Hurricane Sandy may have damaged a few homes and stores around the town, but the damage was not nearly as bad as most other beach towns in New Jersey and New York, leaving Ocean City one of the few that are completely open and ready for business.
So Ocean City, NJ may just be a little bit more crowded this year than usual.
I am talking nine extra people in front of you in line for ice cream at Kohr’s Bros and possibly a little less options everyday for your ‘spot’ on the sand. Not to fear however, Ocean City seems to be expecting this extra surge of people this summer and they are already in preparation.
Berger Realty agent Jeremy Kershbaumer said that rentals are already up by 20 percent from last year, and last year was their best year they ever had. Kershbaumer said “we are actually worried we are going to sell out of houses and have upset customers”.
Brian Hartley, a manager at Playland’s Castaway Cove , suggested that everyone who would normally vacation at a beach destination that is effected by Sandy are looking for new places, and Ocean City is one of the places that they are going to flock to.
Hartley said that even though it is unfortunate it has to be at someone else’s expense (the other beaches effected by Sandy) it will be good for Ocean City this year. “A lot of places took the storm a lot worse so we were really lucky” said Hartley. Hartley said “judging by many phone calls I have already gotten, we are probably going to be a lot busier then usual and it’s a good thing for us because it will expose us to a new market that wouldn’t usually come here.”
Hartley mentioned how the storm effected many workers and friends who live in town and how Castaway Cove was able to help around the community with the heavy equipment they had available. Aside from a little flooding, there was minor damage done at Castaway Cove because they had prepared for the storm as most stores did.
The 7th Street Surf Shop manager Colin Devine said “Nothing happened to our boardwalk shops we were fine, but our locations downtown were flooded with over two feet of water that the wind pushed from the bay”. Thankfully they had prepared and took out all of the merchandise from the shops. Devine said there was over 20 guys associated with the shop who had some construction knowledge to help fix up the shops, leaving the shops closed for only 18 days. Devine said “there is unforeseen things for this upcoming season because rentals are through the roof “.
Even though Hurricane Sandy was devastating for some places, Ocean City only suffered minor damages and store owners and realtors would say it is helping them more then it hurt them. So maybe Ocean City will be a bit more crowded this year, but that is no excuse not to go!
Thats all for now, leave me your thoughts below, or email me!
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Tierra Fisher
All Things Ocean City, NJ 