“I did it by accident. I’ve been doing snow and ice carving for many years,” he told WCBS 880′s Sean Adams.

He holds the Guinness World Record for tallest sand castle at 37 feet, 10 inches. That was in 2011 in Farmington, Connecticut.

Following superstorm Sandy, a chat with a friend from the Jersey Shore led him to Point Pleasant.

“When I talked, he couldn’t even talk straight,” Jarrett said. “I mean, the guy was choked. He just could barely get it out. He said, ‘Ed, this place is devastated. I can’t get to my job… I’ve never seen anything like it.’”

On the beach there, he’s shooting for 50 feet and a new record.

A giant wooden frame there looks like a wedding cake and volunteers pass buckets of sand up a scaffold.

Pitching in is teacher Laura Beetle from the Nellie F. Bennett Elementary School.

“This is an opportunity for us to be part of a symbolic rebuilding,” she said.

Stories from Main Street – Photo: Evan Bindelglass / WCBS 880

RELATED: More Stories From Main Street

All told, there will be 1.6 million pounds of sand.

But it’s not beach sand.

“It’s called fine sand. Some people call it utility sand. They put it around pipes in the ground. So, it actually packs in really hard,” Jarrett said.

As for the packing technique, think Lucille Ball crushing grapes. Every three inches, they wet it down. They call it “squishy feet.”

“I’m having lots of fun,” said 9-year-old volunteer Lauren Geoffrey.

She said the best part of being out there was washing people “doing squishy feet.”

Once it’s packed, it will be as hard as sandstone.

Then Jarrett will make his magic with a trowel and a few clay carving tools.

“I start at the very top and I work my way down,” Jarrett said. “The only fear I have is thunder showers. If we get a lightning strike really close, then you might a little problem with vibration. Other than that, rain doesn’t affect it. Wind doesn’t affect it.”

One side of the castle will be gothic with dragons and a princess.

“And then the other side is going to be a dedication to the New Jersey shore and the storm and we’re going to start at the top with the Barnegat lighthouse, which is Jersey Strong. We’re going to have the Jet Star roller coaster,” he said.

LINK: Ed Jarrett’s Website

Through September, they’ll charge admission with all proceeds going to superstorm Sandy relief.

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One house after another in Sayreville has a sign indicating it’s unsafe.

After all she’s been through, Shannon Cox is anxious for a buyout.

“We’re done. We want to get out,” she told WCBS 880 reporter Peter Haskell.

“We had two hurricanes within two years. So, we got the message,” her husband Chris said.

The storm left a mess.

“We had to throw everything out and gut everything and live with my parents until we figure everything out,” she said. “We lost everything in the house. I don’t want that to happen again.”

But for others in Sayreville, it’s not that easy.

“It depends on how much they’re offering,” said Kathy Hogue, who needs to be able to pay off her mortgage. “I bought my house when the market was high. I also renovated the house when I bought it.”

But if the price is right, she’ll take a buyout.

“It would give me piece of mind that the next time there’s a storm brewing out there, that I don’t have to try and get all my furniture up on to the very top level,” she said.

The governor says there needs to be neighborhood consensus before there’s a buyout. The buyouts would start with 300 homes next month and eventually increase to 1,000 homes.

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The governor announced the “willing seller” buyout plan Thursday, just before appearing in Sayreville, where about 270 homes were destroyed or severely damaged by a tidal surge during Sandy.

Some of those homeowners have expressed a willingness to sell.

The buyout program will begin in July with about 300 eligible properties in Sayreville and neighboring South River. Eventually, 1,000 homes will be bought.

“Property appraisals and title work are going to begin in June,” said the governor at the town hall meeting in Sayreville. “We’re putting a pretty quick timeline on this and very quick for government.”

“And you get the fair value for house so you can go and move and buy something else and go someplace else. That’s what we want to have happen for you,” said Christie.

LINK: Read More About The ‘Willing Seller’ Program (pdf)

The state will raze homes that are bought and preserve the land as wetlands.

“This buyout program will give homeowners added flexibility and another option as they rebuild from Sandy,” said Gov. Christie is a statement. “The process is a way to help people and property get out of harm’s way, but as I have always said, we will not force any of these residents to sell their homes or force any towns to participate in buyouts. This is a willing seller program for beleaguered neighborhoods and communities in flood-prone areas that have suffered the wrath of Sandy, and who believe that buyouts are the best option for their future.’”

Sayreville is one of the communities frequently mentioned as a good candidate for the buyouts.

Some homes in Sayreville remain uninhabitable due to the flooding from Sandy, WCBS 880′s Peter Haskell reported.

Homes near the Passaic River will also be up for buyouts, Haskell reported.

The governor has repeatedly criticized shorefront homeowners elsewhere in the state who’ve voiced opposition to a dune system to prevent future flooding.

Local officials have said they are trying to avoid paying the resistant homeowners to have them sign on to the dune system plan.

The government plans to spend $3 billion to rebuild the beaches along the Jersey Shore.

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(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

The gigantic October storm lost tropical characteristics hours before landfall in New Jersey, so the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration stopped calling it a hurricane. Instead it shifted focus to flooding and high wind warnings and moved responsibility from the National Hurricane Center in Miami to local weather offices.

NOAA’s self-assessment said that led to confusion by the public and the media, a complaint made by independent meteorologists.

The 66-page report uses the word “confusion” 88 times.

“People in New York don’t expect anything like that, you know. It’s a once in a lifetime storm so I guess nobody could really be prepared for it,” one downtown worker told WCBS 880 reporter Paul Murnane on Thursday. He lived in Florida and said there are lessons you’ll only learn once.

Confusion stemmed from a “lack of flexibility” about what Sandy was when it morphed from a hurricane to a post-tropical storm. That is essentially a hurricane that no longer gets its energy from warm water and loses its eye. Coastal residents and the news media misinterpreted Sandy’s potential impacts, the report said.

The report recommended that future hurricane warnings should continue even when a storm is downgraded and they should come from the hurricane center. That’s a change NOAA adopted last month.

The way around all this is to emphasize what a storm does, more than what to call it, said report author Peyton Robertson, who directs NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay office.

“Just saying a hurricane is coming doesn’t tell people what they’re supposed to do,” Robertson said.

The report says the biggest problem was warning of the massive storm surge. Nearly 4 out of 5 coastal residents surveyed said Sandy’s surge was higher than they expected.

Nine in ten coastal residents said they knew it was a dangerous storm.

New York City’s emergency management office “was confused about the storm surge forecast, what and where the impacts would be and how high the water would rise,” the report said, adding that it took a phone call from the National Hurricane Center to tell them how serious it was. “This apparent communication breakdown may have delayed critical decision making about evacuations and led to the potentially confusing messaging to the public.”

Robertson said people didn’t understand terms like “mean high water,” nor that coastal flooding can go far inland.

Even so, Robertson said surveys did show that people knew how serious Sandy was.

The report highlighted a Philadelphia weather service office, where a meteorologist sent out “a personal plea” for people to take the storm seriously that included “if you think the storm is over-hyped and exaggerated, please err on the side of caution. You can call me up on Friday (contact information is at the end of this briefing) and yell at me all you want.”

