Mayor: Sandy-Ravaged Sea Bright To Be Ready For Summer
SEA BRIGHT, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - It has been nearly three months since superstorm Sandy slammed ashore, devastating much of the Jersey Shore.
In Sea Bright, recovering from the storm continues to be a slow process.
Only five businesses on Ocean Avenue have reopened since Sandy, with most still boarded up, WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reported.
Mayor: Sandy-Ravaged Sea Bright To Be Ready For Summer
Sea Bright Mayor Dina Long said just 300 of the town's 1,500 year-round residents have moved back into their homes.
"The people who are rebuilding right now are those people who had their financial means to be able to finance the rebuilding from their own savings," Long told WCBS 880's Peter Haskell.
Sea Bright officials have said volunteers are still needed to help gut homes to get them ready for rebuilding.
Long said she expects that some homes will never be rebuilt. And of the ones that will, she said she anticipates most will be elevated to prevent similar devastation from happening again.
"It's our opportunity now to rebuild it sustainably for the future," Long told Haskell. "Some homes are going to be knocked down with the owners starting over."
Finance experts from Harvard University are on the ground looking into ways to fund the elevation project.
The sand that had been washed onto Ocean Avenue has since been piled back onto the beach. The mound, known as 'Mount Sandy,' is roughly 25 feet high across a 50-yard stretch, Haskell reported.
Ocean Avenue was buried under about six feet of sand, Long said.
Though repairs and renovations continue, Long said the beach will be open for summer regardless of its condition.
Please share your comments below...
