Times
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS, INC.
THE BERKELEY
Vol. 21 - No. 38
Inside This Week’s Edition
Business Directory................... 18 Classifieds................................ 19 Community News................. 8-10 Dr. Izzy’s Sound News............. 14 Fun Page.................................. 20 Inside The Law......................... 17 Letters to the Editor.................... 6 School..................................... 11 Wolfgang................................. 23 WWW.MICROMEDIAPUBS.COM
Your FREE Weekly Hometown Newspaper | Serving Bayville, Berkeley, Beachwood, Pine Beach, Ocean Gate and South Toms River
Not Yet Elevated
Berkeley Supports Grandfathering In Elevation Requirements
Polar Plunge’s Charitable Dip In The Ocean
–Photo by Daniel Nee SEASIDE HEIGHTS – An estimated 6,000 plungers – and 25,000 onlookers – came out for the annual Polar Bear Plunge in Seaside Heights, raising more than $1.6 million for the cause. Organizers said it was the most successful plunge yet, (Ocean - See Page 5)
–Photos by Liz Roll/FEMA and Catherine Galioto (Above) The horizon off Butler Boulevard, where properties are a mix of demolished lots, homes being raised and those built at original elevations pre-Sandy. (At left) In this FEMA photo from 2013, of Bayville, the federal agency points out the difference in damage between a raised home and one that was not. By Catherine Galioto BERKELEY – Amid a looming deadline for new elevation requirements under the National Flood Insurance Program, the township council is pushing for homes already elevated under the last requirements instead be grandfathered in. The impact would be in Coastal A Zones, and newly changed requirements on elevating homes that are in the zone as part of the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps. The changes mean a homeowner who planned to raise their home one elevation may have to return to the drawing board and make another plan for a new elevation. The grace period ends March 21.
Berkeley, which saw severe damage along its mainland bayfront and barrier island sections, has about 400 homes in the new Coastal A zone. The township council passed a resolution in support of grandfathering “to protect the homeowners whose homes were built to elevations acceptable at the time of construction or reconstruction,” said Mayor Carmen Amato. Echoing a previous resolution the council passed calling for a rollback of the new elevation guidelines, Amato said this new resolution hopes to address how some residents rebuilt at one elevation, and new elevations (Elevation - See Page 4)
February 27, 2016
As Scams Proliferate, Mayor Not Immune To Hoax Calls
By Catherine Galioto BERKELEY – If you are receiving a lot of strange phone calls attempting to scam you out of your money, you are not alone. The mayor is receiving them, too. Four calls at least, so far. Mayor Carmen Amato spent time in his mayor’s comments at the Febr uary 22 council meet i ng to explain some of the scams going around. He said he received four calls at home in a short amount of time, from callers claiming to be from the IRS, demanding an immediate payment. “On the fourth call, they say: that’s it if you don’t pay this we are immediately dispatching the police to your house to arrest you,” (Scams - See Page 4)
Free Events Focus On Women’s History
OCEAN COUNTY – March is Women’s History Month and the Ocean County Library will recognize the achievements of women and their struggle for equality through a variety of special programs at its branches. The programs will vary from historical re-enactments to films for adults to programs designed for a younger audience. March 3 at the Stafford branch: “Rosie the Riveter” is a living history presentation sponsored by the Friends of the Stafford Library and funded by the Horizons Speaker Bureau of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for Humanities produced by (History - See Page 5)
Free Transportation • In-Home & Outpatient PT Physical Therapy Center
1-(855)-3ALLCARE • www.AllCarePTC.com
Jackson • Barnegat • Brick • Toms River Whiting • Manchester • Forked River
Come experience the All-Care difference for yourself!