Thursday, May 23, 2013
Planning a vacation or just a day trip? Patch has all the information on the Shore's best beaches
More than six months after Superstorm Sandy caused unprecedented damage to the Jersey Shore region, the beaches will be open for Memorial Day Weekend and the summer. While certain access points and facilities might be closed as municipalities continue to work on restoration, for the most part, the beaches will be operational. The only beach that remains off limits to the public is Mantoloking. The borough was home to a breach that split Ocean County's northern barrier island in half and was one of the hardest hit communities in New Jersey during the storm. So as you prepare to stick your toes in the sand, are you wondering what will be accessible after Sandy? Need to know how much it will cost to buy badges to your favorite beach? Curious …
Lifeguards will be on duty from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
A portion of Toms River's Ortley Beach will be open for recreation this Memorial Day Weekend, the township confirmed. The beach will be open on Saturday, May 25 through Monday, May 27, between 2nd and 5th Avenues, according to the township website. Lifeguards will be on duty from from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. With Ortley sustaining significant damage from Superstorm Sandy, the township took steps to ensure that the water is safe for recreation this season. "Divers from both the Toms River Police Department scuba team and township lifeguards recently combed the bathing area for debris," reads a statement issued by the township. "No large items were found and all smaller debris was cleared. However, water shoes are recommended at this time." After…
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Residents rally outside the Sandy-ravaged Surf Club in Ortley Beach
On any given day or night in the past, Joey Harrison's Surf Club parking lot on Sixth Avenue in Ortley Beach would be packed with cars. But that was before Oct. 29, 2012. There is no parking lot left. And soon the Surf Club will be a memory. Superstorm Sandy took care of that. Two oceanfront homes battered by Sandy served as a backdrop for the latest meeting of the grassroots group Stop FEMA Now. The meeting was held in the Ortley Beach section of Toms River - the spot many consider the epicenter of devastation in Ocean County. Stop FEMA Now founder George Kasimos pointed to the pale-yellow house knocked off its foundation, as seagulls wheeled overhead in a cerulean sky. The Atlantic Ocean roared beyond the new dunes. "Six months," he said…
Saturday, April 6, 2013
A portion of Ortley Beach is expected to re-open for recreation this summer
Though Toms River officials plan to have the township's beach accessible for summer 2013, it remains unclear just when it will open for the season. A portion of Ortley Beach is expected to be open for recreation this summer after Superstorm Sandy caused considerable damage in the area. An exact date for its reopening still hasn't been locked down by officials. "We’re making a concerted effort to get a portion of the beach open," said Mayor Thomas Kelaher. "We do not have a target date yet because some issues depend upon Mother Nature." The current plan, which Toms River Recreation Director Jared Tate said in March remains "a changing situation," allows for a section of the north beach between approximately 2nd and 5th Avenues to be …
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Second theft from devastated home in a week, according to police
A township employee was charged with theft after police said that he took copper wire from a home damaged by Superstorm Sandy, the second such type of incident in a week. Toms River Chief of Police Michael Mastronardy said that a witness told him that he saw "a township employee operating a township vehicle" remove copper wire from a home on the 100 block of 3rd Avenue in Ortley Beach at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. After an investigation by Cpl. Chris Leighton, Detective Randy Petrick and Capt. Bruce Burgess, David Gregitis, 50, of Toms River was charged with one count of theft, Mastronardy said. The wire, which the chief said was valued at $25, was recovered from the truck operated by Gregitis. Township attorney Kenneth Fitzsimmons said that …
Northern part of township beach should be open to swimmers, official said
A portion of Ortley Beach is expected to be open for recreation this summer after Superstorm Sandy caused considerable damage in the area. The current plan, which Toms River Recreation Director Jared Tate said remains "a changing situation," allows for a section of the north beach between approximately 2nd and 5th Avenues to be accessible during the summer of 2013. "Right now, that's the plan to be our beach," Tate said during a Recreation Committee meeting Monday night. The southern portion of the beach "isn't going to have that accessibility," Tate said, given the condition of the roadway and beach structures in the area. "We're hoping that people will still come out to see Ortley Beach," he said. Ortley Beach's boardwalk was lost to …
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
New data released by the state Department of Community Affairs breaks down Sandy-related damage by municipality
In New Jersey, Toms River sustained the largest number of damaged housing from Superstorm Sandy, as more than 8,800 units were affected, according to an interactive map of destruction compiled by njspotlight.com. Of those homes in Toms River, 1,000 were severely damaged — many from Ortley Beach — meaning they were impacted by more than $28,800, according to data provided by the state Department of Community Affairs. In Toms River: According to the key, major damage includes homes that suffered $8,000 to $28,800 in damages while severe is more than $28,800. The data notes that nearly 87,000 housing units were damaged statewide, about 12,500 of those were either destroyed or sustained major damage. At least 1,000 residences were damaged in …
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Officials hoping project will begin this summer from Manasquan to Barnegat inlets
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Daniel Nee
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Thursday, March 14
Oceanfront homeowners between Manasquan and Barnegat inlets are being urged to sign easements necessary for a beach renourishment project to get off the ground by May 1, officials said Thursday. U.S. Rep Jon Runyan (R-3) wrote to the mayors of a number of northern Ocean County municipalities this week urging them to secure all necessary easements for the massive dune and beach project by May 1, the date the Army Corps of Engineers must submit a work plan to Congress. The project's design – which would include the construction of approximately 25-foot high dunes, 75 foot wide berms and 175 acres of dune grass in the project area – was completed in 2007, but has languished after some oceanfront homeowners refused to sign easements that would…
Friday, March 8, 2013
Recently introduced ordinance and resolution aim at expediting rebuilding process
To help facilitate "the summer of reconstruction," Toms River officials have introduced measures aimed at helping residents rebuild following Superstorm Sandy. Last week, council members introduced an ordinance allowing homeowners to rebuild higher without Zoning Board approval and approved a resolution urging Ortley Beach homeowners associations to allow for summer construction. "This is going to be the summer of reconstruction. Probably two summers," said Councilwoman Maria Maruca. "If we can get people to rebuild and get back into their houses, the quicker our community will become whole again." The proposed maximum home height increase ordinance is meant to make it easier to rebuild since a Zoning Board application would not be …
Friday, February 22, 2013
JCP&L offers barrier island service restoration update
- GOVERNMENT
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Friday, February 22
Work to restore power is expected to begin next week on several streets in Ortley Beach. Beginning on Monday, Feb. 25, seven streets in the battered barrier island community are slated for utility construction. North Beach, Pelican Island, Ortley Beach (Middle and West) and Ortley Beach (East — Between Route 35 North and South) have been energized, according to the township. "We understand the hardships experienced by customers whose homes and belongings were damaged by Hurricane Sandy, particularly in the hard-hit barrier islands," reads a statement posted to the township website. "JCP&L remains committed to working with federal, state and local agencies in a coordinated effort to rebuild and restore service to those areas." The …
MRX
8:13 am on Thursday, May 23, 2013
I am really insulted that they charge us to go on "OUR" beaches but don't charge illegals to cross the borders. If they charged people to cross the borders all beaches would be free. Once the illegals are in our country we begin to pay them. I wish I could get those bennies!! more ›