Bayville After Superstorm Sandy: Five Years Later

BAYVILLE, NJ - The Good Luck Point section of Bayville was ground zero in Berkeley Township after Superstorm Sandy slammed into the tiny, close-knit community on Barnegat Bay.

Most of the modest ranches that once made up Good Luck Point and the Glen Cove section of Bayville have disappeared, battered into oblivion by the monster storm that hit on Oct. 29, 2012.

Nearly all of those homes are gone now, replaced for the most part by expensive two and three-story homes, that probably cost much more than even the maximum $150,000 reward offered by the state's Reconstruction, Rehabilitation Elevation and Mitigation grants.

Most of the original homes in both areas began as summer homes, handed down from family member to family member over the decades. Many gradually winterized the homes so they could live there year-round.

The survivors of Good Luck Point's continuing gentrification look like eyesores, misplaced by the new houses that now tower over them. Good Luck Point still has a number of lots for sale, where houses once stood.

In Glen Cove, it's much the same. Many houses have been raised, many are new, some are still going up on pilings. The original, smaller homes are in the minority. Many are for sale, as is. Knockdowns to be replaced by expensive homes.

The scene on Balsam Drive is especially sad. Three of the houses on the street are in still dangerous disrepair, with broken windows, boarded-up doors and rocky foundations. They actually sag and tilt.

Anyone who insists that the Jersey Shore has rebounded after Sandy is missing the point. People once lived and thrived in those small homes. And now they are gone.

To see what Good Luck Point looked like 12 days after Sandy, watch this video:

Photos: Patricia A. Miller. Video: Posted by Walter S. on Youtube.