PHOTOS: Seaside Roller Coaster Up Close; Boardwalk and Beach Future Plotted

Legislators get tour of Shore destruction

Members of New Jersey's General Assembly toured Ocean County communities devastated by Superstorm Sandy Thursday. The tour, led by State Police Superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes, along with local officials, gave lawmakers and members of the press an up-close look at what Sandy left behind – including the remnants of the Seaside Heights boardwalk and the now-iconic Jet Star roller coaster, which dropped from Casino Pier to the ocean during the storm. Casino Pier will be repaired in what is estimated to be a $45 million project, Seaside Heights Police Chief Thomas Boyd said, and the roller coaster will be removed from the ocean floor. However it is unlikely that Funtown Pier in neighborhing Seaside Park will be rebuilt. Though there was talk…

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Hurricane Sandy

Local Officials Describe Sandy's Widespread Devastation, 'Human Misery' to Senate Panel

State Senate looking to improve infrastructure, hear from local mayors, police chiefs on Hurricane Sandy specifics

Local officials described in dramatic detail the work of rescue and rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy, as state senators listened to how the Jersey Shore is grappling with widespread devastation and how to improve for the future. “This is flooding, devastation, I’d never have imagined in my lifetime,” said Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy, one of the first panelists detailing specific anecdotes and financial spending in response to Hurricane Sandy. The panelists were called by the state Senate Budget Committee, held in Toms River Monday. It was the first of several meetings aiming to equip senators with a better understanding as the state figures out how to fund the rebuilding of a collapsed infrastructure and to improve it in …

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