Really? Summertime dune building was switched from Ventnor to Margate because of bad weather and dredger maintenance work? Or was noisy Ventnor dune construction halted because of savvy politicking by local leaders? Maybe, it’s just simple revenge. Maybe Ventnor got lucky because pay-back for ‘selfish’ Margate with mid-summer beach disruptions was more important than saving lives and property in Ventnor.
Elected Ventnor officials; Mayor Beth Holtzman and Commissioner Lance Landgraf enthusiastically support the dune and replenishment work. Too bad that most Ventnor residents don’t feel the same way. One only needs to spend time on the Boardwalk overlooking the work to hear taxpayers express their shock and disappointment.
Amy Rosenberg of Philly.com: (Ventnor Commissioner) Landgraf dismissed any suggestion that his job with a state authority played any role. “This is not revenge against Margate,” Landgraf said.
Landgraf is employed in his day job by the state of New Jersey, as director of planning for the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority ( CRDA ), which historically has similarly angered people with unilateral land decisions.
According to PhillyVoice, Margate’s Mayor Becker stopped short of calling it Beachgate.
Becker is convinced politics, not schedules and machinery, have led to a plan to have the U.S. Corps of Engineers rebuild dunes over the summer on the beaches of Margate and Longport — not Ventnor as announced.
Speculation: pouring dune sand in Margate at the height of the summer was payback.
The Margate Mayor’s BS meter went off because he got an email from an Army Corps commander at 5:33 p.m. Thursday announcing the change. And despite the late hour, Ventnor had the change posted on its website by 6 p.m. “They knew,” said Becker.
NJ Congressman LoBiondo has championed funding for replenishment, but also admits that back-bay flooding is the real problem. See video >
Social Media Feedback: RGMcNally says: Rep. Frank LoBiondo (NJ-2), lives in Ventnor and his wife is a real-estate broker/agent in Ventnor. He sits on the House sub-committee that controls funding for the Army Corps of Engineers, who in turn controls contracting and funding for work done by companies like the one working in Ventnor. Oh the “thingamajig” broke so we have to do Margate first, sparing Ventnor for the summer. Funny how that thing conveniently broke the way it did, where it did and when it did. Political corruption at its finest.
Downbeach residents, visitors and business owners are skeptical. They say dunes are unnecessary and will not stop the real problem: regular back bay flooding and sand-clogged drains.
Man-made dunes can tower to 19 feet. They negatively affect the ambiance of the beaches and boardwalk. Real Estate values suffer and flood insurance rates still climb, even with massive dunes.
‘The cost / benefit ratio doesn’t make sense’ says a Philly native who owns a vacation home in Ventnor. ‘Sure, we should invest in projects that reduce flooding and damage, but wasting millions for dunes doesn’t make sense. Use that money to fix back bay flooding & awful drainage.’
NJ Gov. Christie has accused those opposed to dunes in Margate as “selfish folks and their selfish lawyers.”
Following Hurricane Sandy, Gov. Christie ordered dunes along the entire 127-mile shoreline, even though most of the flooding damage from Sandy was due to back bay flooding.
Amy Rosenberg of Philly.com: Ice Cream vendor Robert Lukasiewicz said the enormous pipes running along the beach will complicate his job selling ice cream from a cart on the beach. He‘s also worried about safety of children around the pipes, which are carrying sand in at high pressures. “If you’re around all kinds of equipment, they’re going to have to think about safety,” he said. “One of the pipes could blow out.”
Guy Haines, another ice cream vendor and longtime Ventnor resident, recalled that the 24/7 beach replenishment and the pipes that snake the beach caused a lot of problems in 2013. “You’re going to have to climb over that pipe again this summer?” he said. “People that want to get on the beach, they’ll have to climb over that pipe, that are on wheel chairs and things. Even the [all terrain] chairs you’ll supply, it’s still difficult to push them over those dunes.”
The dune & beach work will close 1,000 feet of Margate beaches at a time, approx. 5 blocks…as it moves south towards Longport. Margate work is expected to take 2 months, starting July 7.
The main dredge pipe emerges from the surf at Fredericksburg Ave., the border of Ventnor & Margate. Construction is 24/7 with regular, somewhat lengthy breaks thru-out the day. Noise from bulldozers can sometimes be heard for up to 5 blocks. That’s not an exaggeration.
Some worry about being able to rent out properties. There are reports of real estate agents adding fine print to rental contracts. They want renters to know that dune building could affect their stay in some way.
“Why? Why can’t they wait until after Labor Day? Are you kidding me. This is a resort town,” said one resident on Facebook.
Social Media Feedback from Morris Olitsky: This is so stupid. The flooding from Sandy came from the bay, not the ocean. The ocean hasn’t flooded Margate in 200 years. This is nothing but Christie, LoBiondo and their buddies taking vengeance on us–not to mention the incredible waste of taxpayers’ money.
Top Ventnor leadership welcomed the beach and dune work. Actual Ventnor taxpayers, business owners and visitors… have not.
The fall hurricane season is likely to affect the re-scheduled Ventnor dune building after Labor Day. One would assume the DEP & Ventnor commissioner / state employee Landgraf would sound the alarm that we need protection….and we need it now. Lives and property are at stake, right?
The $63 million project will pump 3.8 million cubic yards of sand from off shore ‘borrow’ areas through a series of pipes onto the beaches of Absecon Island, comprised of AC, Ventnor, Margate & Longport.
DEP’s Hajna said the residents should take a less “entitled” view of their natural resources. Residents responded by saying the State and outgoing Governor should stop spending tax dollars on projects with little or no value.
Christie lives for Revenge like his patron Don Trumpio . Margate was in the bullseye to be one of Gov. 15%’s last victims before he exits the Statehouse.