LBI beach openings uncertain By DONNA WEAVER Staff Writer, (609) 978-2015 Published: Saturday, May 20th, 2007 SURF CITY — As the sun peeked through the clouds of what was supposed
to be a rainy Saturday, Ryan and Tara Todd pushed their son Ryan Jr. to
Scojo's Restaurant on Long Beach Boulevard for breakfast. The Todds are
one of the many families who have concerns about the beaches reopening.
“It's the ‘no munitions zone,'” Ryan Todd said laughing. The Todds took a detour before breakfast and walked up Ninth Street toward the beach. The entrance is blocked off with plastic mesh fencing. Army Corps officials said earlier this week that it was possible the beaches would be open for the weekend, but they were not since a necessary meeting between the state Department of Environmental Protection, the Corps and officials from the two boroughs was not held. The Todds have rented a home from May to September on 24th Street for the past eight years. “No one publicly has given us any information. I heard the beaches were
supposed to be open at the end of this week, so I thought today is the
end of the week, isn't it?” Tara Todd said.
Markowitz, of Manhattan, and her fiance Dan Alesandro, of Livingston, said they are concerned that the beaches in Surf City will not be open by Memorial Day weekend. Alesandro has owned the Ninth Street property, one house from the beach, since 1993. “It's going to be a problem for renters,” Markowitz said, holding a spade on the front porch Saturday morning. “We really only know what we've been reading, and that's second-hand. I'm up in Manhattan, so I'm not really getting any information up there.” Markowitz believes many vacationers from northern New Jersey and New York simply don't know about the beach closings caused by the March discovery of World War I era military munitions. There needs to be more information disseminated to the public, Markowitz said. “I think they're not giving information on purpose because they don't want it to get out there,” she said. “There's been so much talk about what it could do and how it could hurt the economy.” The discovery of discarded military munitions began in March at the end of the beach replenishment project in Surf City. According to the corps, the munitions were dredged up from a military dumping ground in a borrow site off Long Beach Island. The munitions then were pumped onto the beach with the new sand. In an update released by the corps Wednesday, all beaches remain closed between South Seventh Street in Ship Bottom and North 25th Street in Surf City. More than 1,100 munitions have been identified by experts and have been removed from the beaches for proper disposal. The Corps' investigation and removal action is on schedule to recommend reopening the beaches before Memorial Day weekend. An ordnance disposal expert said the items containing explosives could cause loss of limbs, eyesight and, under the right circumstances, life. Although Alesandro said his property is booked with renters for July and August, until recently he wasn't too sure that was going to be the case. “Between the weather and the munitions, there has been an impact in the rental market,” he said. “I am normally booked by January or February, and I didn't rent out my last week until last week.” Markowitz said that if the beaches are not open by the Fourth of July, it is going to mean disaster. Lois Thomas, of Jobestown, is not taking any chances this Fourth of July. Thomas said she canceled her summer vacation plans two weeks ago but still has not received a refund that she said her real-estate agent promised her. The agent is Ray Procaccini Jr., of Oceanside Realty, Thomas said. “He said that he did not see a problem with my getting a full refund in an e-mail, and yet two weeks later I still do not have that refund,” said Thomas. “I asked him again about it, and he sent me an e-mail stating that the owner of the property must first mail him back my money before he can send it to me.” Saturday afternoon, Thomas said she received an e-mail Friday from Procaccini saying that Oceanside Realty had cut a refund check for her out of the goodness of their hearts. “I know he's probably trying to be sincere, but I shouldn't have had to go through all of that to get my money back,” Thomas said. “We're not going to Long Beach Island at all this year, and if we did, I wouldn't deal with that agent, and we wouldn't go to those beaches.” Procaccini said Thomas has been sent a 100 percent refund, absolutely with no questions asked. “We've done everything we can for her, so I really have no comment on it,” said Procaccini. But there were no refunds or discounts on rentals this weekend because of the closed beaches according to Rob Radice, of Pennigton. Radice's family rented three homes on 12th Street for his brother's wedding. Twelfth Street also is the headquarters for Bill McCord, a security guard for Tri County Security in Pleasantville, who guards the Surf City and Ship Bottom beach entrances to stop trespassers. Radice drew bases on the pavement for Saturday morning's pre-wedding kickball game. “It would be great to have the kids playing on the beach instead of on the street. It's disappointing,” Radice said. “We've got 16 little ones here all together. They won't let us up there,” he whispered motioning toward McCord. McCord stood close by wearing a security baseball cap instead of his usual orange hardhat, the same color as the Kubota Gator all-terrain vehicle parked near trash bins behind him. “It's a good sign they're not up there working today. I'm scheduled 'til Sunday, but they could call me and say be out there. I don't know,” McCord said. Surf City had sold 3,500 beach badges as of Saturday morning, according to the borough's beach badge seller. Shaun Andolina bought five badges Saturday for a total of $125. But she said she is concerned about the beaches not opening in time. She smiled clutching her sandwich bag of beach badges and said a discount on the badges because of the beach closings would be nice, but the borough is not offering one. “Sure I'm concerned, that's why I waited until the last minute to buy
my badges before the prices went up. I think they're telling us what they
know, but not knowing whether the beaches will be opened or if children
will be exploded, now that is a concern,” Andolina said.
To e-mail Donna Weaver at The Press: DWeaver@pressofac.com
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