It was two years ago today that the Jersey Shore was introduced to Sandy and while she was only a one-night stand the Superstorm/Hurricane has sure left a lasting impression. 

Damage in Lavallette after Superstorm Sandy
Damage in Lavallette after Superstorm Sandy (Borough of Lavallette)
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Signs of recovery are quite obvious but so are signs that there is a still a long way to go and it’s fair to wonder if things will ever return to normal. Actually it’s likely we will just re-define what normal truly is.

Construction crews are common sights, especially along Route 35 from Point Pleasant Beach south to Island Beach State Park. Homes are being rebuilt or lifted to meet new insurance requirements although some still remain untouched as homeowner await repair aid.  Meanwhile a massive road construction project makes navigating through much of the barrier island a challenge; South Seaside Park looks more like Afghanistan than the Jersey Shore.

Sandy’s wrath was not just felt along oceanfront communities as many who live near the bay, rivers and lagoons saw parts of their lives wash away.Decades of fear for those near the water became a reality as they saw first-hand what they had watched many times on TV.  Now two years later some have decided that prime real estate with a view of the water is no longer worth the headache and stress…they’ve bailed and moved inland.

Rebuilt Belmar boardwalk
Rebuilt Belmar boardwalk (Rosetta Key, Townsquare Media NJ)
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Tourism officials like to boast about the quick rebuilding of boardwalks and the like and that is true.The summer of 2014 was better than 2013 because it couldn’t get much worse.  However you would be a fool to believe we are even close to what it was like before Sandy, especially in Seaside Heights and Seaside Park where a boardwalk fire last September made for a cruel daily double.

Many past visitors to our beaches and boardwalks found other destinations to their liking and getting them back will not be easy.  I’ll stick with the realists who said the recovery will take up to five years and there will be much pain and frustration in the interim.We no longer hear the words “Stronger than the Storm” on a regular basis.  It made for a nice, if not overblown advertising slogan but in truth many have learned the hard way that Sandy was simply too much to overcome.

On this second anniversary there is little for them to celebrate but hope springs eternal.  Or quoting an old Irish proverb: ”There’s nothing so bad that it couldn’t be worse.”

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