Jersey Shore Views...

Well, come on down the shore!  The New Jersey Department of Transportation has agreed to delay repairs to the Causeway, the only bridge linking Long Beach Island, NJ with the mainland.

When plans for the repairs were announced last spring, the work was to take place after Labor Day.  But, the state wanted to use the fed's stimulus package money and then said the work would begin on July 20th.

Well, since that announcement the outrage from residents, visitors and local officials has forced the DOT to reconsider, and now we're back to the old repair date, sometime after Labor Day!

So it'll be clear sailing on the causeway this summer...come on down (or over if you live in Philly)...visit the Jersey Shore!

How do you spell bad timing?  Ask the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT).  

It's planning to start work on the Route 72 Causeway in July!  That's the only access from the mainland to Long Beach Island, unless you come by boat.

DOT officials had said in March construction would not take place during the summer months due to the tourism season.

But the project was expedited to start July 20 (though the newly erected signs say the work will begin on July 17th).  That's because the project was funding received through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and must be spent quickly to rapidly create jobs and complete infrastructure projects.

The $4.18 million contract was awarded June 4.  About 100 construction jobs will be created for rehabilitation of the bridge deck, ceiling cracks and safety walk, along with reconstruction of curbs and a resurfacing of the deck to preserve and protect the structure, until its replaced.  That's scheduled in 2012.  

Back in January, the DOT said the contract would be awarded in July, with work beginning around Labor Day.  

Business representatives in southern Ocean County are worried about the expedited schedule, even with assurances the work will be done at night.  They're questioning the government's attempts to launch an economic stimulus by creating work for 100 contractors at the expense of tourism related jobs.  They say the project will hurt tourism on Long Beach Island.  If you've ever sat in traffic along Route 72 from Philly or the Parkway on a hot summer morning, you might agree.

While there are efforts underway to extend the tourism season, the summer months still make or break businesses on Long Beach Island.

The Causeway carries about 42,000 cars per day during the summer.

 

Monthly Housing Market Report
Barnegat, New Jersey 08005
May, 2009
Single Family Residential

Barnegat, NJ	New Listings	Under Contract	Expired	Sold	Days on Market	Median Sold $
Jan 2009	46	14	27	7	114	$160,000
Feb 2009	72	28	23	8	111	$237,250
Mar 2009	59	23	29	17	123	$240,000
Apr 2009	78	35	24	19	106	$220,000
May 2009	51	31	23	14	113	$250,000

Monthly Housing Market Report
Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey 08087
May, 2009
Single Family Residental 

Little Egg Harbor, NJ	New Listings	Under Contract	Expired	Sold	Days on Market	Median Sold $
Jan 2009	83	19	63	10	132	$214,500
Feb 2009	79	29	26	8	111	$233,000
Mar 2009	61	18	34	16	133	$195,500
Apr 2009	79	26	37	17	117	$213,000
May 2009	68	30	43	23	125	$170,000

Monthly Housing Market Report
Manahakwin, New Jersey 08050
May, 2009
Single Family Residential

Manahawkin, NJ	New Listings	Under Contract	Expired	Sold	Days on Market	Median Sold $
Jan 2009	83	24	48	15	130	$295,000
Feb 2009	77	18	25	20	119	$271,250
Mar 2009	84	25	35	17	122	$275,000
Apr 2009	84	39	26	21	98	$255,000
May 2009	82	39	37	36	111	$276,250

Monthly Housing Market Report
Tuckerton, New Jersey 08087 
May, 2009
Single Family Residential 

Tuckerton,       NJ	New Listings	Under Contract	Expired	Sold	Days on Market	Median Sold $
Jan 2009	7	3	3	1	163	$151,500
Feb 2009	12	3	5	3	143	$6,500
Mar 2009	12	4	3	3	117	$170,000
Apr 2009	11	7	3	2	102	$246,750
May 2009	16	2	9	3	120	$205,000

Monthly Housing Market Report
Waretown, New Jersey 08758 
May, 2009
Single Family Residential

Waretown,        NJ	New Listings	Under Contract	Expired	Sold	Days on Market	Median Sold $
Jan 2009	27	7	9	3	116	$253,900
Feb 2009	33	9	13	4	105	$212,000
Mar 2009	20	7	8	5	108	$317,500
Apr 2009	21	8	8	8	86	$184,000
May 2009	23	8	11	8	74	$342,500

If your looking for homes at the Jersey Shore, in Waretown, Barnegat, Manahawkin, Tuckerton or Little Egg Harbor, look no further!  Contact me for real estate in southern Ocean County!