MIT tropical meteorologist Kerry Emanuel, who had no role in writing the report, praised the weather service’s forecast as “very good,” but said the agency “had serious problems communicating the risk to those who needed to know.”

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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As WCBS 880′s Peter Haskell reported, the post-Sandy recovery now includes one of the largest supermarkets.

Murphy’s Market in Beach Haven had its grand reopening Wednesday.

“It felt good. We’re alive again,” owner Ronald Murphy told Haskell. “The last six months, two weeks and three days have been hell.”

Murphy said even after he surveyed the damage, he never thought about giving up and shuttering his store for good.

Murphy’s Market on Long Beach Island reopens nearly 7 months after superstorm Sandy, May 15, 2013. This sign inside the store shows the damage sustained in the storm. (credit: Peter Haskell/WCBS 880)

“I couldn’t believe that that could happen. It was water, we had 48 inches of water. The place was destroyed, the whole entire store,” an emotional Murphy told Haskell. “Broke my heart. We’re OK though.”

Murphy said he borrowed $1.5 million to rebuild his supermarket to get it ready before summertime.

“We can’t wait til Memorial Day, we need two weeks ahead of time to get everything up and running, get the kinks out of it,” Murphy told Haskell.

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There was a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Freeport on Monday to mark the reopening of the famed Nautical Mile.

Town officials were on hand to accept $1.3 million in grant money from the National Grid, which will be used to help 45 businesses still struggling to open in time for summer.

“After seven months of rebuilding and National Grid’s help, this community has beaten Mother Nature,” Freeport Mayor Robert Kennedy said. “It’s the nucleus of the village, I mean everybody knows the Nautical Mile and I believe that the property sales, the businesses, everything revolves around the Nautical Mile.”

Half of the restaurants and some businesses along the Nautical Mile have still not reopened since Sandy but the goal remains to have all eateries and entertainment venues along the stretch ready in time for Memorial Day.

“There’s no better place to be in the world then on the south shore of Long Island in the summer and it starts right here on the Nautical Mile,” Nassau County legislator Dave Denenberg said. “That the south shore is back and it’s back for summer 2013.”

“We didn’t have one foot of water or two feet of water, but we had five to eight feet of water through the businesses here,” Kennedy said.

Nautical Mile businesses, Freeport, N.Y., May 13, 2013. (credit: Mona Rivera/1010 WINS)

Michael Danon of E.B. Elliot’s restaurant said he’s grateful for the grant money. He said he’s spent $1 million to reopen post-Sandy.

“Financially devastated us because we still didn’t get our insurance money, we’ve been waiting for that,” Danon told 1010 WINS’ Mona Rivera.

Still, some local officials said the devastation from the storm may prevent some small businesses from ever reopening.

“Some people don’t have the finances at all, even with grants, to reopen,” Freeport Chamber of Commerce President Charles Hirschberg told Rivera.

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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – New York City got what appears to be a record-breaking soaking Wednesday morning.

According to CBS 2, New York City received 2.39 inches of rain in the early-morning drenching. That’s almost double what we received for all of April, which brought us just 1.31 inches of rain.

It appears to have broken the previous record for this date, set in 1886, when the Big Apple got 2.33 inches.

Photos: Heavy Rains Cause Flooding Around Tri-State

The National Weather Service was expected to clarify whether the record was officially broken later Wednesday.

The worst of the rain passed through New York City in morning. Scattered showers were expected throughout the rest of the day, with pop-up thunderstorms possible.

CHECK: Radar | Forecast & Alerts | Traffic & Transit | Listen: 1010 WINS | WCBS 880

Excessive runoff from the heavy rainfall caused some flooding on highways, streets, underpasses and other low-lying areas.

Umbrellas were up in Astoria, Queens as heavy rain started the day. The deluge meant slow going for drivers on Route 3 in Clifton, N.J. And conditions weren’t much better on the Henry Hudson Parkway in Westchester County.

An American Eagle jet from Detroit landed safely at LaGuardia Airport after reporting that it had been struck twice by lightning, the Federal Aviation Administration said. No one was injured.

John Montone of 1010 WINS found himself becoming part of the story when his vehicle got stuck in a flooded street in Jersey City.

John Montone’s vehicle got stuck in the water during heavy rain May 8, 2013. (credit: John Montone/1010 WINS)

“I tried to get out to push the car, and as I’m sure a lot of people have experienced, the water came rushing in on me,” Montone said. “I stayed with the car, tried to get a tow, [but] AAA informed me they didn’t want their trucks getting stuck in the water.”

In Hoboken, cars that attempted to driver under two separate underpasses near Newark Avenue got stuck. One quick-thinking pedestrian hitched a ride on a big-rig to escape the flooding, CBS 2′s Elise Finch reported.

The flagship Apple store at 59th Street and 5th Avenue apparently got partially flooded. Photos from its subterranean level show what appears to be significant water damage to part of the ceiling and a large puddle on the ground.

The Apple store was partially flooded following heavy rain on May 8, 2013. (credit: Errol Rappaport)

In Gowanus, Brooklyn, cautious drivers did an about face to avoid the murky water that filled 9th Street between Second Avenue and Smith.

“We got here at about 8 a.m. and where we’re standing right now was already a foot under water,” Park Slope resident Justin Whitkin told CBS 2’s Finch.

The driver of another car declined to speak on camera, but he told Finch he tried to drive through the water, got stuck and had to push his car onto the sidewalk. Water was flooding the engine and coming out of his tailpipe. A passer-by on his way to work said the driver had car trouble and possibly health problems from the water, most of which was overflow from the nearby canal.

“It’s coming from the Gowanus Canal, which is notoriously one of the most filthy bodies of water in New York City,” Crown Heights resident Jacob Hyman said. “You wouldn’t drown in it but you’d catch some diseases from it.”

Another round of heavy rain fell early Wednesday afternoon. Only drivers of buses and larger vehicles seemed willing to take their chances plowing through the water-covered streets.

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Some of the lanai-style homes on Elaine Drive in Oceanside have first floors that are only two or three feet below street level.

The residents never considered the first floor of their homes to be basements. But after Sandy, they found out that the insurance companies do.

The insurance plans do not consider basements to be living spaces, so the residents have not gotten a penny of insurance money for the flood damage they sustained.

Seth Oberstein said Nassau County considers those lower levels as living spaces and said he has been paying property taxes on the rooms for decades.

“If you go down below even two inches, they consider it a basement. And therefore content, not necessarily your boilers and such, but content itself will not be covered,” Oberstein told WCBS 880′s Sophia Hall.

“It’s a living space. We have a bedroom down there, we have a den. And we’ve been taxed for 25 years that we’ve been here. So that’s why the county’s getting in on it now because if it’s going to be a basement, then I want them to give me back all my money that I’ve been paying taxes on,” resident Petrina Marchica told Hall.

Several residents on the block have hired a lawyer to fight the insurance companies.

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Democrat Adam Haber proposes naming a “disaster czar” to handle a county-wide emergency management and information system that he says would give Nassau County the response it did not get after Sandy.

“The ‘disaster czar’ would be a person who has tremendous experience in disaster relief, not an insider who’s hand-picked by a government leader,” Haber told WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs, adding that it would be someone who knows how to behave before, during, and after a storm.

Haber said keeping gas stations open would be a big part of the plan.

