By Steven Rodas | NJ Advance Media for NJ.comface
Morning trips to the beach in North Wildwood are routine for Mayor Patrick Rosenello, who has lived in the city since 1977.
To appreciate the views sure, but lately to survey sand dunes which until recently were the only thing standing between homes and waves prone to become fiercer amid storms.
Last October, the remnants of Hurricane Ian wiped away about 80 feet of sand dunes there. While the city reinforced the area, that dwindled to about 30 feet in December.
Where does it stand in the New Year?
“Literally 10 feet, I walked it this morning. There’s nothing left,” Rosenello told NJ Advance Media.
To better protect residents and homes in North Wildwood — where about 5,000 people live and as many as 40,000 visit each summer — Rosenello said the city plans to build an $800,000 steel bulkhead on the beach near 15th Avenue.
In October, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection blocked the town’s emergency request to build the bulkhead, pointing to no immediate threat to loss of life nor severe property loss, court documents showed. But Rosenello disagreed, saying more nor’easters are imminent and reinforcements have been required for years and especially now given the impact of Ian.
The state asked the Superior Court at the end of 2022 to take action by filing a request for a temporary injunction to end the work — equipment to build the bulkhead is already on site. While the emergency action to halt the work was not put in place, the DEP and North Wildwood are due in court Jan. 17, wherein the city will make a case over why the injunction should not be imposed.
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