Despite the unprecedented destruction caused to the 165-year-old Sandy Hook U.S. Coast Guard Base brought on by Hurricane Sandy in October, there are no plans to close or relocate the fully operational base, even though it is still recovering from the damage caused by the storm. “The base was able to perform all Coast Guard operations within five days of the storm’s passage,” U.S. Coast Guard Sector New York spokesman Charles W. Rowe said. “ … The recovery is ongoing.” While the overall cost has not yet been fully calculated, the Coast Guard estimates it will cost about $30 million to restore…

Buyouts of properties in flood prone areas are expected to begin within a matter of weeks, beginning in Middlesex County and working south into the summer months, as residents and their respective town officials make the difficult decision to abandon entire neighborhoods for good. Though buyout specifics have been limited, Bob Martin, commissioner of New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection, said between eight and 10 towns along the coast have inquired about participating in the State’s Blue Acres program, which purchases severe repetitive-loss homes in flood areas and converts the…

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 one of the only oceanfront towns on the Jersey where most residents live year-round, Hurricane Sandy displaced most of them, leaving homes deemed unihabitable. Now, more than six months later and the summer season fast approaching, Sea Bright is on the rise in more ways than one. Not only are things getting spiffed up around town, and more and more businesses are opening, but residents are trickling back into their homes. But, things are not the same. After many homes were lifted and spun off their foundations, some have been knocked down, some are being rehabbed and yet others are being …

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez threw Shore residents a virtual lifeline Thursday, delivering an address on the Senate floor where he urged colleagues to support an amendment to federal legislation that would stop flood insurance rate hikes, at least in the short term. Menendez (D-NJ) spoke in favor of an amendment to the Water Resources Development Act which would stop flood insurance premiums from rising until FEMA completes its study on the affordability of premiums of the National Flood Insurance Program. Shore homeowners face annual flood insurance premiums of up to $31,000 a year if they do …

They called it Mount Sandy. It was a poignant remnant of Hurricane Sandy's devastating effect on the slip of a shore town nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and the Shrewsbury River — Sea Bright. When Sandy hit the just more than a mile stretch of peninsula and the two bodies of water met, what was the beach ended up in road. Since then, workers piled it in the public beach parking lot, leaving its mammoth mounds as a surreal reminder of just how much was lost and gathered back together again. People roamed on top of Mount Sandy to get a glimpse of the then hidden-from-view ocean on the other…

It’s an enduring image of Hurricane Sandy’s destruction of the Jersey Shore and its coastal communities. The Jet Star roller coaster, rising out of its saltwater foundation, is a representation of the sheer force of nature, one seen in publications around the world in the immediate aftermath of the storm. Every day the ride has spent in the Atlantic Ocean since is a reality of just how long recovery can actually take. Eventually it will be removed, and likely soon, but what it represents, like every tattered boardwalk, every crushed house, and flooded business, is likely to linger much longer…

New Jersey will receive $229 million in grant funding to help upgrade wastewater and drinking water treatment facilities in communities impacted by Hurricane Sandy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday. As a result of the Oct. 29 storm, wastewater and drinking water treatment systems in parts of New Jersey were so severely damaged that some could not provide safe drinking water or treat raw sewage. The funding announced today will give states the capacity to further reduce risks of flood damage and increase the resiliency of wastewater and drinking water facilities to …

It's been six months since the Shrewsbury River met the Atlantic Ocean and obliterated the small slice of the peninsula beach town of Sea Bright. The beach was in the street after the ocean had washed remnants of buildings, cars, personal belongings and even beach cabanas across the river and onto Rumson's shores and lawns. Sea Bright was shut down and nearly flattened. In the days that followed, Mayor Dina Long gathered residents at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School's Borden Stadium. It was there, on a now historic damp, dank day, that she gave what is now referred to as her "DO" speech…

Environmental stewardship and conservation group Clean Ocean Action has hosted Spring Beach Sweeps for nearly three decades, dispatching waves of volunteers on an April day each year to dozens of coastal sites throughout New Jersey to do a bit of clean up in preparation of the summer season. This spring's cleanup took on some extra meaning. With the state still recovering following Hurricane Sandy, volunteers came out to not only collect debris, but to participate in a comprehensive study that will analyze both the quantity of debris pulled from waterways and its impact on the marine …

