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Unions burn down Jersey Boardwalk, milk Obama's FEMA again and again and again...
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Bill Steele
Sep 15, 2013, 9:26:52 AM9/15/13
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By KATE ZERNIKE
Nearly a year after Hurricane Sandy devastated the Jersey Shore,
a boardwalk that was just rebuilt was ravaged by fire on
Thursday, as a blaze that began at an iconic ice cream shop
quickly engulfed businesses along a stretch of beach in two
towns.
Flames and black plumes of smoke shot high above the Boardwalk
in Seaside Park, where the fire began after 2 p.m. Within hours,
strong gusts of wind swept the fire north along the adjoining
Boardwalk of Seaside Heights, where a roller coaster had sat
mangled in the ocean for months and became a symbol of the
storm’s damage.
Funtown Pier, nearly destroyed by the hurricane, collapsed in
flames. And nearby, the fire appeared to have ruined a historic
carousel that had been painstakingly restored after the storm
and reopened just months ago. In all, about 20 businesses over a
six-block stretch were almost completely destroyed, Gov. Chris
Christie of New Jersey said at a news conference. Local
officials suggested that number was too low.
Standing in front of emergency vehicles in Seaside Heights, he
called the blaze “unthinkable.” When he heard the news, the
governor said, “I said to my staff, ‘I feel like I want to throw
up.’ ”
“I can only imagine,” he added, “how the residents and business
owners in this town are feeling.”
Johnny Nysether, 24, a local resident whose first job was in a
candy store on the Boardwalk, said that the business had “gone
up in smoke.”
“Watching it burn is a lot like watching it drown,” he said,
comparing the fire to Hurricane Sandy. “I have a lot of friends
and family that just lost their jobs.”
Rory Delaney, who co-owned a commercial building on the
Boardwalk, said that her building was “gone, it’s rubble.” That
building had reopened in mid-July after being damaged during
Hurricane Sandy. “We just finished work on the basement last
week,” she said.
The fire was a devastating setback to an area that could little
afford one as it struggled to get back on its feet nearly a year
after Hurricane Sandy. The towns, along a sliver of barrier
island, suffered the worst of the storm’s damage.
Mr. Christie toured Seaside Heights the morning after it hit on
Oct. 29, and seeing its Log Flume roller coaster and ramshackle
sausage and pepper stands washed away, declared “the Jersey
Shore of my youth” gone.
He returned in May to tour the amusements along the pier with
Prince Harry of Britain, who hailed “the fantastic American
spirit” of recovery there.
But with many residents still out of their homes, and many
businesses still boarded up, the summer had been far from normal.
The fire burned for about five hours, and was finally contained
shortly before 8 p.m. It drew about 400 firefighters from more
than 30 towns in Ocean County, who removed strips of newly built
boardwalk and pumped water from Barnegat Bay. By evening, they
had dug a 50-foot trench in the sand, hoping to stop the fire
from moving farther north.
But, the governor said, south of there “the damage is almost
complete on the Boardwalk.”
The fire apparently began at the Seaside Park location of Kohr’s
Frozen Custard, where the candy colored signs proudly boasted of
serving the Shore for nearly a century.
The governor and other officials repeatedly declined to
speculate on what had caused the fire. But it was fueled by high
winds, what Mayor Robert Matthies of Seaside Park called “a
combination of the worst elements at one time.”
Its flames quickly spread to a condominium development in
Seaside Heights and threatened homes and businesses several
blocks inland.
“This is another tremendous wrench in the recovery,” Mr.
Matthies told reporters.
Foodrunners at the Sawmill Cafe saw the fire begin at the Kohr’s
next door and one grabbed a fire extinguisher to put it out.
“But it just moved too fast,” said Michael Popek, a manager at
the cafe.
The Sawmill, he said, reopened in spring. “It breaks your heart.
Everything along the Boardwalk was closed. We were just happy to
be open this summer and have some business. We were struggling
all summer.”
The police had closed a significant portion of Route 35, the
major artery north from Seaside Park through Seaside Heights and
other towns of the popular summer playground. They had also
closed one of the bridges connecting it to the mainland.
Firefighters were being treated for smoke inhalation, but
officials said early on that it appeared there were no serious
injuries.
With the state’s schools reopening by this week, the town’s
population had shrunk back to the relatively small number of
year-round residents and shoulder-season tourists enjoying a
last sultry day of summer.
Many of those left stood behind yellow police tape, watching as
firefighters battled the fire, standing in cherry-pickers and
pouring water onto rooftops as flames shot up from buildings.
One business owner could be seen dousing his roof with water in
an attempt to prevent the fire catching hold.
With its brightly lighted arcades and stalls selling a sugar
high, the Boardwalk has been the center of local life, and
tourism, for generations. On Thursday evening, residents
gathered to mourn it again.
Tessah Melamed recalled working as a teenager in an amusement
arcade. “I’d work in the morning then go home and shower and
then come back to the Boardwalk and hang out until evening.”
Keith Brown said a friend’s clothing and gift store had just
reopened in mid-July; now it is gone. “The fire will have a
ripple effect beyond the immediate area,” he said. “Morale was
just coming back, and now it’s gone.”
Karen DeMasters, Patrick McGeehan and Ravi Somaiya contributed
reporting.
This article has been revised to reflect the following
correction:
Correction: September 12, 2013
Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article
misspelled the surname of a spokesman for Gov. Chris Christie.
He is Michael Drewniak, not Dreniak.
