By Lauren Wanko
Correspondent
“A lot of people think Sandy’s done, everything’s over. It’s really not, for us, we’re still about two to three years out from fully recovering,” said Mantoloking Emergency Management Operations Chief Sgt. Stacy Ferris.
Construction crews line the majority of Mantoloking’s streets and beach.
“Our population right now has tripled just in contractors,” said Ferris.
All 521 homes in mantoloking were damaged by the storm and ultimately about 100 were completely lost to Sandy. Right now more than 300 homeowners are repairing or rebuilding their homes.
While residents are reconstructing there are still 121 empty parcels of land in Mantoloking and many homes appear untouched since Sandy struck.
“We were the hardest hit in New Jersey I think,” said Mantoloking Mayor George Nebel.
“A lot of our residents aren’t benefiting from the different programs that are out there cause these are second homes so everyone thinks Mantoloking they don’t need money, we do, a lot of our residents are still struggling,” said Ferris.
There’s a combination of federal, state, county, and borough construction projects all happening now in the Ocean County beach town. Work is underway on the steel sheet pile-dune restoration project that spans about four miles between Mantoloking and Brick. Each sheet interlocks with the next to create a complete, uninterrupted bulkhead underneath the Army Corps sand dunes. The sheet piling project’s expected to be completed in Mantoloking by Thanksgiving. Local officials expect the Army Corps to begin their project within the next year. There are still seven hold-outs in town.
“Those seven people will not sign the easement, the borough will take those easements under the disaster declaration control act in the November meeting,” said Nebel.
Work continues on the Route 35 reconstruction project as crews make repairs to the Mantoloking Bridge. Borough Hall was demoed after the storm. The borough’s been awarded $2.1 million for the reconstruction of the building.
“We hope to be able to build Borough Hall with out going out for long-term debt, we have no long term debt and we expect to be able to do that here, we hope so,” said Nebel.
Despite incredible lost Ferris says residents never lost their spirit.
“The American flags are flying high in the Borough of Mantoloking and that energy is irreplaceable,” said Ferris
She hopes two to three years from now there will be a different story to cover in Mantoloking.
“Hopefully everyone in the end will take that big sigh and we’ll just have a big party,” said Ferris.