Highlands Wants New, Half-Million-Dollar Superstorm Sandy Monument Removed
HIGHLANDS, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- There's an unusual addition to the waterfront in a Jersey shore town that has everyone talking.
Some say it looks like Stonehenge. But as CBS2's Steve Langford reported, the creation has kicked off a monumental blame game.
The behemoth monument by the beach, dedicated to survivors of Superstorm Sandy, is a gift from the Tilt-Up Concrete Association, a nonprofit trade organization, to the borough of Highlands. But the borough is now demanding it be removed, a little more than three months after it was built.
"I don't like it," one man said. "I think it's ugly."
But it's not the look of the half-million-dollar monument with a roof weighing 360,000 pounds that could make it go the way of the Berlin Wall. No, the problem is no one bothered to get a permit from the state's Department of Environmental Protection.
"I think it was something that was done and just wasn't realized by either the borough or by the organization, so I would tell you we definitely have some blame in there," Highlands Mayor Frank Nolan told Langford. "The buck stops here at my desk."
Highlands has sent a letter to the concrete trade association, declaring "the Borough demands that Tilt-Up immediately and unconditionally remove the structure."
The state says Highlands may still apply for a permit, but the borough has not made such a request. The mayor said the monument, which some call "Shorehenge," could be moved to another location, without facing the wrecking ball.
Some homeowners on Sandy Hook Bay would like to get their views back, but not everyone wants the borough to tear down the structure.
"They should leave it there," one woman said. "I hope they don't change it."
"Anything that's built around here in Highlands, we appreciate it. So I think the people, it'll just take a little time to get used to it and like it," said Fred Hohn, of Highlands.
Nolan said, "I would bet my money this would be resolved one way or another by the end of January."
The Highlands Borough Council will meet Jan. 20 to explore all of its options.