you called the animal shelter on brick blvd in TR? I spoke with them earlier in the week and they said they were sending people out to the barrier islands to rescue pets.

To anyone reading that knows someone, please help this lady get that poor cat. How can this be happening?????

I UNDERSTAND ABOUT ALL THE HAZARDS BUT EVERY COMMUNITY EXCEPT
OUR BARRIER ISLAND COMMUNITIES SEASIDE ORTELY SO ON HAVE LOST THE RIGHTS TO THEIR HOMES MAKING THIS AN EVEN MORE HORRIABLE DREAM
WE SHOULD ALL MEET AT THE BRIDGE ON 37 SATURDAY MORNING, NOV 10TH SO OUR MAYOR AND TOMS RIVER POLITICANS REALIZE WE ARE
FAMLIES THAT WORKED HARD FOR OUR HOMES AND WE WANT OUR BASIC RIGHT TO SECURE AND SAVE WHATEVER IF LEFT OF OUR HOMES

@ New Jersey Bob and others...I did not take the photos or videos that I have posted on here. Some have been passed onto me by friends...some I grabbed elsewhere on the net...some came from YouTube. I am one of the frustrated full time residents of Ortley Beach who cannot get on to see or access their property. Many want to see photos of their properties...I simply scrounge for photos and videos to help others. I read the rules for entering Seaside and Toms River communities in the next few days...I am appalled! They are treating adults like they are in kindergarten, and not giving anyone the neccessary time they need to assess, retrieve, clean, winterize, and plan...it's degrading, humiliating, and insulting. Did you read it?...what you can hold on your lap on the bus??? Disgusting...Berkeley handled it much better...I was on both entries, and we drove in like adults...

Hello, Toms River has announced a plan for barrier island resident access. Check out this update: http://tomsriver.patch.com/articles/toms-river-barrier-island-residents-re-entry-plan-begins-friday

PLEASE MAYOR. ORTLEY BEACH SHOULD NOT BE CALLED GROUND ZERO. HAVE SOME RESPECT FOR THOSE OF SEPT 11 !!!!

The plan for re-entry to the island sounds like a great plan, so for the next five days people will be riding buses up rt 35 north to there homes. If Ortley beach is so unsafe then why is this being allowed. The point of my comment is that sections of Ortley Beach should also be allowed for instance homes east of route 35. With every disaster if you are connected there are always the "EXCEPTION"! I don't have flood insurance and have been told by my insurance company I will be getting nothing so to add to the injury our fine officials won't let us go there and try to save the rest of the house that needs to be winterized . To add insult to injury I will also lose my boiler, hot water system, water pipes, toilets, etc.,etc. Thank you TR OFFICIALS. For the next five days I can what the busses pass my unsafe block.
Ray Coolidge

2 days after the storm I waited by the bridge and watched what was going on trying to see if I could get over to my house but to no avail however I saw A Seaside cop letting his guido friends over who were not emergency workers and when I confronted him he was full of shit about it also there are videos on YouTube of bus loads of supposedly community people from Lavalette/Ortley riding around on Bay Blvd and they have no problem cruising around and laughing and wisecracking while riding down th streets . There are more houses that are still standind than were knocked down by the storm mine included I have seen pics of my house and it is ok. All responsible parties are handling this situation horribly for the citizens of Ortley Beach I don't trust anybody

R
I am sorry you do not have flood insurance, but the insurance companies needed to know this was not just a a flood but also it was a hurricane with winds up to 90 miles per hour and your homeowner policy should cover part of this if not alI. I do not know what these insurance company are smoking these days. I heard that other here In Staten Island were told the same thing from Allstate and Liberty Mutual. Somewhere along the line the Federal Governent must step in and help. I know FEMA and the SBA will not help anyone if the Barrier Island is not there permenant home Good luck I also have a home there that my wife and I purchase for our grandchildren to enjoy and keep off the city streets.

Wonder if we will ever find out how how the football player got on the island guess he went the same way the looters did. Seems that some property qwners are more important then others.

