Concerns over Margate dune work spilling into Spring & Summer 2018 are growing. The following is an open letter to Margate Mayor Becker written by Margate resident Lynn Gottlieb:
Mayor Becker, here are a few things to consider about the Margate dune project:
Ponds still form between the bulkhead and dune. It was still over 4″ deep yesterday. There’s been no sign of any pumping by the Army Corp of Engineers. (ACOE)
The least the town of Margate could do is send out inspectors and insist that the ACOE abide by the court order since they insist on destroying our beaches.
If you haven’t already signed off on NOT suing the DEP / ACOE, please insist that the suit will NOT be dropped until the project is finished and the solution proves to be workable and aesthetically pleasing.
By signing off now, Margate loses all of it’s leverage. The ACOE doesn’t have a good track record of doing things that work… or looks good.
The Army Corp started dune work at Quincy Ave on Labor Day weekend. As of Sept. 21, the dune is still not done. Machines and pipes everywhere. Ponding occurs every other day. The crossover walk is not constructed. The beach is closed from the street. There’s an Army Corp employee who sits under a beach umbrella all day to make sure none of us cross over the dune. What a waste.
I have no confidence, that at this pace, they’ll finish work by June 2018.
We’ll begin signing leases for Summer 2018 rentals in January. We can’t rent at full price unless this project is complete. If the beach is still closed for some inexplicable reason, we won’t be able to rent at all.
Currently it feels like you’re in prison. You can see the beach through the bars, but no access.
We can’t have a second summer of construction on our beaches. If they’re not done by May 2018, the City of Margate needs to FIGHT to have all equipment, fences, pumps and unsightly pipes off the beach.
Just let the ocean do its thing through the summer.
Please re-double your efforts and stay strong in the face of this despicable federal agency and it’s destructive work.
Sincerely,
Lynn Gottlieb
109 S. Quincy Ave, Margate, NJ.