A beachfront home in Monmouth Beach overlooks a shoreline battered by the Oct. 29 superstorm that forced the shutdown of mass transit, schools and financial markets, and sent coastal residents fleeing for higher ground with a dangerous mix of high winds and soaking rains. ERIC SUCAR staff Years of negotiations between the developers of the Takanassee Lifesaving Station site and the Long Branch historical preservation community were wiped away as superstorm Sandy destroyed the lone building that remained on site on Oct. 29.
The 1897 Boathouse, the only remaining building of the three historic buildings that once stood on the Ocean Avenue site, was reduced to a pile of wood and rubble after strong winds and surging tides took the building down.
“It didn’t take a genius to sit there and know that building’s not making it,” Long Branch Mayor Adam Schneider said in a Nov. 2 interview.
The historic Boathouse building at the former Takanassee Beach Club site was reduced to a pile of rubble by the Oct. 29 superstorm. KENNY WALTER “With two hours to go until high tide it was already surrounded by water,” said Schneider, who observed that he may be the last person to have seen the historic building upright.
In May, after years of speculation and controversy, the 1877 Captain’s House and the circa-1903 Port Huron House were moved to the private property of developer Douglas Jemal at 900 Ocean Ave.
The remaining Boathouse building was slated for restoration and was to remain on the site, which was to developed as luxury condominiums and housing.
According to Schneider, the two relocated buildings survived the storm.
Longtime city resident Don Vincelli was exploring the site of the former Lifesaving Station No. 5 on Nov. 4 and said he had never experienced a storm like Sandy.
“It was brutal,” he said. “I’ve seen many storms in my 70 years and it was absolutely the worst I’ve seen by far. “I am in shock over this,” he added. “It’s beyond my belief that it went that far and the ocean went into the lake.”
A large section of the Long Branch boardwalk along Ocean Avenue, one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions. was damaged during the storm.
“The boardwalk pretty much from Pier Village down is destroyed, it was picked up and moved,” Schneider said. “Parts of the foundation are fine, parts of it.” Schneider said in the days following the storm he did his own assessment of the storm damage.
“I’ve driven through almost every neighborhood in the city and talked to people,” he said. “There is a lot of damage in the north end from flooding.
“Amazingly some houses are badly damaged and a house or two away there is nothing,” he added. “There is tree damage where trees hit houses and in Elberon many of the houses along the ocean are at risk.
“I’m sure there is going to be some houses that are damaged and whether they are going to survive I don’t know.”
He said while there are some damaged homes across the city many of the businesses survived with some damage but are still standing.
“Pier Village, as soon as they get power on, they will be good to go and there are some businesses that are open now,” he said.
According to Schneider, the city did not sustain the extensive damage that some neighboring municipalities did.
“There is nowhere near what it could have been,” he said. “It is nothing compared to Sea Bright or Monmouth Beach.
“We had a huge tidal surge at about 6 o’clock,” he added. “You could see the ocean was coming over the sea wall at the Promenade and some other places.”
Schneider said several vulnerable areas of the city were evacuated including Ocean Avenue and northern parts of the city along Atlantic Avenue.
He credited the city emergency management and police departments for saving residents who needed rescuing.
“They were pulling people out and risking their own lives,” Schneider said. “There were some people who were told to get out and didn’t and had to be rescued.
“I don’t know if anybody outside of the mandatory evacuation zone was ever in trouble, I think we called that pretty good,” he added.
One of the safety issues in the aftermath of the storm was spectators interfering with the cleanup efforts.
“We had a lot of trouble Monday and Tuesday morning because everybody wanted to see the damage and they were going where it wasn’t safe and getting into our way,” he said. “I understand everybody wants to see it, but you have live power lines, trees down and people who have to get somewhere safe.
“We are out there trying to do all that and there are spectators getting in our way,” he added.
In the days leading up to the storm and the days after city officials held daily meetings to discuss how to address cleanup and safety concerns.
Schneider explained officials used the Code Red emergency telephone system to keep residents informed.
He also said the city ran an ice and water distribution center out of the city’s fire department headquarters on Union Avenue and that most residents maintained a positive attitude.
“You know, 99 percent of the people coming through to pick up the ice said thank you,” he said. “We are getting very few cranky phone calls.
Schneider went on to say there are two types of people who deal differently with these situations.
“Right now it is all about attitude,” he said. “If you decide you are going to get cranky and grumpy and give everyone a hard time, you will.
“On the other hand if you say it is kind of an adventure, something I can tell my kids about,” he added, “it could have been a lot worse. Nobody died and we could have lost people.”