Sandy-Damaged Homes Slowly Being Demolished In Berkeley

BERKELEY TOWNSHIP - It's been nearly six years since Superstorm Sandy slammed into the low-lying areas of Bayville, virtually destroying a number of waterfront homes.

And many of the homes sat for years, slowly deteriorating, becoming mold havens and eyesores.

That has changed lately. The township construction department declared many unsafe and said they had to come down, whether the owners of the homes did anything or not.

"After the properties are posted as unsafe by the Construction Department, we go through a hearing process," Township Administrator John Camera said. "Ultimately an order is issued by the township to demolish and if they do not do it themselves, we take it down and make the costs a lien on the property."

None of the owners whose homes have been demolished asked the township to take them down, he said.

The eight homes authorized to come down in the latest round include: 261 Butler Boulevard, 216 Cypress Drive, 216 Evergreen Drive, and 1007 Balsam Drive in the Glen Cove section of the township, 240 22nd Avenue in South Seaside Park and 56 First Avenue and 28 Second Avenue in the Manitou Park section of the township.

All of the demolitions in the current round should be done within the next two weeks, Camera said.

The township took other homes down in a previous round of demolitions five years ago, he said.

The Good Luck Point section of the township now bears little resemblance to the modest family homes that once stood there. Some homeowners demolished their own, some sold their lots and others built entirely new homes.

Photo: Patricia A. Miller