Damage to Union Beach led to one of Superstorm Sandy's most iconic images. - Photos Patsy Lynch/Shutterstock

Ten years ago this past fall, Superstorm Sandy devastated the community of Union Beach in Monmouth County. You may remember the iconic photo, shared nationwide, of a yellow Union Beach home torn literally in half by the tempest. The storm impacted everything, from the community’s picturesque shorelines to local businesses, and destroyed or damaged more than 20% of the borough’s total housing stock.

Union Beach has spent the last decade not only repairing the damage, but also preparing for future storms. While there is still work to be done — including a major shoreline restoration project now in progress — the inroads the community has made should be a blueprint for other communities along the Jersey Shore and throughout the mid-Atlantic region. It’s only a matter of time before Mother Nature batters us again.

Since Sandy raged through the region, structures throughout Union Beach have been elevated to safeguard them against future flooding. Buildings that could not be elevated have been dry-proofed by having their outer doors and lower-level windows sealed. This year, in partnership with the Army Corps of Engineers and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, we’re working to flood-proof the town itself against heavy rains and tidal flooding. We are restoring and preserving what the hurricane took away — our beautiful shoreline.

A beach fill project, which began in March, will involve the addition of 3,160 linear feet of dunes with three berm crossovers, composed of 688,000 cubic yards of sand. The project will make the community’s beach, currently only a few hundred feet, approximately three times as wide and four times as long. Future phases in subsequent years will involve the construction of storm gates, pump stations and earthen levees. We need to be mindful not only of tidal flooding, but of overflowing of the two main waterways that traverse Union Beach and drain into Raritan Bay. When the tide is up, these tributaries don’t flow as well, and heavy rains can prove disastrous. The eventual pump stations will ensure that excess water can be pumped over the levee and into the bay. Along the way, we’re taking steps to mitigate any wetland disturbance and keep the project as “green” as possible.

When will the “next Sandy” hit our shores? Some experts believe that climate change is making severe storms more common. Just two years ago, Hurricane Ida caused record damage and, late last year, Hurricane Ian ran roughshod across western Florida.

Simply put — cleaning up after a big storm isn’t enough anymore. We must prepare for them before they happen. We’re doing our part, and neighboring municipalities such as Long Branch, Spring Lake, Belmar and Deal have also made strides. Among numerous investments being made in New Jersey through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is $20 million to elevate U.S. 40, a main evacuation route for Atlantic City, which will help residents travel safely before a superstorm makes landfall. This and the work we are doing is important — but we’ll need to remain vigilant. Communities that don’t take appropriate measures to safeguard against future storms are virtually guaranteed to face significant hardships down the road.

Charles Cocuzza is the mayor of the borough of Union Beach. Robert Keady and Dennis Dayback are with T&M Associates, a leading national consulting, engineering, environmental, technical services and construction management company headquartered in Middletown.

June 30, 2023

UNION BEACH, NJ (MONMOUTH)–On Wednesday, June 28, 2023, hundreds of people gathered in Union Beach New Jersey, to welcome an American hero back into the community.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation held a home dedication ceremony for USMC Staff Sergeant Ben Webb, handing over the keys to a brand new, mortgage-free smart home.

“It’s been a long road, a long struggle, many dark days of worry, of wondering, and hoping, of praying, and waiting but not anymore. I never stopped believing this day would come, that I would be able to come home, here in my little corner of the world,” said Staff Sergeant Webb.

Staff Sergeant Webb served four overseas deployments, three to Afghanistan and one to Iraq. During his 15 years of service to his country, he suffered multiple concussions and shrapnel wounds from RPG and IED blasts. He was awarded 3 Purple Hearts and retired in 2017.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s Smart Home Program builds specially-adapted smart homes, giving America’s catastrophically injured veterans some of their day-to-day independence back and delivering them mortgage-free to these American Heroes.

“Having a mortgage-free home has improved my life immensely not just mentally, but both physically and emotionally, I’m able to enjoy life again. This home will cater to my everyday physical needs, it is such a relieving feeling,” said Staff Sergeant Webb.

All of the essential features of SSgt Webb’s home, the lights, thermostat, and security system, can be controlled via an app or touchscreens installed around the home. The bathroom is completely ADA compliant and the kitchen features lower countertops and a stove that raises and lowers to wheelchair height.

“This year, as we celebrate July 4th, I am honored to hand over the keys to a home that will deliver financial and personal independence back to Staff Sergeant Ben Webb, who has given so much to this country we all love,” said Frank Siller, Chairman & CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

To join the Tunnel to Towers Foundation on its mission to provide these life-changing homes to America’s heroes please go to T2T.org and consider donating $11 per month.

According to the 2020 U.S. Census, no Monmouth County municipality lost more of its population over the past 10 years than Union Beach, which experienced an 8.4% decline in residents since 2010.

You don’t need a demographics expert to explain why. Superstorm Sandy flooded 80% of the borough’s homes in 2012. More than 400 of its 2,200 housing units wound up demolished.

“We lost between 9% and 10% of our tax base with Sandy,” borough administrator Bob Howard said.

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Some of that’s been rebuilt; some hasn’t. The census showed a 5% decrease in Union Beach’s housing units from 2010. The borough’s current population is 5,723, down from 6,245 a decade ago.

“The housing stock that’s being rebuilt is a lot different than what we had here originally,” Howard said. “Back 100 years ago, when the town was first populated to a great extent on 25-foot lots, that was much smaller than what is being built post-Sandy.”

