The Skateplex at Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park, the Monmouth County Park System’s only skatepark, reopened last week after repairs were made to damage sustained during superstorm Sandy. The skateboarding community can breathe a collective sigh of relief as Monmouth County has reopened the Skateplex at Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park in Long Branch.
Karen Livingstone, public information officer for the Monmouth County Park System, said in an interview that the skateboard park sustained $28,000 in damage during superstorm Sandy, but reopened last week after repairs were completed.
“It filled up with saltwater and a lot of sand,” Livingston said on March 14. She said water and sand accounted for most of the damage.
While much of the work involves cleaning the sand deposited in the park during the Oct. 29 superstorm, Livingstone said the majority of the skate ramps and other features remained in good shape.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY PARK SYSTEM “A few of the ramps were knocked around, so they just worked on getting that all back together and looking good,” she said. “There was some damage, but it was not a huge amount.”
She added that the county tested all of the structures before reopening the Skateplex, which is located on Ocean Boulevard near Atlantic Avenue and is the only skate park the county operates.
While the Skateplex reopened just six months after Sandy, the fate of the adjacent inline skating rink isn’t as certain.
“The inline skating rink for hockey wasn’t used very much, and that was destroyed,” Livingstone said. “We’re not sure that we are going to rebuild that. We don’t have any plans [to do so] at this time.
“It wasn’t really used all that much, and that’s why we are looking to let that go.”
Livingstone said the beachfront at Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park also needed to be restored before the summer season. Damage at both sites was estimated at $1.3 million.
“Our dune was washed out, so we built our dune back up, and we had a grass planting,” she said. “The boardwalks, which were damaged around the pavilion, have been repaired by our staff.
“It is a matter of cleaning up and painting, and everything else seems to be fine,” she added. “We will be back, and we hope visitors come and enjoy our beach.” She said most of the work was done inhouse, but the county is hoping for a federally funded sand-replenishment project in the future.
Tony’s Place, a playground accessible to children with special needs at the park, did not sustain major damage, she said.
Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park, which hosted approximately 490,000 beachgoers last year, could also see larger crowds as the infrastructure of other popular nearby beaches at Sandy Hook, Sea Bright and Long Branch has been compromised.
Livingstone said overcrowded beaches would not be a problem.
“We expect additional people to come, and we’ve had several inquiries as to when our beach passes and parking passes would be going on sale,” she said.
“So we decided to let people know we will be back, we will be open, and our passes [went] on sale starting March 20.”
Beach badges are available at the Monmouth County Park System headquarters, Newman Springs Road, Lincroft, where hours are 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday through June 28.
Season beach badges are $45 for ages 13- 17; $65 for adults 18 to 64; and $25 for adults 65 and older. Season parking passes are $65. Season badges are effective until Sept. 2. Weekday beach fees are $7 for individuals 18 years old and over; those 17 and under are free. On weekends and holidays, the fee is $7 for individuals 13 years old and over; those 12 and under are free. The cost of a daily parking pass is $7.