Keller Williams Realty - Atlantic Shore
Laura Giannotta
609-384-6121
Laura@JerseyShoreViews.com

Get Your Own Jersey Shore Views!
(Search homes for sale at the New Jersey Shore)

Special needs visitors to Long Beach Island New Jersey now have regulation beach access points up and down the 18 miles of the Island.  The following is a list of handicapped beach access points.
  
The Handicap Ramps listed below also feature Handicapped Parking:

Beach Haven Area:
Beach Haven Crest: E 78th St
Beach Haven Park: E 100th St
Beach Haven Terrance: E 132nd St
Dunes: E 127th St
North Beach Haven: E 14th St
Peahala Park: E 94th St Long Beach

Brant Beach Area:
E 39th St
E 47th St
E 58th St
E 68th St
Bayview Park

Holgate:
Mckinley Ave, Parking Lot

Loveladies:
Dolphin St

There are also Regulation Handicap Ramps in other areas, that do NOT have handicapped parking available:

Brant Beach: E 37th, E 39th, E 63rd, and E 66th Streets
Brighton Beach: E 82nd, E 84th Streets
Peahala Park: E 88th, E 94th Streets
Beach Haven Park: E 100th St, E 103rd St
Haven Beach: E 110th, E 112th, E 104th, E 105th, E 112th Streets
Dunes: E 121st Street
Beach Haven Terrace: E 128th, E 129th, and E 130th Streets
Beach Haven Gardens: E 32nd, E 27th Streets
North Beach Haven: E 20th, E 18th, E 17th and E 14th Streets
Holgate: Osborne Ave, Tebco Terrace, Jacqueline Ave, Pershing Ave, Roosevelt Ave

Long Beach Township includes these communities:  Beach Haven Crest, Beach Haven Gardens, Beach Haven Inlet, Beach Haven Park, Beach Haven Terrace, Brant Beach, Brighton Beach, High Bar Harbor, Haven Beach, Holgate, Loveladies, North Beach, North Beach Haven, Peahala Park, South Beach Haven, Spray Beach, The Dunes.  

Long Beach Township also offers a BeachWheels program free to township residents and visitors.

  
The Beachwheels program has special wheelchairs made from PVC tubing with special wheels. These special Beachwheels and Surf Chairs make travel easier over the rough beach landscape.  There are even some outfitted for fishing!

If you're staying in Long Beach Township, these chairs are free to reserve. Special security measure must be taken if you plan on staying in one of the Township's hotels.  The chairs must also stay within the township borders.

This generous program is funded through local businesses, organizations, and from contributions made throughout LBI , Long Long Beach Township, and Southern Ocean County.

You can call the Long Beach Township Beach Patrol for more information.  The phone number is 609-361-1200.

 

There's a unique volunteer opportunity here in New Jersey.  And it's taking on added significance in 2009.  It'll take very little time, help agriculture and maybe save your next cook-out!

Become part of the annual bat census!  

Every year, the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey uses volunteers to count bats...that means visiting known roosts, and counting the bats twice between now and August as they leave their caves, old buildings and barns, as well as dead tree stumps.  

This year reporting the absence of bats is just as important.  It's feared that 95% of New Jersey's bat population may have succumbed to "white-nose syndrome", named for a strange fungus that affects the bats nose and wing structure.

There were massive die offs in New York in 2006 and 2007.  The disease has since spread along the east coast from Vermont to Virginia.  

During it's annual pre spring inspection the New Jersey Foundation reported a 95% drop in the bat population at the state's largest hibernating spot in Rockaway Township.  

The die off in New Jersey is bad news for farmers and people!  The one million bats that have already died would have consumed 8,000 tons of insects (including the NJ state bird, the mosquito) in a single summer night, according to scientists.  

If you'd like to volunteer, contact the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey at 609-984-0621 or via email at maria.grace@conservewildlifenj.org.

 

If your looking for a home in Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, or anywhere in southern Ocean County, NJ give me a call.  Let's talk about the real estate opportunities in Little Egg Harbor, Tuckerton, Manahawkin, Barnegat, Waretown and on Long Beach Island!

Keller Williams Realty – Atlantic Shore

Laura Giannotta

609-384-6121

It's June1, and the official start of 2009 Hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean.  

It's a short process for a tropical storm to become a hurricane but our ocean waters here at the Jersey Shore take some time to warm up enough to sustain a hurricane.  So New Jersey's active hurricane season comes a little later.

As is always the case, the National Hurricane Center has reconfigured one if it's 6 hurricane name lists, and the names for 2009 storms are as follows: