Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Seaside Heights amusement ride has been an international symbol of Sandy's destruction
Crews from Weeks Marine have started dismantling and demolishing the Jet Star roller coaster, which has sat in the ocean off Seaside Heights since Superstorm Sandy struck Oct. 29. The demolition got underway prior to Prince Harry's visit to the borough Tuesday morning, and will continue for about 48 hours straight, said Toby Wolf, spokeswoman for Casino Pier, where the ride was formerly located. Wolf said a piece of the ride will be kept and made into a memorial once the pier fully reopens. Construction on the pier, she said, will continue through the summer and rides will be added as the pier grows. One new ride, called "Superstorm," a thrill ride named for the storm that destroyed the Jet Star, will launch this season. Police Chief …
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Casino Pier signed a contract with Weeks Marine, and said the process of removing the roller coaster from the ocean could take a few weeks
The Jet Star roller coaster, which has become a staple of the damage wreaked on the Jersey Shore by Superstorm Sandy, may soon be removed from the Atlantic Ocean, according to an NJ.com report. Casino Pier, the owner of the amusement that was dumped in the Ocean by Sandy, signed a contract with Weeks Marine, a dredging and stevedoring company based out of Cranford, to remove the coaster in less than a month, the article said. A date has yet to be set for the roller coaster’s removal, the article said, and Toby Wolf, spokesperson for Casino Pier, would not disclose the cost of the contract or estimated cost of the work. The process of performing a hydrographic survey of the Jet Star below the ocean as well as dismantling and removing the …
Friday, April 19, 2013
The big wheel, lopsided and damaged following Sandy, was torn down Thursday.
Funtown's ferris wheel, lopsided and twisted but still standing following Hurricane Sandy, was torn down Thursday as its owners continue the lenghty cleanup of the destroyed amusement pier. The pier, which sits on the border of Seaside Heights and Seaside Park, suffered significant damage during the late-October storm, perhaps even more than Casino Pier, who lost much of its upper deck, including most of its rides. The Star Ledger captured the demolition of the big wheel Thursday with a gallery posted online here. Prior to being taken down, the wheel remained half on pier support pilings and half on the beach, giving it a precarious, tilted look, though town officials made assurances that it was stable enough. With its colored and battered…
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Demolition continues on Seaside Height's Funtown Pier, which was destroyed during Hurricane Sandy.
Just a short walk down the debris-littered beach in Seaside Heights, work is underway on Casino Pier. Despite the presence of a roller coaster still sitting in the ocean, positive reconstruction has been going on for several months. Officials even say they plan on reopening a portion of the pier, along with some rides, by Memorial Day. It's a different story at Funtown Pier. The amusement rival remains a wreck following Hurricane Sandy's arrival at the resort town in late October. The pier, which arguably received more damage during the storm than Casino Pier, is in disarray. Large portions of it have been removed, though what remains will also likely have to go. The pier's most prominent feature, its Ferris wheel, sits half on its …
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
The Seaside Heights amusements pier has been stripped, partially demolished, but restoration is in progress.
It's hard to see the improvement at Casino Pier following its destruction at the hands of Hurricane Sandy. But, it's what you don't see that let's you know work is being done. The Seaside Heights attraction is nearly empty. All of the amusements and rides that remained on the pier following Sandy have been taken down, piece-by-piece, and carted away, some to storage, some to the scrap yard. The log flume, half of it having fallen into the ocean, is gone. The Wild Mouse rollercoaster has been taken down and hauled away. The buildings that housed concessions and games have been torn down. A few remnants remain, including the Jet Star coaster, still sitting in the water. Soon, that will be gone too. It's stark right now; the pier is almost …
Friday, January 18, 2013
An RFP has been issued to construction companies interested in bidding on the removal of the now famous roller coaster.
Casino Pier has taken the first step towards removing its roller coaster that had fallen into the Atlantic Ocean and served as an iconic image of Hurricane Sandy's devastation of the shore, according to Seaside Heights Mayor Bill Akers. At a recent council meeting, Akers said Casino Pier's owners had readied a 35-page Request for Proposals package, or RFP, and would be sending it out this week to prospective construction and demolition companies and was ready to start accepting bids to remove partially submerged steel coaster known as the Jet Star. Details about the project and its time frame are sparse as the borough's involvement with Casino Pier's reconstruction is limited, Borough Administrator John Camera said. However, Seaside …
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Legislators get tour of Shore destruction
Members of New Jersey's General Assembly toured Ocean County communities devastated by Superstorm Sandy Thursday. The tour, led by State Police Superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes, along with local officials, gave lawmakers and members of the press an up-close look at what Sandy left behind – including the remnants of the Seaside Heights boardwalk and the now-iconic Jet Star roller coaster, which dropped from Casino Pier to the ocean during the storm. Casino Pier will be repaired in what is estimated to be a $45 million project, Seaside Heights Police Chief Thomas Boyd said, and the roller coaster will be removed from the ocean floor. Funtown Pier in nearby Seaside Park, is in the preliminary stages of assessing the damage with its insurance …
Thursday, September 15, 2011
24-year-old Egyptian man visiting area swept out by rip current, body found under Casino Pier
An afternoon at the Seaside Heights beach with friends turned deadly Wednesday for a 24-year-old Egyptian man who was caught in a rip current, Detective Steven Korman said. Farouk Sherif Abbas Helmmi, of Alexandria, Egypt, was found in the water under the north side of Casino Pier, little more than an hour after he decided to go swimming with a female friend, Korman said. Helmmi had a faint pulse when Patrolman Edward Pasieka pulled him from the water. He was taken to Community Medical Center by the Tri-Boro First Aid Squad, but was pronounced dead at 5:37 p.m., shortly after he arrived, Korman said. Helmmi, who was visiting at a house on Dupont Avenue, was part of a group of Egyptian friends on the beach off Grant Avenue. Helmmi and a 21-…
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Lavallette's Sam Hammer claims his fourth Grudge Match title in dominant fashion
6 p.m. update: Sam Hammer won his fourth Garden State Grudge Match title with a win over Mike Ciaramella in the final round. Hammer, of Lavallette, followed up a perfect scoring wave in the semi-finals with another perfect score in the final, wedging himself deep into a barrel before emerging and slashing two massive off-the-top turns. That score, along with an earlier 7.5 point ride secured his victory. Ciaramella proved a worthy adversary throughout the day. The 18-year-old from Avalon was competing in his first Grudge Match final and only his second Grudge Match appearance— he made the semi-finals last year. Hammer's victory solidified his position as New Jersey's preeminent surfer. 5 p.m. update: It's the rookie versus the veteran in …
Wilda
2:05 pm on Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Good one, LOLOL. more ›