“You’d have a certain amount of designated, pre-designated, gas stations with generators so people know that they can get gas. A lot of times the gas was there, but there was nothing to pump [it],” he said.

He said his plan would pre-screen and select contractors in advance of hurricane season, eliminating confusion and controversy.

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The Oceanside Senior Center has been renovated and is now back in business.

Hundreds of seniors were enjoying the newly opened center on Monday. The facility was badly damaged in the flooding from Sandy.

“Oh, beautiful. We waited a long time but it’s nice that it’s open now,” one man told WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs.

The man added it’s nice to have a place to go and see old friends again.

“Oh, it’s great. We really missed it. To see all our friends, we’re happy to be back,” a woman added.

Women sit in the newly renovated Oceanside Senior Center, which was damaged in superstorm Sandy, May 6, 2013. (credit: Mona Rivera/1010 WINS)

“This is their lifeline, this is their social. It’s a really wonderful day for Oceanside,” Town Supervisor Kate Murray told Xirinachs. “It really can’t be overstated how important this senior center is. It is literally a lifeline for them.”

Murray joined other officials and seniors for the official ribbon-cutting ceremony outside the Oceanside Senior Center.

“We’re happy,” a woman told Xirinachs. “We’re going to play bingo!”

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“It was really hard to watch because, even on TV, you’re watching the destruction of all these places that you know and love,” Dee Andolpho Shockley told WCBS 880′s Sean Adams. “My children saw it as well. I have three girls who are 10, 8, and 6 and they were just devastated and heartbroken.”

Shockley lives in North Carolina now, but grew up in the Jersey Shore township of Middletown. Family and friends in Union Beach were left homeless.

So, she and her daughters wanted to help.

“One of them said ‘Let’s just have a lemonade stand and send all of the money that we raised to New Jersey’ and thought ‘That’s so cute,’” she said. “You want to do something. You just don’t know what. You feel so helpless. And then also it’s a good lesson for the girls. I mean, they were upset and they wanted to know what’s going to happen. How can we help. And you want them to know that we actually can try to do something.

Stories from Main Street – Photo: Evan Bindelglass / WCBS 880

RELATED: More Stories From Main Street

So, they set up the lemonade stand, with the goal of selling a little homemade children’s book written by Shockley and illustrated by family friend Rob Hadley. They ended up self-publishing “The Horrible, Horrible Hurricane.”

When the first pressing arrived, Shockley said one of her daughters teared up. She said the others were just amazed that they had made a book.

All proceeds from the sale of the book are going to Sandy relief.

LINK: The Book’s Official Website

The story is told through the eyes of Shockley’s 10-year-old daughter and starts with a summer vacation at the Jersey Shore.

“Doing all the things that we love, like going to the boardwalk and on the rides and spending all day at the beach,” Shockley said. “But then a hurricane hits and it’s scary. They go through the hurricane and they’re scared and upset and then the next day they go out and everything is destroyed.”

The illustrations are simple childlike sketches – cheery yellow, blue, purple, and green during good times and ominous dark shades during the storm.

“I think one of the best pictures in the book is where it shows the boardwalk that’s completely destroyed with the now imfamous roller coaster in the middle of the ocean,” she said.

In the end, there is a message of hope as everything is rebuilt.

The last page reads: “In the end, our parents were right. Our favorite place is not the same. It’s better and we still, and always will, love the Jersey Shore.”

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Deputy mayors Cas Holloway and Linda Gibbs discussed the details of the city’s After-Action report at a midday briefing on Friday.

The report also says the city should line up more generators and take other steps to handle natural disasters.

The self-analysis credits the city’s preparations and response on many fronts. But it also notes problems. Among them: Many people didn’t evacuate. People ended up staying in shelters too long. Some critically needed city vehicles couldn’t get gas.

“Hurricane Sandy caused tragic loss of life, uprooted thousands of New Yorkers, and caused unprecedented damage throughout the five boroughs,” said Holloway. “This After-Action report makes clear that as well as the city performed, we can always do better; we will take the lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy and strengthen the City’s capacity to respond to future emergencies.”

The report recommends getting more mobile fuel facilities. It also says city staffers should be deployed faster to work with community groups on relief operations and urges working with companies to extend cell phone towers’ backup power.

“We know there are always ways to improve and this after-action evaluation has identified key steps we can take to further enhance our ability to more effectively assist New Yorkers,” said Gibbs.

To see the full report, visit www.nyc.gov.

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(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

In Long Beach Township, the Army Corps of Engineers is waiting on 60 of the 465 oceanfront property owners to give their blessing to the project.

The holdouts are resisting the project for two reasons, said Long Beach Township Mayor Joseph Mancini.

First, Mancini told WCBS 880′s Levon Putney, the homeowners fear the dunes will block their ocean views from the first floor of their homes.

Some homeowners also want compensation for allowing the easement on their property.

“How am I going to condemn somebody and pay them money when these other good neighbors didn’t ask for that?” Mancini told Putney. “I’m not one for eminent domain. How do I pay somebody money when everybody else did it for the good of the community?”

He says that would be opposite of who you would want to reward.

Mancini also said the notion that the higher dunes will lower property values is false.

“Any oceanfront that was built behind the engineered dune system has a higher value,” Mancini told Putney. “Bottom line, if you lose your view from the first floor, go up to the second floor. You’ll have a nice view up there.”

The names of the 60 holdouts are posted on the town’s website. Mancini said he hopes by publicizing the names, their neighbors will try to talk them into agreeing to the plan.

Otherwise, Mancini said the state could step in with pressure.

“We’re coming up on a timeline,” the mayor noted.

Speaking in late March, Gov. Chris Christie had harsh words for those opposed to the protective dunes, calling them “selfish.” His brash talk continued this week.

The governor used an expletive Tuesday during a town hall meeting on Long Beach Island, where Sandy caused heavy damage.

He calls the opposition BS, though he used the full word.

Christie was referring to the expressed fears of some dune opponents that boardwalks, bathrooms or amusement rides would be built near their beachfront properties.

The Republican governor says he soon will “call out” stubborn homeowners by name if they continue to refuse to sign easements permitting a beach replenishment project with dunes.

The federal government Monday approved the state’s plan to spend $1.83 billion to help homeowners and businesses get back on their feet.

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(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

The Cubacan restaurant in is right on the beach in Asbury Park. When the storm blew through, it left four feet of water.

“Most of the doorways had blown out. Glass was everywhere. All of our furniture was piled and destroyed,” General Manager Margaux McDaniel told WCBS 880 reporter Peter Haskell.

She said they couldn’t wait for government money to rebuild.

“We wanted to be open and ready to go for the summer,” she said.

They re-opened in February and said people are anxious to get back to the shore.

“I think there’s a soft spot for people for the Jersey Shore,” she said.

Tom Rogers of TR’s Food Court in Belmar did much of his fix-up himself.

“I’m out of pocket, quite frankly. Used my savings money to get it repaired,” he said.

Businsses can apply for up to $50,000 in Stronger New Jersey Business Grant money. CLICK HERE for more information.

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Just six months after superstorm Sandy roared ashore and devastated much of the state’s coastline, Belmar’s boardwalk is just about ready for visitors.

