Hurricane Sandy destroyed Belmar NJ’s, 1.3-mile long boardwalk. The Oct 29, 2012 super-storm turned that boardwalk into a pile of wet, broken lumber. Belmar knew their boardwalk was a vital part of town. A business anchor. It had to be rebuilt.
The Mayor and council were in full agreement. By late winter 2013, funding was found. A $9.2 reimbursement from FEMA paid for a large portion of Belmar’s boardwalk rebuilding. The new boardwalk was quickly built in just 3 months. If Belmar could do it, why not Margate?
At the recent Margate Commissioner meeting, lifelong resident Glenn Klotz addressed city leaders about the possibility of resurrecting the boardwalk. Glenn presented the petition list collected on DownbeachBUZZ last week. Over 400 names were placed in the record, in support of rebuilding the Margate boardwalk.
Listen to Glenn Klotz address Margate Commissioners:
Rebuilding a Boardwalk.
If Belmar could rebuild their boardwalk, why not Margate? Watch video >
According to Belmar Mayor [at the time] Matt Doherty, the town was determined to make the best of a bad situation. Note: Doherty is now the head of CRDA in Atlantic City. Read more in NJMonthly
The Belmar boardwalk and beach area runs from First to Twentieth Ave on Ocean Ave. Long stretches of simple walking pleasure. Great views.
According to Margate Boardwalk discussion starter, Glenn Klotz: “Unlike Atlantic City and Ventnor boardwalks, Belmar’s boardwalk was built at almost ground level.” Glenn says Belmar’s boardwalk was totally exposed to the ravages of an unpredictable Atlantic Ocean. Today, boardwalks are built with better materials, smarter engineering and a protective mix of dunes, bulkheads or jetty rock.
Maybe Margate can make lemonade out of lemons? Take a less than wonderful dune situation, and make the best of it. Integrate a boardwalk along the dune system. Could be a win-win. ‘It’s worth a discussion, at the very least’ says Klotz.
VENTNOR
The infamous March 1962 nor’easter was a killer. One of the most brutal storms to rattle the Jersey coast. This storm destroyed a big part of Ventnor’s boardwalk, just south of fishing pier, which was also damaged beyond repair.
According to Klotz, Ventnor leadership quickly decided to reconstruct the damaged boardwalk. Like Belmar, the City leadership rallied and carried out the will of the people. It rebuilt it’s boardwalk.
The money was raised (Glenn believes) locally through a bond. The boardwalk (1.6 miles) was then re-extended back to Fredericksburg Ave, the Ventnor / Margate border. This new portion of the Ventnor boardwalk reopened in Spring of 1963. About a year later.
This portion of Ventnor’s boardwalk has stood strong for the last 55 yrs.
The 1944 hurricane destroyed Margate and Longport’s boardwalks. Large sections of Atlantic City’s as well. Margate and Longport opted to NOT rebuild.
Will Margate’s boardwalk ever get rebuilt? Nice thought. We know it’s a long shot. But ya never know….
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Let’s get the Army Corp of Engineers to pay for it and build it. Tell them they can use it to move soldiers from Margate to Atlantic City when the Russians invade.