Ortley Beach Vigil Marks Third Anniversary Of Sandy

(Sandy survivors camp out at the World War II Memorial across from the Statehouse in Trenton to bring attention to the third anniversary of Superstorm Sandy and the fact that thousands of residents still are displaced. Photos courtesy Ortley Beach Voters and Taxpayers Association and Stop FEMA Now)

In the gathering darkness Thursday evening, residents of Ortley Beach and surrounding communities will come together on the beach to remember the night that turned their lives upside down three years ago.

They also come together in hopes of reminding others that three years after Superstorm Sandy devastated the Jersey Shore and turned their homes into the storm’s ground zero, that many are still not back in their homes.

Members of the Ortley Beach Voters and Taxpayers Association, along with members of Stop FEMA Now, the New Jersey Organizing Project and other groups, have been camping out in Trenton since Tuesday, trying to remind the state’s lawmakers that the recovery is not complete.

Camping out in sleeping bags set up in lawn chairs at the World War II Memorial Park, across from the Statehouse, Sandy survivors from around the state have been trying to bring attention all week. A memorial wall erected on the site reflects a house in three stages: wrecked by Sandy, half-done, and finished, organizers say.

Thursday night, however, the attention will be at home, where the work continues daily to rebuild homes and fight for protection for those homes.

The remembrance will be held at Fourth Avenue at the boardwalk in Ortley Beach. The documentary “Heartbreak and Healing After Sandy” by Sandra Levine, a local photographer and reporter, will be shown beginning at roughly 6:15 p.m. Afterward, tiki torches will be lit and a vigil held on the beach until 8:30 p.m.

“Three years after the storm, the dune and beach replenishment project is still moving at a snail’s pace in Trenton,” Paul Jeffrey, president of the Ortley Beach Voters and Taxpayers Association said. “Ortley Beach has meager dues that were substantially damaged in the recent nor’easter. Had Hurricane Joaquin come closer to shore, the Ortley Beach dune system would have failed again and the ocean would once again have rushed into Barnegat Bay, destroying homes and newly built infrastructure in its path.”

Toms River officials said earlier this week that the DEP has begun aggressively moving forward with eminent domain proceedings on those who still refuse to sign easements needed for the Army Corps beach replenishment project to move forward.

Additionally, the DEP is still in the process of getting beach communities to sign the new Army Corps easement agreements designed specifically to address their issues, Councilwoman Maria Maruca said. Five assocations have signed so far in a process that officials have acknowledged is more complicated now that the summer is over, meaning few beach association residents are around to quickly address them.

“The NJ DEP and US Army Corps have made endless excuses for not proceeding with the required eminent domain process and obtaining the remaining property easements from those who refuse to sign,“ Jeffrey said. “Yes, the legal process of taking the property to allow rebuilding the beach and dunes is complicated, and yes there are finally some recent signs of forward progress, but three years is too long.”

“If the recent nor‘easter storm was not a call for action, then we dread to think what it will take to get this badly needed replenishment project underway,” he said.

Parking for the Ortley Beach event will be available at Third Avenue, organizers said.