The 1.3-mile boardwalk was completely destroyed in the storm. Now, the boards are down and just the finishing touches remain.

“We need to put up the railings, the light posts,” Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty told WCBS 880′s Peter Haskell. ”It’s part of the character of the town. Belmar has had a boardwalk since 1875.”

Doherty said the boardwalk is the lifeline of the town once the warm weather comes.

“We have about 140 small businesses that depend on summer tourism. So without the boardwalk, the town wouldn’t have the same character and obviously our businesses would suffer as well,” the mayor added.

Sign on reconstructed Belmar boardwalk, April 30, 2013. (credit: Peter Haskell/WCBS 880)

Residents said the new boardwalk provides another kind of boost.

“Just mentally, it’s gotten everybody uplifted. You can see it. Come down here on the weekend, it was packed,” resident Joe Fernandez told Haskell.

The new boardwalk is made up of about 2,800 pilings, 14,000 boards and 500,000 screws, according to the town.

The ceremonial ribbon-cutting for the new boardwalk is set for May 22.

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In a letter to Con Ed chairman and CEO Kevin Burke on the six month anniversary of superstorm Sandy on Monday, Cuomo said “we witnessed a complete failure by many of our state’s utilities to provide adequate service to the ratepayers they serve.”

Cuomo added that Moreland Commission, which he established following Sandy, has not yet determined the adequacy of Con Ed’s performance during the storm.

Burke quickly said he was returning the $314,000 bonus he was awarded.

“After careful consideration, I have decided to return the special bonus granted by our compensation committee, and funded by shareholders, for handling very challenging events in 2012. I continue to commend the work of all of our employees,” Burke said in a statement on Tuesday.

A Con Ed spokesman says Tuesday the other executives also returned the bonuses.

EXTRA: Read Gov. Cuomo’s Letter To Kevin Burke (pdf)

Downtown Manhattan was left completely in the dark for days after Sandy hit, along with Con Ed customers in other boroughs and the suburbs. Some customers were left without heat or lights for weeks.

“In light of the ongoing Moreland Commission investigation into utility performance in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, I have asked Con Edison to freeze the remaining executive bonuses until the Public Service Commission [PSC] review is complete. I also urge Con Ed to fully cooperate with the Public Service Commission’s review so we can ensure ratepayers are protected,” Cuomo said in a statement on Tuesday.

“This administration is fully committed to protecting ratepayers, especially after the utilities’ lackluster performance before, during, and after Superstorm Sandy. No ratepayer should pay a single penny for bonuses given to senior utility executives, especially for bonuses awarded for their performance during Sandy. I anticipate Con Ed will fully cooperate with the PSC review,” the governor added.

The Moreland Commission was set up in November to look into the storm preparation and management of the utility companies impacted by Sandy.

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(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie made headlines when he criticized his own Republican Party for delaying funding for Superstorm Sandy victims.

But the storm also revealed a softer side to the tough-talking governor. CBS 2’s Kristine Johnson sat down with Christie last week for an update on the cleanup.

“There’s a lot more work that we still need to do,” Christie said.

The devastation is not what it once was, but six months after Superstorm Sandy battered the Garden State, Christie believes New Jersey is coming back strong.

“What we’ve seen is some progress that’s really even amazed me, and we’re going to have all the boardwalks open by Memorial Day weekend,” Christie said. “I never thought that was going to be possible.”

The progress is unexpected, given the damage that Christie saw streaming live from a New Jersey State Police helicopter during the storm.

“We were all gasping in the operations center – houses that had been moved to the middle of streets, water everywhere, sand everywhere,” he said.

Christie said his first order of business was to get things as close to back to normal as possible, as soon as possible.

“Let’s try and get people back to normal, which might get their kids back in school, get their power back on, get gasoline back in gas stations, and then they can deal with the other parts of the devastation,” Christie said.

The priority now is to rebuild. New building codes will require significant elevation of structures in some areas, and billions of dollars will pay for a dune system to protect 130 miles of coastline from water damage.

As the plans move forward, Christie wants every dollar accounted for.

“We’re going to do is try and do this smartly — get people to agree to rebuild in New Jersey before we get money, and also have reputable builders that are approved by the government beforehand so that it lowers the incidents of people, you know, being exposed to potential rip off artists,” Christie said.

Superstorm Sandy also publically revealed a softer side of the sometimes brash governor. Johnson asked him if it was a conscious effort.

“The conscious effort was being there,” Christie said. “I don’t know how you could walk around those streets and see those folks and not react that way.”

One of the most noteworthy moments in the wake of the storm involved Christie warmly embracing President Barack Obama amid the devastation. That move angered some Republicans, who said it helped tip a close presidential election to the Democrat and away from Mitt Romney, who Christie endorsed and for whom he campaigned last fall.

But six months later, Christie continued to praise President Obama for being “a man of his word” when it came to his swift response to the storm.

“I don’t have any regrets because anyone who’s had the job that I have knows that your first job is to get the job done for the people who elected you and not to worry about politics, whether it’s presidential politics or any other type of politics,” Christie told WCBS 880′s Steve Scott.

In the days after Sandy roared ashore, President Obama surveyed the damage with Christie.

“Secondly, I’d give the President high marks. Everything that we asked of him to do he’s done, his administration has done. And while there were some blips in terms of the national flood insurance program that angered people, rightfully, the administration has worked on fixing that. So while I have broad areas of disagreement with the President on other issues, I cannot say anything other than the truth which is the President’s been a man of his word on this and his administration has followed through,” said Christie.

And of course, CBS 2’s Johnson had to talk about the blue fleece Christie wore following the storm. He was never seen without it, and that was by choice

“I wore it during Irene, and Irene went well, and I’m a little bit superstitious,” he said. “So when I went to grab something to wear, I said, ‘Well, Irene went well, so I’ll just grab this thing again,’ not understanding at all the sensation that would come from it.”

Rebuilding a state decimated by a superstorm has proven to be no easy task – but it’s a task Christie vowed to see to the end.

“Being governor is no longer a job for me — it’s now my mission,” he said. “It’s the place where I was born and raised, and I am not going to leave this job unfinished.”

Christie said in hindsight, he wished he put more pressure on the electric companies much sooner than he did, and mandate the odd-even gas rules much sooner as well.

But just as things changed on 9/11, life shifted gears once again last October for Frank Siller, chairman of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which was created to honor the fallen 9/11 firefighter, when superstorm Sandy hit.

“As soon as Sandy hit, we knew what we had to do,” Frank Siller told WCBS 880′s Jim Smith.

Immediately, the foundation joined the relief effort, and that continues to this day.

We’ve had 10,000 volunteers, 10,000 volunteers that come through our doors since Sandy hit,” he said. “We have given out over $10 worth of food and supplies.”

That has gone from basic necessities to, now, six month later, construction assistance.

“A different type of supplies, but right now it’s full of sheet rock and insulation because that’s the next stage,” he said.

The foundation is now capable of mold remediation in ten homes a day. the latest hurdle, Siller says in a long road to recovery.

LINK: Tunnel To Towers

“We’re up for the challenge. We’re going to be here to the very end. I think that’s very important that people know that,” he said.

He said more needs to be done.

“There’s not enough progress, by any means,” he said. “If you’re the ones caught up in this.”

