Ocean Gate Turned 'Upside Down' By Superstorm Sandy, Mayor Says

Small town on the Toms River still struggling to recover more than three months after the storm

  Fatigue is etched into Ocean Gate Mayor Paul J. Kennedy's face. He is here in the municipal building on his day off, making plans to move a Superstorm Sandy recovery seminar from Borough Hall to the Ocean Gate Elementary School. His office and cell phones ring steadily during an interview with Patch. He describes what Sandy has down to his town, a little town on the Toms River that doesn't get much attention. "The best words I can use - it's turned this town upside down since Oct. 29," Kennedy said. "It's turned it into almost a ghost town." The borough's boardwalk that curves along the Toms River and Barnegat Bay is 65 percent gone. That'a a problem that will eventually be fixed. But it's not  Kennedy's main concern. There are people in…

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No Major Problems In Berkeley From Departing Storm, Mayor Says

Some minor flooding, roads 75 percent clear

Except for some minor flooding, Berkeley Township made it through the latest winter storm without any major problems, Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. said. Amato toured sections of the township with Public Works Director Steven J. Seiler this morning. There was minor flooding on Bayview Avenue in Bayville between Veeder Lane and Riverside Drive, South Seaside Park and other sections of Bayville, he said. "No major power outages reported," Amato said. "We had five to seven inches of accumulation." However, Amato is asking residents to use "extreme caution" when driving today. "The storm caused a layer of ice to form under the snow, so while a surface may seem clear, it still may be extremely slick," he said. "The temperatures are rising above …

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Morning High Tide Brings Flooding To South Seaside Park, Bayville And Pelican Island

Winds will switch to northwest today

Although many roadways in waterfront areas flooded during the high tide leftover from the Nor'easter, there were few significant problems, Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. said today. "We had one reported power outage," Amato said, during a break in a tour with emergency management officials. "The power was out in the area of the Quik Check, but that has been restored." The beach in South Seaside Park during the storm flooded up to the dunes. Bayview Avenue in South Seaside Park between 20th and 24th Avenue was also under water, the mayor said. "Half of Pelican Island has some flooding," Amato said. "In Bayville, Bayview Avenue was eight to ten inches across the roadway in different sections." Western Boulevard at the border with Lacey Township …

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Hurricane Sandy

Portraits of Sandy: Mental Health Amid Storm Impact

New Jersey Mental Health Association, Ocean County Health Department weigh in

From Andrew Kitchenman, reporting for NJ Spotlight: People struggling with mental health issues like anxiety and depression have a difficult time under the best of circumstances. Now imagine them trying to cope after being forced from their homes for more than 10 days -- part of that time without their medications. Michele Green-Ferrante, a program director at the New Jersey Mental Health Association, doesn't have to imagine. She's working with 20 clients displaced from their Toms River-area homes by Hurricane Sandy, helping them find places to stay and pharmacies that can fill their prescriptions. “A lot of folks came here very quickly and did not have their medication,” Green-Ferrante said. While New Jersey’s healthcare system plans for …

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