I really think they need to sit back and come to a determination whether it was politics thats rebuilding these dunes and levies and are the peoples best intrest in mind .....

Mother nature talking again. The bay wants an inlet! Stop trying to defy nature and let it happen already!!!

Perhaps the state should consider letting Mantoloking return to it's nature state. How much insurance money are we going to waste there only so some millionaire can have his summer cottage on the beach.

I live in one of those neighborhoods on the mainland that you say would be "destroyed". I say, bring on the new inlet!
Todays storm/tide wasn't even a major weather event, and look what happened. Last Friday...same thing, no major storm, but lots of flooding from a high tide. Anyone see a pattern here. Stop interfering with nature. I feel sorry for all that have lost so much (I am one of them) but we really need to wake up.

The bay and river needs to be dredged ... because of all the sand and debris that washed into them, the water has no where to go.

Stephanie has no idea what happened last week or yesterday she doesnt live here and have to deal with this everyday! Summer home ....toooo Bad .....the barrier islands should be let to become what the were or should be to protect the neighborhoods on the mainland. So everytime it rains im not told i might need to evacuate. Try living here Steph!!!!

The government spent how many millions to rebuild an entire city (New Orleans) that is below sea level, I'm sure they can fix this. It's not going to happen over night though people. Mother nature just needs to cooperate a little more. When a state such as Dirty Jersey relies so heavily pm tourism, it's a safe bet to make that it will be fixed.

Ya know .....they want us ....on the mainland to raise our houses to the new FEMA flood levels ....my house sits at 5ft8in above the current base flood level set by Fema ....they now want us to be 9ft above base flood level...thats Raising my house 3ft 2in...since this is my ONLY home i dont have a choice ....at a cost to raise my house between 60,000 to 100,000 or pay a set base insurance of 19,400 a yr , on a house valued , Well last yr anyway at 230,000....I work here at the Jersey shore so all the summer home owners on the barrier island can enjoy thier SECOND homes.........LEVEL them ....Let the trees grow back and Save the working class!!!

The whole watershed is overflooded and any rain has no recharge to the ground so the streams, rivers and bays overflow fast and the wind and tides keep barnegat bay filled like a bathtub. keep in mind the max flood insurance is $250K and many homeowners are without the ability to repair let alone replace their homes, you will now find out who has money and who does not. the hves will be the remaining residents on the barrier islands.

IMO.....The State, County or whomever should buy out the property owner and put in a nice bulk head. Obviously it's meant to be an inlet.

I also thought it was pretty suspect how that areas beach got built back up in a blink of an eye when all the rest of the barrier Island needed help worst then this area.

Is it because those homes are the highest tax ratable $26K-$50K per year. Home of the largest diamond dealer, an actor, pres of comcast and other dignataries?????

Kinda makes ya wonderrrrrrrrr!

I do think there are many things going on but 4 inches of rain in less the 24 hours I think is fairly unusuall How many days a year to we get 4 inches of rain?

Scott ....three times in two months .....welcome to the new normal....The Sea is rising!

Ya know...David....there won't be any jobs on the mainland if barrier island homes are leveled....the economy in the region will be leveled.....I am a working class person who worked hard to buy my little second home on the island....everyone here is not rich.....sounds like your a champion of redistribute the wealth....well you have the right main in Washington for that

They call it a Barrier Island for a Reason!

Stephanie its not the strom sewers at all although thats what you would love to blame it on.. Do an experiment go to the furthest storm inlet east of the bay then follow it back to the bay at a high tide you will see the rain water has no where to go.. The true fix is to heavily tax the people who have a second and third home on the barrier island and build and inlet... so what if your home has been in your family for a long time the land it sits on has been there 20x longer then the home I am sure of that. Plus the small amount of people it would affect building an inlet doesnt even match the amount of people it would save on the barrier island to build an inlet. So all of the snooty people should get your noses out of the air and start worrying about others and try to become part of the solution and not the problem....

I dont care who has money.....selfish of someone to think ....Lets save one house and Sacrifice 14000 homes. Ill pay more in taxes to keep from raising my house or the option of 19000 dollar a yr insurance premium...I'M sure the 14000 other homes will pay more to cover the loss of one!

Dave I assume you want to get rid of all the bayside homes also? They have flooded for years. Time to wrap all of those up too I guess. Anyplace in brick that has flooded the last 10 years should be told to move. Great solution

Wow - Level homes - let trees grow - state should pay for the property .... seriously people these are all unrealistic expectations. The areas are in trouble and someone political or not needs to do something to fix it for good not temporary. Which is what was in place and thus the reason it didn't hold. Stop the banter back and forth its senseless and gets you no where except people with hurt feelings........ real names for real comments otherwise the rest is garbage. STEPHANIE - don't let comments that have no power or forethought get you going - you have enough to contend with!

If the barrier island taxes were gone your taxes would go up about 12% according to brick tax assessor . If bayside flood homes gone I would think about 20 to 25 % total. Those areas use no resources, no kids and pay a ton of taxes.

Thats not what David said John.. He said sacrificing one home is well worth it next to sacrifing 14,000 homes that would be affected by not building an inlet...

There needs to be more focus and better decisions - and stop rushing. Camp Osborn, the only bungalow community that burned to the ground is on its own! Those 2 room bungalows that have been there for 50 years will see no help from FEMA or the state! Though each homeowner pays their taxes, the state has turned their backs.

What 1 home? The ones about, 20 gone by bridge are not even in Brick. Not sure what is meant by "1" home

The state has turned there backs on people who have the money to take care of there second and third homes, and focused there efforts and money to the people who's primary residents were demolished or were no longer inhabitable... Listen this conversation could go on forever. My home that was 2 blocks away from were the levy broke through on Herbert st. was damaged extremly bad but i am not looking for the state to assist me in fixing it. I built the house there knowing that one day this coud possibly happen.... I live on a island surrounded by water, and now I am going to blame mother nature or storm sewers on ruining my house get real people,,, Take responsibilty for your own properties and fix them on your own....Its like building a house next to a garbage dump and then complaining about the smell...... People need to stop being a sponge and stop asking the state to fix everything for them...Build and inlet if they have to take some property to bad, Give me fair market value and i will sell my property to help thousands of people I am not a stingy or self centered person..........

New homes should be all raised 8ft...or not allowed to rebuild...

Exactly Craig.....ive lived here for 25yrs....within the last two months my property values have dropped to make all the new homeowner now be underwater with the mortgages they obtained prior to the giveaways of Housing bubble. Its like this ....if ya borrowed money from Bernie Madloff and made a bad investment ya think you are entitled to make me pay you outta that stupid investment?...My house never flooded in the history of this Area....Baywood section of Brick.....I didnt have to have flood insurance according to FEMA .....It Flooded Once (Sandy), Twice , Three times a lady n im not looking to get a cent from the Govt. Its my Problem! If the Barrier Islands didnt Breach it wouldnt have happened!

Brick Living.....they want us all to raise our homes or pay crazy premiums...I was quoted 19400.00 a yr if i dont raise mine to 9ft .....thats over here.....12-13 feet on the barrier islands!

This was a storm two years ago no one ever would have batted an eye at. Now with the beach eroded and the dunes gone something as minor as this can do more damage.

what happens during the next big storm I ask.

Slowly the island will loose, just a matter of time until you see rock walls like in Sea Bright or steel wallls like you have now. No more pumping..no more billions laid out for mother nature to wash them away to save the homes of a few. Just cannot get behind that thought.