He says over the next six months, the goal is is put 1,000 back into their homes.

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When the storm washed through Hoboken six months ago, the gym at the Hudson County kids center was destroyed.

“It was like a bathtub. There was at least four, five feet of water mixed with gasoline,” Boys and Girls Club of Hudson County executive director Gary Greenberg told WCBS 880′s Peter Haskell. “The floor that we had in there was completely destroyed, totally warped.”

Greenberg said it was devastating to see the full extent of the damage.

“We were standing in front of the building after the storm, we were crying,” Greenberg told Haskell.

The gym reopened last week, just ahead of the six-month anniversary of the storm. The $100,000 needed for repairs came from the NFL and the New York/New Jersey Super Bowl Committee. MetLife Stadium is playing host to Super Bowl XLVIII in February.

“We weren’t able to bring the gymnasium back until the NFL stepped in and saved us and brought the gym back,” said Greenberg. “It’s a gift of a lifetime for something like this to happen.”

Hoboken Boys and Girls Club gym reopens thanks to a donation from the NFL and the Super Bowl Host Committee. (credit: Peter Haskell/WCBS 880)

Greenberg added the impact of the donation goes beyond the facility.

“I think this brings hope back to the community that people do care and I think the gym and the building is the symbol of Hoboken coming back,” he told Haskell.

The NFL and the host committee will give out a total of $2 million in the area for storm relief.

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The 12-acre garden in Albertson suffered severe damage when the Oct. 29 storm ripped through. More than 40 trees were knocked down, including some that were 60 feet tall.

Many of the shrubs, bushes, beehives and fences were also destroyed in Sandy.

Town of North Hempstead horticulturist Ryan Torres said while flowers are blooming now, the devastation is still apparent.

“There is a lot more environmental differences. sun where we didn’t necessarily have it before, paths that are a little more open than they were before,” Torres told WCBS 880′s Sophia Hall.

Clark Botanic Garden, April 24, 2013. (credit: Sophia Hall/WCBS 880)

She said it’s going to be a while before the garden is the way it was before Sandy.

“I can plant nice big trees, but I can’t make them grow any faster. So it is going to be probably a few decades before Clark Gardens is exactly what it was,” Torres told Hall.

The garden has launched Project 40, a fundraising effort to replant 40 trees by the end of this year.

Lighting can strike even when a storm is far off and the murmur of thunder seems distant. Last year in Demarest, on a sunny day, a bolt out of the blue killed a grandfather at a soccer game.

In 2006, lightning killed two teens on a field in Montvale.

More and more North Jersey towns are investing in lightning detection systems. Weather stations pick up electrical storms approaching and sound sirens at parks, fields, and playgrounds.

Westwood Mayor John Birkner says they just might share a system with Emerson and Washington Township.

Of course, once a storm is detected, the second part of the equation is having an evacuation plan.

“It has to be coupled with a plan. I mean, you can have all the bells and sirens that you want, but if you don’t have a plan, a safety plan in place for each of the facilities, it really doesn’t work and everybody needs to be educated,” Birkner told WCBS 880 reporter Sean Adams.

That also means knowing that dugouts, gazebos, and picnic shelters do not provide adequate protection from lightning.

“I think it’s a responsibility of the municipalities to make sure that people who are using public facilities understand the risks and the dangers,” Birkner said.

Nearby, Tenafly just went out to bid on a system and Creskill just installed a lightning detection system.

The Record reported that Wayne, Rutherford, Ridgefield, and Dumont were among towns which already have lightning detection systems.

Some New York lawmakers have now gotten involved on behalf of those residents they say have been shortchanged.

Elected officials are now calling on Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan to step in, hoping President Obama’s appointments on Sandy recovery can get the city to use some federal funds to reimburse homeowners who’ve already paid for their repairs.

“Ask him to reject this portion of the Mayor’s plan and include reimbursement for people who’ve laid out money,” Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder told reporters including WCBS 880′s Jim Smith.

State Sen. James Sanders said the state already is including those reimbursements in its plans, creating some disparities for among victims.

“If you were right over an imaginary line called Nassau County or Jersey, for that matter, you’d have your money,” Sanders said. “The people of Long Beach will be overseen by the state and the people of the Rockaways will be overseen by the city.”

City councilman Donovan Richards (at podium) on left Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder, on right is State Senator James Sanders (Credit: Jim Smith WCBS 880)

City Councilman Donovan Richards has also urged the city to change course.

“Reimburse homeowners, it is the right thing to do,” Richards told Smith.

HUD and the mayor’s offices did not return calls, but a Bloomberg spokeswoman previously told the New York Times the city’s immediate focus is on those who have not been able to do the necessary work.

Please offer your comments below…

As CBS 2′s Jennifer McLogan reported on Thursday, bulkheads, boats, and businesses were ravaged by the storm.

But the community that stakes its survival on tourism is getting ready for the summer season.

The oldest restaurant along Freeport’s Nautical Mile is Otto’s, built by current owner Ilona Jagnow’s grandparents in 1929.

The restaurant along the Woodcleft Canal was inundated when the storm hit on Oct. 29.

“You just want to cry. It’s just overwhelming” Jagnow told CBS 2′s McLogan. “Sandy brought in five and half feet of water and it floated up the dining room.”

“It’s a three-generation legacy that I’m rebuilding. It’s a big nut to crack, gonna need to have broad shoulders,” Jagnow added.

Thousands flock to the seafaring community by boat in the warm months to patronize the restaurants and bars, and to buy seafood from commercial fishermen who dock their fleets daily.

Though some businesses still have not reopened, there is some muted optimism with summer fast approaching.

“Now you see that the money is being released from the insurance companies and the banks and the weather is more accommodating that the businesses are able to go out and work. They couldn’t work without heat. Everybody lost their boilers, everybody lost their plumbing, all the pipes were frozen,” Freeport Mayor Robert Kennedy told McLogan.

Repairs are still being made along the Nautical Mile, but some businesses are back on their feet.

“We had six feet of water in here, and we’ve been constantly rebuilding and working for the last six months. And the boats are coming in loaded with big striped bass…the ones that made Billy Joel famous,” Jerry Bracco with Captain Ben’s Seafood told McLogan.

Freeport officials said the annual Summer Festival, slated for June 1, will go on as planned along the Nautical Mile.

Have your summer plans changed because of Sandy? Sound off in the comments section below…

Some of the summer residents are building barriers to protect their homes from future storms, but the barriers are forcing the water to eat away at public beaches.

Mark Epley, the mayor of Southampton Village, says it’s a big problem.

Homeowner Wayne Clark admits there is no easy answer.

“So you need to compromise somewhere down the line there and come up with a solution somewhere. But it’s not happening. The engineers have got to come up with something,” he told WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs.

One conservationist says the only real solution is to pick up the oceanfront homes and move them back.

What do you think? Sound off below.

It’ll be wet and windy through Friday with rain heavy at times and possible thunderstorms in spots. A wind advisory is also in effect until 2 p.m. Friday in coastal Connecticut and Long Island.

Check: Radar | Forecast & Alerts

Forecasters say isolated coastal flooding is also possible along the Long Island Sound and the eastern bays of Long Island Friday as the storm settles in.

The storm has been moving in from the South after socking the Midwest.

It marched from Louisiana to Georgia on Thursday, causing major damage to parts of Mississippi, where a twister was spotted and one person was killed.

Tennessee authorities late Thursday declared a state of emergency after a tornado was reported in the southeastern part of that state.

The T-shaped system first swept across the nation’s midsection Wednesday night and pummeled portions of Missouri, where the National Weather Service said Thursday that an EF-2 tornado appears to have damaged dozens of homes in the St. Louis suburb of Hazelwood. That category of tornado generally packs winds of 113 to 157 mph.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Sandy is being retired from the list of tropical storm names because of the catastrophic damage its massive size and strength caused along the East Coast last year.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials say the name Sara will take its place. Sandy was retired Thursday from the official list of Atlantic Basin tropical storm names by the World Meteorological Organization’s hurricane committee.

A home in Mystic Islands, N.J. wrecked by Superstorm Sandy (credit: Tim Larsen / Governor’s Office)

Storm names are recycled every six years unless they’re retired because of extreme damage or a considerable number of casualties.

Sandy is the 77th storm name taken off the list since 1954.

The National Hurricane Center has attributed 72 deaths from Maryland to New Hampshire directly to Sandy, though some estimates were higher.

It wiped out entire neighborhoods and was one of the country’s costliest natural disasters.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Many were excited for the early taste of summer even before things really started heating up Tuesday, CBS 2′s Elise Finch reported.

“It’s just like a treat,” Chinatown resident Jennifer Hegarty said. “Even when I walk to work I get up super early just to walk through the park.”

“I need warmth,” Marine Park resident Nadine Smith said. “I think I have S.A.D. Seasonal Affective Disorder because I am so happy the sun is out.”

LINK: Check The Forecast

The lawn at Bryant Park is off-limits, but that didn’t stop people from grabbing a chair and soaking up some rays.

“It’s pretty awesome to have your breakfast outside and just feeling the sun on your skin,” Lisa Silverstein, of Berkley, Calif., said.

Upper West Side resident Jada Strabbing said she was thrilled to take her 15-month-old daughter outside without having to bundle her up.

“It just feels really refreshing to be outside particularly with Vivian and allowing her to run around and not worrying about her being cold,” Strabbing said.

Exercise enthusiasts were also thrilled to get out of the gym and into local parks for their daily work out.

“I feel the outdoors definitely is the easier way to motivate with the cool breeze the sunlight,” personal trainer Stacy Papakostas said.

“You want to stay out longer so you’re willing to push yourself a little bit more,” Upper West Side resident Eric Spencer said.

“It feels so much better, it’s refreshing a great way to start the day get a tan while you’re working out,” Upper West Side resident Hayley Cooper said.

Others took advantage of the warm weather to spend some time in the sand.

Kelly Duffy with 2-year-old Tommy playing in the sand at Rockaway Beach on April 9, 2013 (credit: Mona Rivera/1010 WINS)

The boardwalk still isn’t back at Rockaway Beach after it was destroyed in Superstorm Sandy, but that didn’t stop people from coming out to enjoy the sun at Beach 92nd Street.

“It’s our beach, it’s just layers of sand, it’s an open playground for all kids,” Rockaway Park resident Kelly Duffy. “It’s just sad, no boardwalk.”

“This is good, I’m glad to have the sun back,” surfer Andrew Gellis said.

Wednesday will remain warm with an expected high of 79 degrees, but temperatures will be back in the upper 50s by the weekend.

How are you spending the day? Let us know below…

As WCBS 880′s Marla Diamond reported, bikers, joggers and others out enjoying the sun on Tuesday had to navigate around chain-link fences set up to block off the construction areas.

Hudson River Park Trust CEO Madelyn Wils said three piers were heavily damaged and the electrical system was knocked out completely when Sandy flooded the park on Oct. 29. All of the street lights lost power.

“It was very interesting that night to see trees sticking up from the water,” Wils told Diamond. “We had four-to-six feet everywhere. Most of the damage that was done is to the mechanical and electrical systems.”

Flooding Near Pier 46 in Hudson River Park Following Superstorm Sandy (credit: Hudson River Park Trust)

As Diamond reported, with the new FEMA flood maps, repairs are now double the initial estimate of $10 million.

“Clearly, we built for the 100-year flood plain, but we did not build to the 1,000-year flood plain,” Wils said.

After Sandy hit, photos showed parts of the stone pathway completely buckled.

Damage At Pier 25 Playground Following Superstorm Sandy (credit: Hudson River Park Trust)

“Somehow, the force of the waters seemed to lift up the foam underneath our pavers,” Wils told Diamond.

The five-mile waterfront park that runs from Battery Park to West 59th Street has been closed after dark while repairs are ongoing. Wils said for a neighborhood with limited park space, it’s been a huge loss.

“This is the front door, this is the front yard for people. This is where they play, this is where they calm down,” Wils said.

The repair work is being covered by trust reserves but FEMA reimbursements are on the way, Wils said.

She said repairs to the electrical system will be complete by mid-May and the damaged piers are expected to completely reopen by early July.

Please offer your comments below…

If you take a walk in the woods, the snap, crackle, and pop under your feet says it all.

With temperatures around 80, it is bone dry and conditions are just right for brush fires, according to Rockland County Fire Coordinator Gordon Wren.

“We worry when the humidity gets low and the winds pick up,” Wren told WCBS 880 reporter Sean Adams. “So right now until we get some rain and the leaves come out we’re at risk. We’re hoping later in the week, we’re going to get a decent rain.”

Because the tree tops are bare, shafts of sunlight bare down like lasers drying last year’s brush.

There have already been minor fires in New City, Pearl River, and Suffern.

In Tallman it’s believed teens playing with fireworks in the woods started a fire.

“Which is pretty dumb and irresponsible, I might add,” he said.

He says you should be smart and cautious. Watch your cigarettes and your cars. Even a hot tail pipe or catalytic converter can start a brush fire.

New Jersey is also warning about the increasing danger and WCBS 880′s Wayne Cabot spoke with State Forester Lynn Fleming about the view from state’s the 21 fire towers.

“We have higher winds. We have a decrease in moisture and humidity in the air and and our trees still don’t have vegetation on them, which actually are somewhat of a buffer for us cause they have moisture in them,” Fleming told Cabot. “So, it really becomes a time when we start seeing an increase in fires.”

That’s why you’ll see the fire towers manned, even though they are something of a relic given the advent of cell phones and even radio.

“They are very old, still very valuable and useful. There are many states that have not been using them, but we find that they’re still an effective way for us to see when there’s smoke coming up to be able to identify and be able to dispatch someone quickly when there’s a fire,” she said.

She said that when the staff isn’t busy, they welcome the public to visit the towers and see what it’s all about.

By the way, forest fire watchers tell WCBS 880 that 95 percent of all wildfires in New Jersey are caused by human activity.

But some neighbors have complained that the noise is out of hand.

Cement pilings are being pounded into the sand. Arverne by the Sea homeowner Vincent Castellano said the constant thumping has kept him up at night.

“The couch shakes, the bed shakes,” Castellano told WCBS 880′s Monica Miller. “You leave the TV on to drown out the noise. The lights shine into the apartment.”

