Reconstructing Downtown Millburn After Irene

Downtown Millburn is experiencing a rotten kind of déjà vu – rebuilding after the devastation of a hurricane.  Patch caught up with a few businesses to check on their progress and get their thoughts on what is in store (no pun intended) for the village. 

Jhanna and Rudolf Shtainhorn of Jhanna Fine Jewelry know firsthand what it is like to have a business turned upside-down by Mother Nature; their store was severely damaged in 1999 by Hurricane Floyd.  The only reason they are in business today, they say, is because of the support of clients, friends and neighbors back in ’99. 

This time around, they say their store was one of the lucky ones, having minimal flooding and a wet rug.  Having been “spared,” the Shtainhorns have started a fundraising account to help town stores overcome by Hurricane Irene.

In an email to Patch, they said, "We are worried that due to the current state of economy and lack of proper insurance, many [affected] businesses will not be able to rebuild on their own.”

Over at Buncher’s Hardware, they’ve been pulling 18-hour days, working both to deal with damage, and to stay open and meet the needs of customers affected by Irene. 

"We did better than with Floyd,” said Buncher’s owner Marlene Haues, comparing Irene’s six feet of water in their basement to the 10 feet they got with Floyd. 

Regardless of the contrast, the store has been battered by the storm.  Haues says they’ve thrown out five truckloads of garbage.

“So far,” she added. 

For the two days before Irene made landfall in New Jersey, Haues’ son and husband were busy boarding up the roof, which had been open for repairs.  The roof patching held up, but a great deal of the Buncher’s property did not.  The floodwaters ripped up the driveway and backyard, as well as flooring inside the store. 

Haues said that during cleanup, her son David came upon a fish in the garage and proposed, “'You want lunch?'”

The folks at Buncher’s are selling flashlights, lanterns, batteries and other product straight from boxes, which pepper the floor.  Haues says in the past few days she has received much help from the community, including people she hadn’t ever met.  When a shipment arrived with no one at the store to unload, a customer, who came in to have a key made, helped unload the truck.  Saying that Millburn is “a big family,” Haues expressed her gratitude for the town’s overwhelming support. 

Down the street at Millburn Deli, owner Andrew Morgan said that his restaurant got off relatively easy, though he did have to throw out all food, filling two 30-yard dumpsters and a dump truck.  After a health inspection on Wednesday, the deli re-opened yesterday for the first time since Irene’s arrival.  Morgan said that it felt like a second grand opening.

Jeff Rosenberg of Century 21 Norma Altman Realty told Patch that the office’s basement flooded with 16” of water, which quickly receded.  Posting on their Facebook page and through the Millburn Alliance, the realty office, which never lost power, offered the community their outlets for charging and their refrigerator for storage. 

Molly Too’s Jennine Maher says she is “trying to focus on the positive," telling Patch that the upstairs of her store was not damaged. She says that Millburn and the surrounding towns should keep local shopping in mind.  

“Don’t go to the mall,” she said. “You definitely want a downtown, don’t you?”

It’s not just the business owners who feel this way.  Rita Horowitz, a realtor with Century 21, lived in Millburn for 60 years before relocating to Springfield last year.  She and her husband Jerry, a retired dentist, have long been concerned and involved citizens. Explaining that her husband was a founder of the organization, Horowitz says that the Millburn First-Aid Squad was “born in our living room.”

Horowitz offers this advice:

“The only way that we can show our support to our wonderful merchants who have been absolutely devastated by the storm is to eat and shop locally.” 

Tinga and Futter’s could not be reached for comment, please see photos for their current state.

*If you would like to donate to the Shtainhorn’s fundraising efforts, send your donation to Jhanna Fine Jewelry, 357 Millburn Ave. Checks should be made out to "Help Bring Millburn Downtown Back."