Ok, there are a lot of reasons obviously why you all are still having flooding issues. But, and this is a big but, but FEMA was never going to help folks rebuild and put their lives back together. They come in after a major disaster, help folks with their daily needs, assist with the red tape and move on. We in Florida learned that a long time ago. And on top of that, they waste a huge amount of tax payer money. They did the same thing with New Orleans. There is no quick fix to these issues. Yes the beaches and lakes probably do need to be dredged, as did many here in Florida after the hurricanes in 2004. But that obviously is not the only solution, And the improvements are not going to happen over night. When you live near or around large bodies of water, at some point in time things happen, flood levels change and we have to change with them. It is not FEMA's fault that your flood level has changed and the new guidelines stipulate that you will need to rebuild your home on higher grounds. And I wouldn't be surprised if there are many other changes in the guidelines after what you all have recently been through. There is a reason for these changes, It's called protecting your own butt from the same thing happening again somewhere down the road. Yes it cost more, but I would sooner pay the bigger amount up front, and not to the insurance company. As is it is, I am sure the Insurance companies are not bending over backwards to pay these claims.

If we all pulled a bucket full of sand out of the bay per day, we could have the whole thing dredged by summer. Everyone tie a rope to a bucket and get going.

"KingNeptune's" envy is sad, bordering on pathetic. The worst part is how his envy completely blinds him to reason and facts. In thread after thread on this topic, his have been some of the most narrow-minded, ill-informed, idiotic statements I've seen.

Not that this is surprising. Sandy brought out a great deal of good in people, but it also dragged the buffoons out to play, too.

I can tell you right now, things are going to move at a snails pace. After the storms here in Florida in 2004, a lot of building codes changed, and I anticipate they will do the same there. Flood zone areas are going to see much stricter codes. Any new construction along the coastline down here now has to abide by these new codes. Specific heights have been set, as have material specifications to help these homes withstand dangerous weather conditions. One of the new types of homes that are being built here, are steel framed homes. Which are not much more expensive to build than a wood frame home. Not to mention that they are built to specific wind standards, they will not burn down to the ground, they are totally green, energy efficient and can be built in only a matter of weeks. And your homeowners insurance is a lot more reasonable. Not sure if you all have any contractors there that build these type of homes, but they are worth looking into. And by the way, it doesn't matter if you are rich or poor at times like these, blaming others for your flooding is just a waste of breath. You all suffered from what happened in many different ways, it doesn't matter who lives where. What does matter is that you come together as a community to work through the nightmare together and grow stronger from it personally. The recovery is going to take months, even years. Many of you lost everything, some lost less, but everyone lost something.

No answer

The new heights are not a FEMA scam! They are a necessary evil to prevent the same thing from happening all over again. As are the new building codes that will be put into place.

all the insurance co's are basing thier new policies on the fact that FEMA did come out with the new Flood map to take effect in January of 2014. Even if you dont have insurance now it will be required in 2014. Mortgage or not! The initial policy will be lower for this upcoming yr. With incremental increases. The insurance Co's will get thier money back!

http://www.foxrothschild.com/newspubs/newspubsArticle.aspx?id=15032388107

lol
Grndlevl.....thats exactly what my gf said yesterday!

I'm on the barrier island my house is 1 house off the beach
The ground my house is on is 15 feet above sea level what does that mean for me?

how could that be? what landfill do ya live on? im only 5ft above and two miles in ?!

Go to google maps look at all different sea level heights from the rt 35 split south of the different little developments Some are 8 ft some 10 some up to 15 take a look

Changing up the convo...what I would like to know is that picture up at the beginning of the article - is that a Sandy pic or from the recent storm?

Listen it all comes down to being responsible for your own investments. Everybody wants to blame FEMA but get upset when taxes are raised. The bottom line is you can't make everyone happy. A lot of people have these large houses that were handed down to them that have no mortgages and they don't get flood insurance because its not required with no mortgage and then want FEMA to take tax money to fix them. Either deal with living in low lying areas and the damage it brings or sell and move on.

Dave, the article is pretty self explanatory, and could be a little confusing for some, but if time is taken and read carefully, it sheds a lot of light on everyone's concerns. And for those who do not want to read the article, $250,000 was used as an example of a claim, it is not the max. And though FEMA is the one who updated the FLOOD ZONE MAP, they are not the ones enforcing it. They are only responsible for collecting the data and reporting it accordingly. This is a very stressful and confusing time for many of you, But if you have questions or concerns regarding the repair or rebuilding of your property, it would be best to contact the proper authorities to address your concerns and not make assumptions. If you can put together community meetings as needed to stay updated and aware of changes, or just to get a better understanding of what the new building codes and regulations are that are going to affect you.

I believe it is first floor living space

Frankly, I very briefly reviewed the comments. Briefly reviewed the comments b/c I've heard the same story 19 different ways now. Are we adults, or "old children."
Something to consider - LEARN from history. More specifically, look up Johnstown, PA (Pennsylavania); READ about it; UNDERSTAND it; LEARN from it.

it is the living space ...what they call structure of the house not the foundation

Ever since that little earthquake last year, the tides seem to be running higher. I am starting to think coastal New Jersey sank 6" to a foot lower.
There is a picture in my living room still crooked from that tremor.

The Barnegat Bay demands an inlet. Similiar to Cranberry Inlet across from the Toms River in the 1800's. Its time for another inlet. It will solve the Barnegat Bay pollution problems.

My cynical side aside. I feel bad for all those folks suffering though this. You have to make tough decisions. Stay mobile. This country is going down the tubes.

Destroy the Rich! Lol. What a childish mentality this country has. Doom awaits us all. Hang on. Reality is coming and it will hit harder than Sandy.

I was fixing a dock on the Metedeconck this weekend and I saw a Jellyfish swimming around, is that normal or is oyster creek creating mutant-jellyfish that survive in freezing cold water?

The bottom line is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All the people who had houses on the beach primary or secondary didn't want anybody on THEIR beaches but them!! In Point Beach if you want to go to the beach you have to pay Jenks or Risdens then PAY to PARK!!! I do not go to the beach I do not want to pay for it to be replenished. If you charged people to get on the beach or you didn't want anyone on YOUR beach then YOU PAY FOR IT TO BE REPLENISHED. After this all beaches should be free!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If I lived where houses were washed off their foundations I would NOT rebuild. My mom is retired and is living witth me now because her house that my Grandfather built in the 50's that is not on the water and her car WERE distroyed because of the breach. My in laws (who are in there late 80's) also do not live on the water and they lost 2 cars and their house and we lost 2 cars and everything in our garage. Our taxes are going to go through the freaking roof because of this. So many people are living pay check to pay check now!!! doesn't anybody get it!!!!! Everything is going to skyrocket because of this stupid storm. If it was a secondary house you lost I am sorry for you but get with the program. This infuriates me to the point I just want to scream!!!! Not everyobdy can afford a "summer home" or the home they live in all year round. Soon enough many will be saying good bye to NJ!!!!!!! We will be one of the families that leaves. My taxes are $9000. a year now!!!!!

Kim,

Are you saying if someone has no kids, they shouldn't pay taxes for schools?

"I do not go to the beach I do not want to pay for it to be replenished!"

This comment is short-sighted and dumb. You should feel ashamed for making it, especially since you follow it with this:

"since we lost 2 cars 1 was new!"

Guess what, sweetheart? You will continue to lose cars if the beaches are not replenished. That's sort of how Mother Nature works. You may not GO to the beach, but you certainly BENEFIT from them, not just in the giant boost they give the local economy, but because they routinely protect inland areas from flooding and erosion.

A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Something is definitely wrong with the bay. I live in Point Pleasant on a lagoon. The water since 1974 only came to the top my bulkhead twice. We were very lucky with Sandy. My crawlspace flooded and my garage got some water. My house being up on a grade made the difference. Since Sandy I've seen the water come up twice to my dock and my neighbors dock's under water. Something is just not right. My wife and I made a decision that if our house or business got taken out we would not have rebuilt here

For all of the people bashing the "millionaires" I have a story:
I was shopping for a gift in a store in Point Pleasant that carried mostly artistic pieces. A husband and wife from Bay Head came into the shop and it was obvious from the conversation with the owner that they frequented the store. They proceeded to purchase several hand blown vases to give as Christmas gifts. These vases were out of my price range for just one. So let's thank some of the people that are better off than us for supporting our local business, and eatting out at restaurants more frequently than what most of us do, and infuse money into our economy. I'm sure owners of the mansions also had many guests come down, and also spend money in our local businesses. Let's think twice about bashing others.

Yep Don, you're history alright.

I'm just amazed at all the comments bashing those "millionaires" ... in my whole life I have never seen a "poor person" create any jobs or infuse millions of dollars into the local economies !! I'm tired of this class warfare and class envy that is being sold to the citizens of our country...beginning right aty ther top by our so-called "chief uniter"...wake up America.. no one "owes" you anything.. quit being envious of those who had foresite in life and made responsible decisions... if you don't like your lot in life..Change it !!

This post is for everybody who lives in Brick and is complaining about the rich who have houses in Mantoloking. 30 years ago Brick Tucky was a summer destination with thousands of bungalows that where primarly used during summer time. Then during the late 70's and 80's all the trash from northern NJ and some areas of NY moved down to the shore and started buying properties and building the biggest houses they could afford. Look at all the areas of Brick that has been developed over the last 30 years, so basically your a bunch of hypocrites.

Before all this happened it was always private property.....Private Property read all the signs.

Now that total destruction and no one is here to pay for it, we all should have sympathy for the devil.

Sorry...look what those people did to the goverment in LBI..sued and won over a berm that saved their homes. Other will not sign the papers and allow one to be built. If we are all going to pay to help you guys out, then I want some piece of the pie inland.

People suck!! Stupid people suck! Long live Mantoloking and everywhere up and down the Jersey Shore! If you don't like you're tax dollars being used to save our beautiful beach, ocean and bay front then don't live on the shore or come here! Proud Jersey Girl till the day I die!

Doug Bennett. Thank you and that is what I was trying to say and got called "short sighted, dumb and sweetheart (in a nasty way).

I have lived here all my 46 years and have never seen anything like this. It is very sad and I 100% agree about ISLAND beach State Park. Islands shouldn't have homes on them. My yard had almost 3 feet of water in it and I don't live by the water. There was a tital surge in Bay Head Shores I think that is crazy. I walked in water up to my chest on Beaver Dam Road to get to my moms house that was even more crazy.

I feel horrible for the people who lost their primary homes but so did my mom and she had a small home and thank heavens has me to live with until she can fix it she is 67 and retired and on a fixed income and is thinking she is going to have to go back to work..

I am hoping people think twice about re builing the HUGE homes in Manoloking all the way down to Seaside Park. The water had no where to go and those homes were the problem.

Wow...... This made for some amazing reading!!!! So much to be considered! I am born and raised in PPB and now live in Warren NJ. We have a home in Mantoloking shores that we pay dearly for. Taxes are outrageous!!!! All of our friends and neighbors have suffered tremendous losses as have my close friends on Mainland, Bay Head Brick Toms River etc!!! This is a time to come together for a solution...... Not spew out nasty ignorant comments!!!!!

This area has changed. That is how all these towns folks operate now. Spew nasty ignorant comments. They will blame the "bennies" but most know that is a bunch of bull. Everyone is well aware that it is those born and raised down the shore who are jealous that someone might have one more thing than them.

Phillip. I as born and raised here and I am by no means jealous of anybody!!! If you can afford to build a huge house as a primary or secondary home more power to you. If your house was destroyed by the storm all some of us are saying is think twice about re building. My moms house was severly damaged. She is going to raise it and fix it to the way it was.

As far as Bill Cooper goes He is a very mean and nasty person who doesn't think others are entilitled to an opinion so he spews nastyness.