My parents do not have flood insurance and homeowners will not cover any water related damage. My sister who does have flood insurance will be covered by flood - her homeowners came in and said sorry, not us. That's the reason for flood insurance. Plus, technically it was a Tropical Storm by the time it hit us which is good because if it was a hurricane, well there's a whole other policy and red-tape for that damage.

It was listed as a Cat1 hitting land and a tropical storm inland.

R
None of this makes any sense.The insurance companies are making up there own rules.We all have homes on the Barrier Island. Are they saying it was a Cat1 and when it hit the beach it became a topical strom are they kidding or what.The GOV. and the PRES.must get these insurance companies to step up and do the right thing we pay for this insurance what the does it cover.Ortley beach pays higher taxes than Toms River resident because we own beach property yet we have no sewer system and everytime it rains hard our streets and corners are flooded, that always a problem I wonder if this had anything to do with the Sinkholes.Cicel If your parents and sister are permenant residents they can apply to FEMA and Sba for a low interest rate loan, I think the rate is 1.68%.

Maybe now the Toms River Mayor & Counsel will build up the DUNES on Ortley Beach and not allow construction on the DUNES. It was proven in South Seaside Park & Seaside Park that DUNES do work. Limit the damage from future storms and protect the residents of the barrier island and limit property damage, maybe the next time you won't be "GROUND ZERO".

AGREED...... Here is a quote from Gov Christies' speech.
"Christie said the state will allow residents controlled access to assess damage, retrieve belongings and permit repopulation of the island for residents whose homes are safe and habitable.
People should procede with caution as there is still a lot of work going on and dangerous conditions in many areas".
Work is continuing in LBI, while the residents return. They have not electric and must boil their water. And without signing waivers!
Why is this not the same for Ortley and the surrounding area. They have been working in Ortley for 10 days. Rope off the worn, torn beach area and the part of Bay Blvd . Sink hole should be rope off by now.
To familys who lost homes, on both sides of the bridge. To homes owners and renters. This is not about someone who has 1 house in TR or someone who has a house at the shore and 1 elsewhere. Some of us work very hard for what we have. This is about our Governor listening to OUR LOCAL POLITICIANS KEEPING US FROM OUR HOMES. FOR REASONS OF THEIR OWN. And that's against EVERYONE'S CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS.

Remember this mayor, you were elected. Wait till next time! Ground zero or not start letting owners in. Even if it is only one street at a time.

This is what a few of us Ortley Beach residents witnessed this morning on Rt37. After 2 weeks and counting, NO ACCESS TO OUR PROPERTIES. With all the tax dollars that TR milks from us. We get a humiliating school bus ride to our properties for 1 hour with 1 suitcase to remove our belongings.
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?feature=em-share_video_user&v=-g7MYfleX-o&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D-g7MYfleX-o%26feature%3Dem-share_video_user

I guess Keyport and Union Beach doesn't have major destruction, they do. Boats/ cars on bridges and in the water and roadways upside down. With gas and oil leaking in the waterways and in the communities. Businesses destroyed roads torn up and poles down. The whole town of Union Beach and parts of Keansburg have to be leveled. Was it the same destruction as Ortley, probably not as big. BUT MAJOR..... And the difference is, the day after the storm people were helping people. They are climbing thru the rubble cleaning up. The difference is, 2 HARD WORKING BLUE COLLAR TOWNS WORKING TOGETHER. THEY WEREN'T BLOCKED OFF FROM THEIR HOMES OR BROUGHT IN ON A BUS TWO WEEKS LATER. A week fine, 2 weeks is becoming a JOKE. I think the Mayor is still standing with his hands in his pockets steering at the Surf Club parking lot like in the picture above.

I used to go to ortley beaches until I finally got sick of the North Jersey Attitude
Hey Get out a My Way on the roads.. people drinkin beer and smoking pot on the beach. the beach staff was nice and the fishin pretty good but the residents and visitors especially the Joey crowd they missed the beauty of the beach..which is still there... but the big attitude houses and every inch development got whooped
I do empathise with all the loss that was taken but hopefully its future will be made by people ie contractors trying to make a living(not a fortune) and owners trying to enjoy the place instead of trying to make an impression.