Rebuilding: Seaside Boardwalk Fire

The New Jersey Shore area was still rebuilding from the destruction of Hurricane Sandy when a huge fire engulfed and destroyed the iconic Seaside boardwalk on September 12th. The local media reports today have centered on the fact that the investigative documents have not been released now more than a month after the tragic event.

The fire was blamed on faulty wiring from underneath the boardwalk, but the owner of the wiring has not been disclosed. The fire destroyed numerous small businesses as well as the boardwalk structure which had just largely been replaced following Hurricane Sandy.

I have been a resident of the New Jersey Shore for my entire life, and I was shocked and very upset by the fire and the damage caused to an area that was just starting to get back on track. On a personal level, I was very sad the day before on September 11th this year, remembering that horrible tragedy, and then the next day this fire destroys a key tourist area along the NJ coast.

Governor Christie and his decision

Governor Chris Christie has stated to the media that: “there’s no doubt in my mind” that Sandy contributed to the fire in Seaside because of the salt water damage to the wires underneath the boardwalk. He then used that rationale to tap into $15 million in Hurricane Sandy relief funds to pay for the damage to the boardwalk and the adjacent businesses which were destroyed (www.app.com).

Some people in New Jersey have taken the Governor to task on this decision for two reasons:

1.     The investigation of the fire is still not concluded so the connection to Hurricane Sandy still has not been officially determined.

2.     Many other residents of hurricane damaged towns along the coast have been waiting for Sandy relief money to repair their homes. Now this relief money is being made readily accessible to repair the Seaside boardwalk.

(www.pressofatlanticcity.com)

I have written previous articles on the rebuilding of the New Jersey Shore boardwalks and their importance to the economic recovery of the state. I am not disputing the crucial need for these businesses and the boardwalk to be rebuilt. I also feel horrible for these business owners who have lost their livelihood and are faced with rebuilding their business for the second time in a year.

However, the decision by the Governor to utilize hurricane relief funds for the repair and reconstruction in Seaside has been met with criticism from a number of groups. The housing advocacy groups feel that it is unfair that the effected groups in Seaside are getting their second round of relief funding before others have received their first relief check needed to rebuild their homes (www.pressofatlanticcity.com).

In other regions of the state they feel that the Governor is giving special treatment to Seaside and their needs have gone neglected or unnoticed. Still other groups are questioning why the fire insurance money cannot be used to rebuild in Seaside.

In fair balance, Seaside is among a group of towns along the Shore region which has seen their credit downgraded following Hurricane Sandy. I know people in other towns along the Shore, who describe the struggle that their towns are in to meet the cost of providing municipal services in a scenario where they have lost large amounts of their ratable tax revenues.

Resolution

In my view, this situation could be resolved if the federal government worked with the state government in Trenton to release the federal Sandy relief funds as soon as possible.

The debate can rage on forever about a fair and equitable way to distribute the funds, but it does not exist. These funds have to be released so that people can begin to rebuild their homes and their lives.

 Seaside is a major part of the tourism industry in New Jersey and must be rebuilt as well. We need to work together with our community leaders to make this all possible.

 It is unfair to the victims of Hurricane Sandy, the small business owners in other regions of the state and the municipalities that have to continue to struggle to provide basic services to their residents. We need to move this rebuilding effort into the next phase and we cannot wait any further.