When most think about Sea Bright, they don't think "boardwalk." The mind tends to stray south to the Long Branch, Asbury Park, Belmar, Point Pleasant and Seaside boardwalks — some spanning oceanside miles, and others flush with amusements. Yet, though it never housed amusements or spanned miles, there was always a boardwalk at Sea Bright Public Beach. It was a little boardwalk nestled beside the beach that washed away with Hurricane Sandy nearly six months ago when the ocean and Shrewsbury River met. That boardwalk, however, is in the process of being rebuilt, running parallel, as it had …

The following is the NJ Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) update to Rumson on its procedure for post-Sandy waterway debris removal: To date, debris contractor work has focused on identifying overall needs and scope through visual and side scan sonar surveys. They have been working toward retrieving most of the floating, partially submerged, some larger and more dangerous submerged debris, and abandoned vessels. Recently released task orders provide the debris contractors with refined direction while expanding their overall scope of work. Based upon these task orders, debris …

An interactive map, produced by New Jersey Spotlight and published late last week, provides a complete breakdown of every insurance claim paid in New Jersey since Hurricane Sandy by town, giving further insight into the totality of losses suffered during the late-October storm.   Information from color-coded map was compiled using the most recent data from the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI). Based on the most recent data, the Rumson/Sea Bright area — encompassing the area with an 07760 ZIP code — incurred nearly $60 million in losses, with about $47 million paid. A …

Getting ready to take the boat out on the Navesink or Shrewsbury, but worried that debris from Sandy may make it difficult? GoBoatingNJ.org may help. Since Hurricane Sandy came ashore in late October, reports of unprecedented destruction to area marine facilities have left boaters wondering if there will be a boating season in 2013, said Ed "Skip" Harrison, who is the owner of Baywood Marina, Brick Township, and Board Member of the Marine Trades Association of New Jersey. The GoBoatingNJ.org initiative was launched to address these concerns by providing coverage of the restoration efforts …

From its humble beginnings — a few concerned residents sitting around a table in a small sub shop — Stop FEMA Now, the grassroots organization opposed to the federal agency’s flood maps, has grown and continues to attract crowds at meetings throughout the state. Now it’s time for the second phase. Prior to a meeting in Atlantic City to discuss flood maps with residents of yet another county, Stop FEMA Now founder George Kasimos said the causes continues to grow. More and more residents continue to discover that their homes are now listed in FEMA’s flood zones, he said, and now they’re looking…

While Jersey Shore residents continue the rebuilding process following Hurricane Sandy, replacing lost or damaged records is just another step in the recovery. “While it can seem like a challenging task, the good news is that many vital records are relatively easy to replace,” a news release from FEMA says. Below is a list of places to obtain official copies of lost or damaged documents: Insurance: Contact your insurance agent for copies of your policies, recent billing records and cash-value statements. Financial Records: Contact your bank, credit union, credit card company, brokerage firm …

The world has seen the last of Hurricane Sandy – at least in name only. The World Meteorological Organization on Thursday retired the name and will replace it with "Sarah" in 2018, the next year Sandy would have appeared in the rotation. Sandy is the 77th name to be retired from the Atlantic hurricane name list since 1954, the National Hurricane Center said in a statement Thursday. "If a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of the name would be insensitive or confusing, the WMO hurricane committee, which includes personnel from NOAA’s National Hurricane Center, may retire the name…

On an interactive map of the United States that records the number of extreme weather events that have taken place over the last several years, New Jersey might as well be the black eye. The red, purples and magentas that color each of New Jersey’s 21 counties make up the wrong end of the weather-related disaster spectrum, marking the entire state as a recurring extreme weather target. Should nothing be done to curb pollution and carbon emissions, a recent report from Environment New Jersey Research and Policy Center details, expect that trend to continue. Just off of the beach in Long Branch…

Two weeks ago Tia Savoy had her first meltdown. Nearly six months of moving from place to place, calling family and friends looking for a place to sleep for a month, a week, a night, finding a bed for her daughter — she'd take a couch — had taken its toll.  Her Seaside Heights apartment had been destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. As a renter she had few options immediately after the storm, the only certain one being to leave it all behind. She made calls that were not returned. She answered ads for new apartments, only to find that listed rents had magically gone up a few hundred dollars when she …

Residents impacted by Superstorm Sandy now have until May 1 to register for individual disaster assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), according to a prepared statement from the governor's office.  The deadline extension also applies for homeowner, renter, and business registration with the Small Business Administration (SBA) for Disaster Loan Assistance. Businesses applying for SBA Economic Injury loans still have until July 31 to apply. The loans are for businesses that did not suffer any physical damage, but lost revenue in Sandy's aftermath. State and federal …