The city is building modular lifeguard stands to replace the ones washed away by superstorm Sandy right across the street from the Arverne by the Sea condo community.

“I think as a community, we want to make sure the beaches are open for us as residents as well as people that don’t live here to come and enjoy our beaches. But a few hours a day for the extra week, maybe at night if they could just hold off maybe from midnight to 5 a.m., I think that’s fairly reasonable,” said Glenn DiResto with the Arverne by the Sea homeowners association.

Deputy Commissioner Liam Kavanaugh with the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation said they’re trying to get life back on track at the beach by Memorial Day.

“We’re basically trying to do two years worth of work in four months,” said Kavanagh.

“I can certainly understand their concern. Nobody likes to be disturbed when they’re sleeping. The noise is primarily due to some pile-driving which is happening this week and should wrap up by the end of the week,” he told Miller.

Please offer your comments below…

The start of the work week brought sunshine and warm temperatures which rose to 73 in Manhattan on Monday afternoon.

The early April warm up was a welcome change for many residents on the Upper West Side, but not everyone was ready to ditch their winter gear Monday morning.

LINK: Click Here To Check The Forecast

Resident Betsy Robinson was dressed for cold when she took her dog for a walk.

“I can always take stuff off but if I’m cold I can’t do anything,” Robinson said.

Others needed very little encouragement to shed layers.

“No jacket, no coat and it took just half a block for me to feel overdressed,” resident Roger Persell said.

“As far as exercise goes, it’s a lot easier to get up and go out when it’s dark and warm versus when it’s dark and cold, like we do all winter, so shorts and short sleeves are going to be a pleasure,” resident Robert Lattanzi said.

Resident Sara Witt was able to dress her 3-year-old daughter quickly for a day in the park.

“The winter coat — very exciting to put that back in the closet, hopefully for good,” Witt said. “Just wear a lightweight sweater and go quickly.”

Tuesday is expected to be even warmer with temperatures slated to go up to 78 in midtown and possibly 80 in a few western suburbs.

Wednesday will remain warm with temperatures expected to reach a high of 76.

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation announced Saturday that while all the state parks and beaches on Long Island will be open for the unofficial kick-off to summer, some still damaged by Sandy by not be fully accessible.

In all, the state estimates that beaches and inland parks on Long Island suffered nearly $100 million in damage from the storm.

Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey told Newsday the popular summertime venue at Jones Beach was completely enveloped by flooding from the storm but will be repaired and opened by late May.

Harvey says some destinations like Robert Moses and Orient Beach are closed until access roads are repaired.

The agency says as much as 600,000 cubic yards of sand could also be moved to beaches eroded by the storm by the holiday weekend.

Are you impressed with the restoration effort following Sandy? Sound off below…

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

As WCBS 880′s Sophia Hall reported, there could be a one-two punch this allergy season. That’s because the normal springtime allergies could be coupled with mold hidden behind the walls of homes flooded by Sandy.

Dr. Philip Perlman of St. Francis Hospital on Long Island explains how the extra allergen could affect people.

“Now that the houses are dried up, the mold is growing behind the walls and they’re not realizing it’s there. So where they didn’t know in the past that they were susceptible to mold allergies, now they’re realizing something else is going on – sneezy, stuffy feeling and watery eyes,” Perlman told Hall.

Pearlman said one way to prevent mold allergies is to use a neti pot with a saline solution to rinse the allergens from your nose.

Elsewhere across the Tri-State area, tree pollen is forecast to be especially bad this allergy season. One expert said in addition to creating mold, the additional moisture from Sandy fed trees very well.

Have you noticed a worse-than-normal allergy season so far? Sound off below…

A new group called ‘Friends of Long Island’ plans to raise $500,000 to help up to 100 people get back into their Sandy-ravaged homes.

The group is made up of local residents and community leaders like Eric Alexander.

“People are completely struggling,” Alexander told WCBS 880′s Sophia Hall. “We’re out volunteering so we see it each week. What we want to do is put a public spotlight on what’s happening to folks in local communities and lend a hand, put our shoulders to the wheel.”

A Long Beach resident is among those still left in limbo more than five months after the storm hit. John McNally’s home is still destroyed and he said he doesn’t have the funds to get it properly repaired.

“About a month ago our contractor told us we were three weeks from getting back in. And a week after that, we received a letter from FEMA and the city saying that they had gone around and done inspections and that our house had received more than 50 percent damage, so we either needed to elevate or demolish the home,” McNally told Hall.

He said he doesn’t have the $75,000 dollars to elevate the home.

Alexander said McNally is exactly the type of Long Island homeowner they’re looking to assist.

“There’s not one resource that’s going to do something for everybody. You need to leverage a lot of different resources – there might be a little FEMA money here, a little insurance money there. There might be the Rotary Club comes up with some money. It might be something we raise that could help. So it’s going to be triage,” said Alexander.

Please offer your comments below…

The warning is in effect through 8 p.m. Wednesday.

The National Weather Service said gusty winds, along with humidity levels as low as 20 percent, mean there is a “great potential” for wildfires in the area through the day. There is also the possibility that any blazes that do start could easily spread and become difficult to extinguish.

EXTRA: Forecast and Latest Weather Alerts

The driest conditions, along with the highest winds, are projected during the afternoon hours.

In New York, winds could gust to as high as 35 mph.

Forecasters are cautioning against doing any outdoor burning.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Speaking from Middlesex on Tuesday, the famously brash governor announced he will personally announce the names of all those who have yet to sign easements to let the government build dunes.

“We will go town by town and if we have to start calling names out of the selfish ones who care more about their view than they care about the safety and the welfare of their neighbors, then we are going to start doing that,” Christie said. “I will use my normal sense of gentle persuasion to try to make sure that we bring people along.”

Dunes help protect people and property by staunching flood waters, WCBS 880′s Peter Haskell reported.

The governor blasted beachfront property owners more concerned about their view than about protecting their land and their neighbor’s land.

“I have no sympathy for your view,” Christie said.

Superstorm Sandy made landfall along the Jersey Shore on Oct. 29, decimating beaches, homes, businesses and other property.

The government plans to spend $3 billion to rebuild the beaches along the Jersey Shore.

What do you think of Christie’s plan? Sound off in the comments section below…

A wintry mix periodically fell across parts of the Tri-State Area Monday.

CHECK: Radar | Forecast & Alerts

A winter weather advisory was canceled for northeastern New Jersey, New York City and Long Island, but remained in effect until midnight for coastal Ocean, eastern Monmouth, northwestern Burlington, Ocean and western Monmouth.

CBS 2′s Lonnie Quinn said some portions of Monmouth County received a little more than 2 inches of snow.

Quinn said that for the rest of Monday night, it will be cloudy with light snow or rain, with most areas dealing with a dusting to an inch of accumulation.

Quinn said some isolated areas south of New York City could see an additional 1 to 3 inches of snow.

As of 9 p.m. Monday, conditions on the northbound Garden State Parkway were challenging even in the rain, CBS 2’s Derricke Dennis reported. Cars were moving close to the speed limit, but visibility was poor, especially when cars came by and sprayed the roadway.

Earlier, a temporary squall of snow severely reduced visibility on the parkway.

One teenage boy who was driving to his mother’s to pick up his first car was very nervous about driving to upstate New York in the storm.

