Friday, April 19, 2013
Brick's fourth proposed camera intersection was on hold
At least until a state pilot program comes to an end, there won't be any more red light cameras in Brick or anywhere else in the Garden State. The New Jersey Department of Transportation announced Thursday that no new locations would be added to the list of authorized red light camera intersections because there would not be sufficient time to gather useful data under the pilot program that is scheduled to end in December 2014. Brick was among the first municipalities in the state to participate in the program, which began in 2009 and has grown to include 76 intersections across the state, three of which are in Brick. Brick is the only Ocean County municipality to participate in the program. "With a pilot program, it's just that, a pilot …
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Parking passes will switch back to hang tags; Beach III hopefully open by June
Brick officials are sticking to a plan where Ocean Beach I will be the first of the township's public beaches to reopen following Superstorm Sandy. Business Administrator Scott Pezarras said this week that ultimately, the beach reopening decision will fall under the purview of Police Chief Nils R. Bergquist, as the beach closure is part of the overall state of emergency that remains in effect for the township's barrier island section. The same state of emergency order contains the language that continues to impose a reduced speed limit and nighttime curfew in that section of town. The current goal for reopening Beach I is May 1, however the date is not set in stone, said Pezarras. The remaining beaches, including Beach III - the township's…
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Officials: Army Corps project could take a year to get off the ground
Spending between $150,000 and $200,000 to shore up the township's ocean dunes "every time it rains" cannot go on forever, officials said Tuesday. But an Army Corps of Engineers beach replenishment project that has been characterized as a permanent fix for the threat of ocean breaches in Brick's barrier island section appears in flux, as a deadline to receive easements awaits. "We're getting word from the Army Corps of Engineers that it's a year out, maybe longer, before they even come in to Bricktown," said Business Administration Scott Pezarras. And that timeline, of course, is assuming all of the township's oceanfront property owners sign easements allowing the dune work to continue. One thing is for sure, however: the current temporary …
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
FEMA video focuses on how one home survived while neighbors did not
Ed Wright's home, now, is one of few standing. But prior to Hurricane Sandy, it was one of the few standing on pilings on his street in Mantoloking. So many others were at ground level, and a recent FEMA video implies it was the foresight to raise the home years ago that helped Wright's home see less damage from Hurricane Sandy. In a dramatically damaged area of Mantoloking, FEMA found one homeowner's house had survived, and produced a video about Wright's plans years ago to raise his house, and how it impacted the home during Hurricane Sandy. FEMA's video, titled "Elevation Helps a Home Survive Hurricane Sandy," features interviews with Wright and pictures before and after the storm.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Council to consider repair measure this week
The Brick Township council will consider two measures at its meeting Tuesday to help get the township's beaches back in shape for summer. The council will vote on two resolutions which will seek bids for repairs to Brick Beach 1, the northernmost of the township's three public ocean beaches. Bids will be sought for a boardwalk and shower platform reconstruction at Beach 1, and a second resolution will authorize the township to solicit bids for parking lot improvements at the beach. The council must approve both measures before bids are formally sought. Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis has said the township will likely open Beach 1 before the other two beaches. The Beach 3 parking lot is still in poor shape following Superstorm Sandy, and the …
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
DEP Commissioner: sand could be piped over Route 35 to oceanfront
The ongoing process of removing debris from the floor of Barnegat Bay will eventually evolve to the next step in the overall cleanup effort: removing sand that got pushed into the waterway. That phase of the project should begin in the next four to eight weeks, said New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Robert Martin during a conference call with a number of reporters Tuesday. "While we do the debris removal, we are already putting plans in place and getting permitting with the Army Corps of Engineers to do the dredging activity," said Martin. "I'm hoping within the next month or two we can start doing that dredging as well." The bay is steadily being cleared of large pieces of debris left over from Superstorm …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Demolitions to begin April 22, officials say
The Mantoloking Borough council on Monday awarded a $1.6 million contract to a Tinton Falls-based company to perform a large-scale demolition project in town. Council President Steve Gillingham said the contract was awarded to Mazza & Sons Demolition, the lowest bidder out of more than 30 submitted. The contract left room for the borough to retroactively award the bid to the second-highest bidder if the company is unable to carry out the job, which will include the demolition of about 40 homes borough-wide. Mantoloking will be the first municipality in the state to carry out the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Private Property Debris Removal, or PPDR, program. "It's a substantial amount of money, but we've documented everything we …
Monday, April 8, 2013
Operation Restore Hope will open an office in Brick to help storm victims plan out their finances and fill out grant, loan applications
New Jersey First Lady Mary Pat Christie came to Brick Monday to announce a $600,000 grant to Operation Restore Hope, a nonprofit organization that will work with Superstorm Sandy victims in the area of financial planning. The funding will come from Christie's Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, which has raised approximately $33 million since it was founded in the days after the storm struck, Christie said. Operation Restore Hope will open an office at Civic Plaza in Brick, which is where Christie made her announcement Monday morning. "Operation Restore Hope is going to go a long way toward making the people of the community of Brick very successful in navigating these challenges," said Christie. The organization, a representative said…
Thursday, April 4, 2013
911 tape played for jurors
The prosecution in the trial of Brick Township boater Anthony DiGilio called several witnesses Thursday who described a chaotic, bloody scene following the Aug. 3, 2008 boating accident that is the subject of DiGilio's trial, the Star-Ledger reported. Those who testified, including the widow of Robert Post, a 49-year-old Essex Fells resident who was killed in the accident, recounted confusion and horror in the moments following the accident in which DiGilio's 27-foot Imperial performance boat collided with Post's 17-foot Boston Whaler. Cliff Farren, one of the passengers on the boat, told a 911 he could not see Post's head and that he had likely been decapitated, according to the Star-Ledger's report. Other passengers on the boat who …
'Miracle of Route 35' video released by engineering firm that oversaw the closing of the Mantoloking breach
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Daniel Nee
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Thursday, April 4
Arora and Associates, a Lawrenceville-based consulting civil and structural engineering firm, released a video Wednesday that contains stunning footage of the Mantoloking breach created by Superstorm Sandy. The video chronicles the efforts of the company's employees to engineer a solution to closing the breach, shoring up the island and rebuilding Route 35 and the base of the Mantoloking Bridge intersection.
Brick Resident 2
11:22 pm on Monday, April 22, 2013
By lengthening the time a red light stays red after the corresponding green light turns red safety at intersections will increase without the use of tax cameras. It is all a farse. Petition to remove the cameras. There are other solutions. more ›