May Day: Brick Beaches Reopen, Curfew Ends on Barrier Island

Brick residents can head back to the beach Wednesday.

Six months and two days since Superstorm Sandy ravaged the township, its three public beaches will open for the first time, and a curfew that affected the entire barrier island portion of the township has been lifted.

"Our main concern has been the safety of the public," said Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis, in a statement. "We had to do a lot of work on the beaches to make them as safe as possible before permitting people to go back. But this is the Jersey Shore and the beach is a large part of who we are."

The mayor and Police Chief Nils R. Bergquist issued a joint announcement about the beach reopening Tuesday.

"We have cleaned the beaches to the best of our ability," said Bergquist. "It is likely that there is still debris on the beaches and that additional debris will wash up with tides for the coming months. Please use caution and always be aware of your surroundings."

Public beach access will be limited to the Brick Beach 1, Brick Beach 2 and Brick Beach 3 areas on Route 35 North, the statement said, and parking will be limited at times as repair work continues in the area. There will be no public access to any beach area south of the Ocean Club condominium complex (formerly known as the Thunderbird) in order to facilitate emergency protective measures.

Indeed, bulldozers were once again pushing up sand berms to protect the shoreline Tuesday, from the Ocean Club to 6th Avenue in the township's Normandy Beach section.

"The north end is replenishing itself," said Public Works Department head Glenn Campbell. But south of the public beaches, the ocean has reached the berm and occasionally has reached the top of it.

The township is considering the installation of a protective geotube along the entire oceanfront to prevent breaches in future storms as a larger federal beachfill project is debated.

In addition to the restored access to beaches, a 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. pedestrian curfew on the barrier island has been lifted, the statement said. Also, speed limits on Route 35 will return to their normal summer speeds Wednesday.