“It makes me very nervous driving my new car; my used new car that I just bought, so, I don’t know, it’s something to be careful about,” he said.

Many New Jersey residents said they are sick and tired of Mother Nature’s wrath.

“I am just wondering where the heck is spring? Where is spring? We’re ready for warm weather,” Diana Reiter told CBS 2′s Christine Sloan.

In New Jersey, crews worked through the weather to rebuild the hurricane-damaged boardwalks in Belmar and Long Branch.

“Once the weather clears, we’re going to get down there, hopefully this week,” said Long Branch DPW Director Frank Migliaccio. “Hopefully we’ll rebuild the sand and the walkways and start building out stairs by then.”

Because of the weather, NJ TRANSIT was cross-honoring all bus, rail and light rail tickets on Monday.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

In the aftermath of Sandy, the Rebuild Hoboken Relief Fund was set up to help individuals and businesses. In the months since the storm, more than a million dollars has been raised.

“We try to take care of each other,” Mayor Dawn Zimmer told WCBS 880′s Alex Silverman. “That spirit is what I think makes Hoboken so very special.”

The storm left much of the city underwater and flooded many homes and businesses.

Of the 500 individuals and businesses that have applied for grants, almost every one will get a check for around $2,000. The checks will be mailed out this week, Zimmer said.

“This is something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” she told Silverman.

The mayor also announced that the Rebuild Hoboken Relief Fund is staying around to help residents of future disasters.

“When I’m on site and there’s a fire and I’m talking to the fire victims and, sadly, maybe they don’t have insurance, you want to be able to help them, you want to be able to give them something in that moment,” Zimmer said. “Figure out, ok, in those moments, how much would you want to give that person right then and there so that they have something to be able to take care of themselves in that moment right when the crisis happens.”

Zimmer said the fund will be a trusted place to donate and residents will know that the money is going to help members of their own community in need.

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Check: Traffic & Transit | LIRR

Crews have re-railed two of the four cars that derailed, but all must be re-railed and removed before track work can fully commence. Repairs could last through the end of the week, 1010 WINS reported, and similar delays will persist through Friday.

@LIRRScoop tweeted the following message Tuesday: “Repair to almost 3/4-mile of track expected to take at least til Friday. AM/PM Peak canceled/diverted trains also expected through Friday.”

Numerous trains from Penn Station were canceled during Tuesday’s evening commute. And as CBS 2′s Dick Brennan reported, the railroad said the delays will persist Wednesday morning.

“The delays, to the extent that there were delays, will be the same tomorrow morning,” said Sal Arena of the LIRR.

In other other words, during the morning rush, 11 trains will again be cancelled and others diverted. The LIRR said if your train doesn’t show, just wait for the next regularly scheduled one.

“They are going to be ripping out just about every bit of the trackwork,” Arena said, “the tracks, the ties and the third rail along that route.”

Despite the assurance, LIRR commuters still expressed frustrations about the cancellations, delays and overall afternoon mess.

At Penn Station on Tuesday evening, commuters were standing, staring and waiting for their train to come in. But in many cases, all they got was delayed. And many said they could feel the frustration growing.

“On a scale of 1 to 10, it’s a 9,” said Tom Matthews of Port Jefferson. “Because I live in Port Jefferson and I come all the way in.”

“Now I’m just hanging around wasting time,” added Freddy Ponilla of East Islip. “The commute is usually bad, but it’s horrible.”

“It stinks there is nothing else I can do; no other way to get into the city,” added Jason Rahimi of Great Neck.

Some passengers fed up with longer delays and higher fares said they deserve a refund.

“It’s going up to $400 a month – nothing but delays,” said Brian Flaherty of West Babylon.

“For the money, I could rent a Lexus and drive to work every day, for that money,” added Matthews.

Out of its usual 144 normal morning rush hour trains, the LIRR canceled 11 Tuesday morning, diverted five to Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal and four trains were canceled at Jamaica. Commuters were accommodated by other trains.

Crowds are expected to be heavier during the morning and afternoon rush hours.

The cause of the derailment, which happened west of Forest Hills Station in Queens, is under investigation.

LIRR crews work to re-rail a derailed train in Rego Park, Queens, on March 19, 2013. (Photo: MTA/Patrick Cashin/Flickr.)

The storm that started Monday night and continued early Tuesday dumped up to 6 inches of snow in some spots, including Somers, Yonkers and Hartsdale.

In New York City, about 3 inches of snow fell in Central Park and more than 4 inches in the Bronx. Parts of Long Island saw 2-3 inches of snow while areas of New Jersey and Conn. received 4-5 inches.

Shovels, snow blowers and plows were all needed to remove the snow that blanketed the area. The snow Monday night was followed by early morning rain Tuesday which compressed the snow and made for a difficult cleanup.

“It got pretty heavy, so it was hard shoveling it,” said Mahopac resident Tyler Androvett.

The snow, slush and ice also made for some dangerous and deadly driving conditions.

Cars were skidding and sliding all along the roads Monday night. Police said a 27-year-old man was killed on Francis Lewis Boulevard in Queens after he lost control of his car and slammed into a tree.

In Connecticut, state Department of Transportation officials said a tractor-trailer jackknifed Tuesday morning on Interstate 84 eastbound in Newtown and another semi jackknifed on I-84 eastbound in Middlebury.

After a messy last day of winter, many said they are more than ready to say goodbye to the season.

“Oh yeah, I’m tired of this,” said plow driver Andy Marino. ”I don’t want anymore snow.”

Big Trouble In Westchester County

It was an especially messy commute for drivers across Westchester County, where many cars got stuck on the icy and unplowed roadways.

As CBS 2’s Janelle Burrell reported, some motorists said road crews failed to keep up as cars slipped, slid and spun out across the Cross County Parkway in Yonkers Monday night. The traffic jams made for a nightmare commute for drivers such as Barbara Carlsson.

“It was slow going,” Carlson said. “It was completely covered, even right up to my exit.”

Carlsson and other drivers who routinely drive the Cross County said whenever snow starts to fall, the stretch near the approach to the Cross County Mall is always a trouble spot. Drives cannot get up the hill.

Carlsson said she believes highway crews are not doing enough.

“With all of the preparation time that they had had to prepare the road, it was totally covered by 8 o’clock at night,” she said.

Highway maintenance workers Armondo Rauso and Frank Infante are part of the team responsible for the roads in Westchester during the storms.

“Once one car spins out, it holds us up, because we can’t get around them with these big trucks,” Rauso said.

He added that the road is pretreated, but “when the snow starts to fall and cars go over it, it turns to ice.”

The crews here insist that they had seven plows and salters dedicated to the Sprain Brook and Cross County Parkway and were out on the roads before the storm even started.

In a statement, a Department of Transportation representative told CBS 2, “There are a lot of factors that go into accumulation on the roads, including terrain and weather events, and we fight that as fast as we can.”

But for Carlsson their attempts are not enough.

“When people are still trying to get around as early as 7 or 8 o’clock at night, it truly is an issue,” she said.

There were still no answers Tuesday evening about what made that one stretch of road worse than most others.

State transportation officials said they routinely treat the roadways with brine ahead of expected storms, which they said they did on Monday in Westchester.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)