Seaside Heights Residents Return For Good
By Jenn Bernstein
SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. (CBS) -- As the sun came up over Seaside Heights, the damage from Superstorm Sandy was hard to miss. There's still a lot of work to be done in this popular resort town, but Monday marked a major step in Seaside Height's recovery.
Residents in single family houses, who were granted a Certificate of Continued Occupancy, could now permanently stay in their homes.
While many plan to rebuild, others, like Robin Urcinole, say they're done at Seaside.
Her family's lived here for 13 years, but they're packing up and have bought a house in Bayville.
"It doesn't feel like our home anymore," said Urcinole. "It's over, we figured let's start fresh."
Robin claims dealing with FEMA has been a nightmare. She says the organization offered to give them around $1200, for damage she got estimated at $40,000.
"Everything's ruined. You don't really want to keep anything, that's really hard to say," said Urcinole. "It's horrible, hard working people have to fight for everything."
Those in town hope a sense of normalcy can soon return. Mayor William Akers says the borough's doing all it can to get Seaside Heights up and running by the summer.
"We will be open for our visitors, we want you to make those reservations," said Mayor Akers.
The borough hopes multi-family homes and bigger buildings like motels will be ready next.
The Mayor also said the reconstruction of the boardwalk is scheduled to be complete by May 10th.
