Thursday, May 11, 2023

Ocean Grove And The New Pier

There has been a pier in this location in Ocean Grove since 1889.
The original has been replaced or repaired many times over the years,
this newest replacement caused a lot of controversy in Ocean Grove and throughout New Jersey.
The pier, is shaped like a cross and a lot of people were not happy with that religious symbolism. 
Ocean Grove is run by a homeowners association, the homes are charming Victorian homes,
the very spiritual community is built around the Great Auditorium.

During SuperStorm Sandy the pier was damaged and needed to be replaced.
FEMA fought with the community about offering funding for a private organization.
It was finally determined that the pier was part of a public boardwalk,
 that FEMA was responsible to pay for the replacement. 
Private funds were used to rebuild the pier as the town waited for the money they were promised.
The pier opened on April 15th and FEMA has yet to pay out any money for the pier.

We walked out on the beautiful new pier...it seems to "sway" a little but the views are spectacular.





Here is a news video that talks about the controversy surrounding the pier.

This is an aerial view of the pier I grabbed from the internet.

14 comments:

BeachGypsy said...

beautiful ocean pictures, sparkling water, gorgeous blue skies! I love walking on piers.

Leanne Coppola said...

I think it's beautiful. Ocean Grove is known for its religious background and I think it's wonderful to have a place like this near us. I wish people didn't go so upset about everything these days!!!!!!

Changes in the wind said...

Beautiful, thanks for sharing.

Sally said...

It seems people do get upset more frequently as time goes on. It's a shame, really. Love the new pier. I would have no problem at all but of course I don't live there. :)

Love the ocean photo's, Debbie. You're such a master photographer!

xoxo

Rian said...

I too have a thing for piers. Some of my 'special moments' have occurred on piers. We had one in Biloxi where I watched a storm come in... and one on retreat at Montserrat where I spent a lot of time while there. As for the cross shape, really??? people got upset about that??

Pam said...

Crap....i made a comment but when I went to publish it I had lost connection on the laptop.....anyway, I said, I need an ocean vacation I think. I was in Calif last July and never went to the ocean cause we stayed on the go and plus my son don't care for it. I am not a swimmer but I like to walk along the beach, walk in the water and most of all listen to the waves.

Marie Smith said...

Glad the pier is back. That’s most important. Beautiful area.

DeniseinVA said...

Beautiful photos from the new pier and the last photo puts it into perspective.

Jim and Barb's Adventures said...

Personally, I am glad the stuck with the cross. Hopefully, that is not the reason FEMA has not paid out yet.

Debbie said...

jim...fema has been giving them the run around since superstorm sandy, that was more than 10 years ago. politics, claiming the pier is on private property...it is ridiculous!! private people paid for the rebuild when fema decided they would pay. now they won't!!

Ruth Hiebert said...

It sure serves the purpose of getting people out over the water. The views are amazing.

Brian King said...

Gorgeous views, indeed! It's nice the pier got rebuilt/repaired, but I doubt anyone would be surprised about the feds not wanting to pony up for the cost.

Conniecrafter said...

Oh that looks nice and big now, I am glad they were able to get enough funds to rebuild even if FEMA won't stick to helping pay for it.
Hope you enjoy a Happy Mother's day!

Lowcarb team member said...

Lovely photographs taken from the new pier.

All the best Jan