I hope everyone has a Happy Safe and Healthy New Year.

Is this a high school website? Seriously!....We need to come together as a community, not act like children. It is the Insurance Companies and Government against the community....do we really need to make it the community against the community! Not all of us were hit as hard as others and not all of us are as fortunate as others. This is not a new concept! We all pay through the nose for what we have and it is relative to each other. In Shore Acres, (Brick at the end of Drum Point Road)....the community has come together and supports each other...whether it is a Bay front home or a lagoon front or a non waterfront! Everyone as a community hurts! No one cares what each others paycheck is or how the house was achieved (inherited, purchased...etc!). Be there for each other...this is not the time to fight over the right to step on a beach in someones backyard...which by the way, is gone! (and by the way, I am not beachfront!) Had this been a tornado, we as a community would have helped even though stepping foot in the backyard of any ones house is illegal! There is a time for fighting for the rights of beach access and NOW is not that time! GROW UP! Respect each other...especially in the wake of Sandy Hook!

Dear Bill Cooper, Thank you for proving my point,

Yes an Inlet would help clean the bay. But the high tide increase of +/-four feet twice a day would cause for much flooding not only in Manto but the entire upper bay.
Compare the tide chart predicted elevations for the Ocean and Mantoloking bay front
The tide changes +/- four feet in the ocean in the bay it just changes a few inches. A new inlet would cause for a lot more frequent flooding of non silver spooners living on the west side of the bay.

The breaches did not develop to full size inlets. Those breaches were a lot smaller then a full size inlets. Being of smaller size only a smaller quantity of water can flow in and out. If the Breaches were left to nature most likely they would become much larger and have a lot more tidal flow in them.

Who cares about the millionaires on Mantoloking who think they own the whole beach. It's one thing to have private property like a backyard but how dare you think you own the whole beach. You get what you deserve and I have no sympathy for you. Same for all the rich beach front communities who have their "private, no trespassing" beach signs. Thinking you're better than average middle class citizens. Hope your taxes go up too!

No one is bitter, Bill. Some of us just think if you want to own "private property" you should have to pay for the maintenance and upkeep and clean up and everything else that goes with it just like those of us who are lucky enough to hold on to one primary residence that we have to live in all year long. We don't go looking to the town or the government to come rebuild our back yard every time it gets a bit distressed looking. I suggest you either do the same or realize public money means public access and stick you nose in the air on that one.

BTW -- I disagree with FEMA and the second home statute -- I have a house up north and one in Brick -- the only wya I could afford that is by having a smaller house in each locale --- I pay my FULL FREIGHT in taxes and require no schools -- why should I be penalized beacuse one is classified as a "vacation home". Did I get it for free? NO. Does it cost ntg to operate? NO. Is the pain of losing the asset any easier because its not my primary? NO. ... ALSO WESTHAMPTON beach saw a similar issues in the early 90's (brought on by the army corp of engineers) the result was 10 years of beach replenishment and exploding property values --- this will be the end result .

Sea wall from Marlins to Barnegat Inlet is in Bill Coopers future after the next storm wipes out the feds first round buy in. Sad but true

I can not believe they keep letting Bill Cooper post. Nobody on here has called anybody names like children do when they get upset. So far most of us are ignorant, idiots, morons, short sighted, dumb, morons and crazy. JBOT also called us stupid and said stupid people suck.

It's amazing when you post your opinion and someone doesn't agree with it they spew nastyness. Evedently their mothers and fathers never told them it's not nice to call others names. That is a form of bulling and we are supposed to teach our children not to do it but grown adults do it and it seems to be ok? And shame on this page for letting them do it.

Wouldnt it be great if the "officials" took this opportunity to establish a viable plan for the environmental protection of the Metedeconk river? The brownish/Green sludge could well be replaced by clean water. Dredging of course would be required, perhaps clam/oyster farms used as filters and certainly a good hard look at new construction that bulldozes over the marshes that protect us all.