This article has been revised to reflect the following
correction:
Correction: September 12, 2013
An earlier version of this article misstated the month in which
Gov. Chris Christie visited the Boardwalk in Seaside Heights
with Prince Harry of Britain. It was in May, not July.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/nyregion/fire-ravages-jersey-
shore-boardwalk-rebuilt-after-hurricane-sandy.html
Nearly a year after Hurricane Sandy devastated the Jersey Shore,
a boardwalk that was just rebuilt was ravaged by fire on
Thursday, as a blaze that began at an iconic ice cream shop
quickly engulfed businesses along a stretch of beach in two
towns.
Flames and black plumes of smoke shot high above the Boardwalk
in Seaside Park, where the fire began after 2 p.m. Within hours,
strong gusts of wind swept the fire north along the adjoining
Boardwalk of Seaside Heights, where a roller coaster had sat
mangled in the ocean for months and became a symbol of the
storm’s damage.
Funtown Pier, nearly destroyed by the hurricane, collapsed in
flames. And nearby, the fire appeared to have ruined a historic
carousel that had been painstakingly restored after the storm
and reopened just months ago. In all, about 20 businesses over a
six-block stretch were almost completely destroyed, Gov. Chris
Christie of New Jersey said at a news conference. Local
officials suggested that number was too low.
Standing in front of emergency vehicles in Seaside Heights, he
called the blaze “unthinkable.” When he heard the news, the
governor said, “I said to my staff, ‘I feel like I want to throw
up.’ ”
“I can only imagine,” he added, “how the residents and business
owners in this town are feeling.”
Johnny Nysether, 24, a local resident whose first job was in a
candy store on the Boardwalk, said that the business had “gone
up in smoke.”
“Watching it burn is a lot like watching it drown,” he said,
comparing the fire to Hurricane Sandy. “I have a lot of friends
and family that just lost their jobs.”
Rory Delaney, who co-owned a commercial building on the
Boardwalk, said that her building was “gone, it’s rubble.” That
building had reopened in mid-July after being damaged during
Hurricane Sandy. “We just finished work on the basement last
week,” she said.
The fire was a devastating setback to an area that could little
afford one as it struggled to get back on its feet nearly a year
after Hurricane Sandy. The towns, along a sliver of barrier
island, suffered the worst of the storm’s damage.
Mr. Christie toured Seaside Heights the morning after it hit on
Oct. 29, and seeing its Log Flume roller coaster and ramshackle
sausage and pepper stands washed away, declared “the Jersey
Shore of my youth” gone.
He returned in May to tour the amusements along the pier with
Prince Harry of Britain, who hailed “the fantastic American
spirit” of recovery there.
But with many residents still out of their homes, and many
businesses still boarded up, the summer had been far from normal.
The fire burned for about five hours, and was finally contained
shortly before 8 p.m. It drew about 400 firefighters from more
than 30 towns in Ocean County, who removed strips of newly built
boardwalk and pumped water from Barnegat Bay. By evening, they
had dug a 50-foot trench in the sand, hoping to stop the fire
from moving farther north.
But, the governor said, south of there “the damage is almost
complete on the Boardwalk.”
The fire apparently began at the Seaside Park location of Kohr’s
Frozen Custard, where the candy colored signs proudly boasted of
serving the Shore for nearly a century.
The governor and other officials repeatedly declined to
speculate on what had caused the fire. But it was fueled by high
winds, what Mayor Robert Matthies of Seaside Park called “a
combination of the worst elements at one time.”
Its flames quickly spread to a condominium development in
Seaside Heights and threatened homes and businesses several
blocks inland.
“This is another tremendous wrench in the recovery,” Mr.
Matthies told reporters.
Foodrunners at the Sawmill Cafe saw the fire begin at the Kohr’s
next door and one grabbed a fire extinguisher to put it out.
“But it just moved too fast,” said Michael Popek, a manager at
the cafe.
The Sawmill, he said, reopened in spring. “It breaks your heart.
Everything along the Boardwalk was closed. We were just happy to
be open this summer and have some business. We were struggling
all summer.”
The police had closed a significant portion of Route 35, the
major artery north from Seaside Park through Seaside Heights and
other towns of the popular summer playground. They had also
closed one of the bridges connecting it to the mainland.
Firefighters were being treated for smoke inhalation, but
officials said early on that it appeared there were no serious
injuries.
With the state’s schools reopening by this week, the town’s
population had shrunk back to the relatively small number of
year-round residents and shoulder-season tourists enjoying a
last sultry day of summer.
Many of those left stood behind yellow police tape, watching as
firefighters battled the fire, standing in cherry-pickers and
pouring water onto rooftops as flames shot up from buildings.
One business owner could be seen dousing his roof with water in
an attempt to prevent the fire catching hold.
With its brightly lighted arcades and stalls selling a sugar
high, the Boardwalk has been the center of local life, and
tourism, for generations. On Thursday evening, residents
gathered to mourn it again.
Tessah Melamed recalled working as a teenager in an amusement
arcade. “I’d work in the morning then go home and shower and
then come back to the Boardwalk and hang out until evening.”
Keith Brown said a friend’s clothing and gift store had just
reopened in mid-July; now it is gone. “The fire will have a
ripple effect beyond the immediate area,” he said. “Morale was
just coming back, and now it’s gone.”
Karen DeMasters, Patrick McGeehan and Ravi Somaiya contributed
reporting.
This article has been revised to reflect the following
correction:
Correction: September 12, 2013
Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article
misspelled the surname of a spokesman for Gov. Chris Christie.
He is Michael Drewniak, not Dreniak.
This article has been revised to reflect the following
correction:
Correction: September 12, 2013
An earlier version of this article misstated the month in which
Gov. Chris Christie visited the Boardwalk in Seaside Heights
with Prince Harry of Britain. It was in May, not July.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/nyregion/fire-ravages-jersey-
shore-boardwalk-rebuilt-after-hurricane-sandy.html
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