A Year After Sandy, Progress and Standstills in Toms River

From overwashing ocean waves in Ortley Beach to the bay rising higher than anyone could have imagined in East Dover and Green Island, Toms River's waterside neighborhoods continue to show signs of devastation a year after Superstorm Sandy pummeled the Jersey Shore.

Toms River is one of the state's largest examples of the paradox of the recovery – contractors working nonstop to repair homes, and crews rebuilding streets and infrastructure in some places; and in others, rows of houses looking as if they were abandoned with their former residents wondering how, and if, they can rebuild their lives.

By the numbers, the slow recovery of what is one of New Jersey's largest suburban municipalities is staggering. The township has issued a total of 956 demolition permits, 428 of which have been completed.

"We have teams going around every day now, it's going to be in the hundreds," said Mayor Thomas Kelaher, of the number of homes that have been and will be identified by township officials as ones which must be demolished.

The situation in some neighborhoods is getting worse a year after the storm, as some bewildered residents have left their homes untouched since the storm, likely lacking the resources required to rebuild.

"A lot of people have abandoned or, unfortunately, walked away from their homes," said Kelaher. "Neighbors are saying, 'The house next door, I haven't seen the guys since the Saturday after the storm. The place is overgrown, there are mice under the deck.'"

Toms River is now in the process of identifying abandoned homes and using its power under the construction code to issue violations and potentially demolish them, the mayor said.

It's a sobering reality against the backdrop of the misery of those who have not been able to rebuild.

Council President George Wittmann said the township-led demolitions will only take place in cases where homes are structurally unsound, causing a safety hazard. More than 100 such instances have been identified township-wide so far, with a little more than half being located on the island and bit less on the mainland.

Among those whose homes have to come down is Steven Gwin of Toms River's Silverton section, who told a state legislative panel last week that his flood insurance carrier, Selective Insurance, gave him $62 per square foot to rebuild.

"Nobody anywhere, especially in the state of New Jersey, can build a house for $62 per square foot," he said, explaining that a year after the storm he family is "no closer to even beginning the rebuilding process than we were a year ago."

There is some progress, however. Toms River has issued 145 permits to elevate homes, and 223 people are back temporarily even though they may need to elevate their homes in the future.

The township has also granted 279 permits for new construction.

"Hopefully, that's going to be the wave of the future," said Kelaher.