Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Camp Osborn residents deliver a welcome message
Brick's Camp Osborn neighborhood has gotten more attention that ever before over the last six months – all of it because of the fire that destroyed the community. But today, residents are hopeful that a message of welcome will be enough to catch the eye of Prince Harry as he visits the Shore area. Harry will pass through Brick on his way to Seaside Heights from Mantoloking. About a week ago, Camp Osborn residents – true to the friendly reputation of the neighborhood – began planning the design of a welcome banner visible from Route 35, which passes through the Camp. The banner, which is accompanied by American and British flags, has a simple message of welcome from Camp residents. A few neighbors set up the display Monday morning. The …
Monday, May 6, 2013
Destroyed community hopes to rebuild its homes – and maintain its heritage
The official report on the fire that destroyed one of Brick's oldest neighborhoods was short, but the farthest thing from sweet. A witness who remained in the township's barrier island section told investigators that at 7:20 p.m. the night of Oct. 29, he saw electrical transformers explode in Camp Osborn, then a fire break out at one of the homes near the beachfront. A "blizzard of sparks and smoke" followed, according to the report, and strong winds brought on by the hurricane and, presumably, natural gas leaks, kept the blaze burning from ocean to bay. Firefighters attempted to reach the area, but a breach near the Mantoloking Bridge prevented them from doing so, and the impassable state of Route 35 prevented firefighters from accessing …
Friday, March 29, 2013
Mantoloking puts off contract award; Brick waiting on further instructions
A federal program that allows municipalities with extensive storm damage to take on the task of demolishing damaged homes and removing debris from lots where homes were destroyed has been delayed in New Jersey. The Federal Emergency Management Agency's Private Property Debris Removal, or PPDR, program has been the chosen method of several local municipalities to clear destroyed neighborhoods of debris and homes beyond repair. But the state has stepped in and notified municipalities that it will come out with its own guidelines - perhaps beyond federal standards - of tearing down homes that may contain asbestos, thus delaying the program statewide. On Thursday, Mantoloking put off the award of a bid to a contractor that was set to begin the…
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Video posted day after Sandy, but recently surfaced locally
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Daniel Nee
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Tuesday, March 26
The fire that destroyed the Camp Osborn neighborhood during Superstorm Sandy was captured in an up-close video and uploaded to YouTube by way of a Mexican news site Oct. 31, 2012, but the video has only recently surfaced locally. The neighborhood, comprised of a mix of vacation bungalows and some newer, year-round homes, was nearly completely destroyed in the storm. Homeowners are still debating how to rebuild their neighborhood. Due to an ocean-to-bay breach at the Mantoloking Bridge, neither firefighters nor private heavy equipment crews were able to get to the site for several days.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Homeowners concerned with easement language, lack of established dune line
Though Brick officials have pledged the status quo will remain along the township's oceanfront, homeowners at a meeting Saturday said they have concerns over preserving private beach access as well as the lack of an established dune line in a proposed beach replenishment plan. In order for the project – which is primarily funded by the federal government – to move forward, oceanfront residents and beach associations would have to sign easements to allow the dunes to be built and maintained partially on private property. The state has set an April 1 deadline for easements to be signed, while Rep. Jon Runyan's office has set a federal deadline of May 1. "I do not want to put Ferris wheels or boardwalks behind anyone's house," Mayor Stephen C…
Friday, February 8, 2013
Debate lingered over whether to place liens on storm victims' homes
A resolution unanimously passed by the Brick Township council Tuesday night will allow the township to hire contractors to go onto private property in order to demolish homes and clear debris from Superstorm Sandy. The township will participate in FEMA's Private Property Debris Removal, or PPDR, program without placing liens on residents' properties – the main crux of a debate on the issue that carried on for hours at a council meeting this week. The power of the resolution is expected to be used to clear debris produced by blocks of burnt, destroyed homes in the Camp Osborn neighborhood. It can also be used anywhere else in town where homes need to be demolished. The township's participation in the program was the subject of an hours-long…
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Joyful memories shared of years gone by
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Daniel Nee
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Thursday, January 31
Next to the images of the Seaside Heights roller coaster and the Mantoloking breach, one of the iconic images of Superstorm Sandy was more than 60 homes burning to the ground in Brick Township. That neighborhood – which many describe as one of the last vestiges of middle class living near the Jersey Shore oceanfront – fell victim to natural gas fires during the storm. Due to the breach in Mantoloking, which formed an inlet at the base of the Mantoloking Bridge, firefighters could not reach the township's barrier island section to fight it. "Seeing a fire and not being able to do anything about it, that's so tough," said Council President Bob Moore, himself a volunteer firefighter, after the storm. Three months later, what's left of the …
Monday, December 17, 2012
Barrier island residents urged to clear debris
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Daniel Nee
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Monday, December 17, 2012
New Jersey American Water is still in the process of repressurizing its pipes in Brick Township's section of the barrier island, but a notice sent out to some customers has left them upset. Residents of the Camp Osborn section – most of which completely burnt down during Superstorm Sandy – were among those who received letters telling them to clear debris from the front of their homes so NJAW crews could manually turn off valves from the street before repressurization, residents told Brick Patch. But there is an obvious problem, said Betty Ann Fuller, one of those residents: her home is no longer standing, and the lot on which it once stood is blocked off behind emergency fencing. The purpose of turning off valves from the street before …
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Up-close look at Camp Osborn, other sections; natural gas line assessments begin as gravel road is built
- PUBLIC SAFETY
- Daniel Nee
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Wednesday, November 7, 2012
New photos show damage and destruction in Brick's barrier island neighborhoods one week after Hurricane Sandy ravaged the area. Residents have still not been allowed to return to the area, even for a short period to retrieve their belongings and important documents. There was no immediate work when a re-entry would be permitted. Work had already started to improve access to the area, incuding a gravel road constructed across a newly-formed inlet that had formed near the base of the Mantoloking Bridge. New Jersey American Water Company said Tuesday the road was built near its main line by U.S. Navy Seabees. New Jersey Natural Gas said Tuesday it was beginning to make assessments to the fate of its system in the area after pressure to its …
Thursday, November 1, 2012
SWAT teams gained access to Camp Osborn; National Guard troops will provide island security
Brick Township residents will spend the first day of November cleaning up, drying out and hoping the power comes back on. Meanwhile, some 70 township residents escaped the war-zone-like conditions on the barrier island as SWAT teams from the Brick Township and Lakewood Township police departments trekked on foot over the Mantoloking Bridge down to the burned-out Camp Osborn neighborhood to look for those needing to be evacuated. According to Brick Police Sgt. Keith Reinhard, about 70 people were rescued from the barrier island Wednesday and taken to a transitional shelter. They will eventually be moved to a state-run shelter in Burlington County if they cannot find shelter with family members or friends. Fortunately, Reinhard said, there …
The other side:
9:31 pm on Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Obviously, it's the morons (one specifically) on this post who want to take a MAJOR storm like Sandy seem like it was "no big deal". There are SO many insensitive people who have NO idea what the Sandy Victims have gone through. I'm not discounting what anyone else has ever gone through such as The California Mudslides or wild fires or the Tsunami in Thailand...or even Katrina....I lost my house … more ›