A big change is coming. A long-awaited Army Corps of Engineers flood-control project finally is underway. The beach berm and dune system, which was first approved in 2007, “will affect Union Beach greatly in the future,” Howard said.

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“Our beachfront area will be three to four times the size it is,” he said. “Phase one is due to go out to bid in the next couple of months. We’re acquiring the real-estate easements that are necessary now.”

The project will change the flood-zone designation of the Brook Avenue area, which was walloped by Sandy, from a “V zone” (most hazardous; subject to wave inundation) to an “A zone” (susceptible to overflow, but not the increased damage of wave action).

“There is not much area in Union Beach left to be developed,” Howard said. “This is our one tract of land where we will see additional housing in the near future hopefully.”

How much housing, exactly?

“I hate to make a prediction,” Howard said. “Developers have come in to speak to the borough about developing the parcel, and they’ve come in with a very high amount of units, which is understandable coming from them. But we have not had anybody come to the planning board yet for anything official. I would say it will be a significant amount of housing.”

Given how long it’s taken to reach this point, Howard said he could not pinpoint a timetable for construction.

“I would say within a couple of years,” he said.

The result could restore Union Beach’s population to pre-Sandy levels.

“Over the next 10 years, with all the people moving from the cities to the suburb areas and the Army Corps project changing our bayfront area considerably, yes we are very optimistic about that,” Howard said.

Jerry Carino is community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the Jersey Shore’s interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

Vile. Demeaning. Illegal. Accomplices.

Those are the fighting words being tossed back and forth between two school districts in Monmouth County in a series of letters last month.

At issue is a decades-long agreement to have Union Beach schools pay tuition to Keyport for its students to attend high school there. Keyport claims the K-8 district of approximately 600 students has been increasingly sending its students to other towns — and those other districts are “siphoning away” the students — resulting in strained finances for Keyport.

“This action is hitting Keyport in the pocketbook, as the tuition paid by Union Beach to Keyport continues to drop precipitously, significantly impacting Keyport’s budget and finances,” the district said in a letter sent to the community in early February.

But school officials in Union Beach contend that no official ‘send-receive’ agreement exists and parents say they want better academic choices for their kids.

Public records and archival newspapers show Union Beach and Keyport have struggled with the nature of their sending-receiving relationship for decades, specifically whether or not Union Beach has the right to send its high school students to other districts.

Union Beach even tried to terminate the relationship in a 1984 petition, alleging the Keyport High School program “did not meet the needs of all of its students.” But that request was denied.

Based on comments made by parents during two separate public meetings hosted by Keyport and Union Beach last week, there is still a belief that Keyport High School falls short of certain standards.

One Union Beach parent summed it up: “Why should any parent choose to send their children to a high school built in 1927 that is consistently ranked near the bottom of all high schools in Monmouth County?”

U.S News Rankings show Keyport High School is ranked 299th within New Jersey, out of 424 high schools. The high schools where Union Beach students are going — Red Bank Regional, Hazlet Township, and Henry Hudson Regional — all rank significantly higher.

Public records and reports also show the tuition for out-of-district students in those districts is less than the $18,300 tuition cost Union Beach must pay per pupil in Keyport.

According to Keyport Public Schools enrollment figures, there has been a 27% decrease in high school attendees from Union Beach over the past four years. This has coincided with a 17% drop in tuition received from Union Beach over the same time period. Since enrollment is one factor that determines how much state aid a school district may receive, Keyport officials said they are concerned with how this trend will impact that financial allotment as well.

“When we talk about things like course of study and what things are offered at different schools, imagine the challenges faced by any school where they’re losing over the course of a two year period of time over $800,000 in monies with a small budget,” Keyport consultant Scott Feder said last week.

In the letter sent Feb. 9, Keyport told the community its petitioning the state education commissioner to “address the years of financial harm and the ongoing negative disparate educational impact” to its students. The district said “the improper diversion of students” has also increased the percentage of special education students attending the district.

Without that balance, Keyport High School Superintendent Lisa Savoia said the trend could ultimately limit the district’s ability to expand programs and opportunities for all students.

Union Beach officials fired back with a letter to its own community and a second one to Keyport, saying the renewed fight, which they said came without notice, was driving a wedge between them. Union Beach Superintendent Amanda Lewert also took issue with Keyport accusing the special education students as being “lesser achieving learners who do not bring as much value” to the district.

“Instead of constructive action, you have determined to literally burn the bridge between our two towns,” wrote Union Beach administration and Board of Education members in the Feb. 22 letter to Keyport.

Things weren’t always like this between the two bayside communities, said Keyport Mayor Colette Kennedy. After storm surges from Hurricane Sandy destroyed hundreds of homes in Union Beach and damaged the elementary school, Keyport stood in solidarity, opening up its buildings to all displaced students for the remainder of the school year. And when Keyport experienced its own tragedy with the death of Board of Education president Ann Marie Panzarelli in March 2021 due to COVID, the Union Beach school community provided it support.

“The fact that this has gotten to this point, I can’t even explain the heartstrings it’s pulling…and I’m not oblivious to the fact that it’s rooted from my own municipality, and that’s even more heart wrenching,” Kennedy said in an interview with NJ Advance Media.

The mayor said where Union Beach students attend high school has been “a long standing issue” since at least the ‘70s.

“I think the topic did need to be brought to the fore in both districts and I do think the Department of Education needs to make a final decision. But I absolutely stand by that it could have been done in a different way,” Kennedy said.

The goal of the letter that sparked the latest dispute was not to stoke up discontent, said Joseph Stahley, vice president of Keyport Board of Education. Rather, the board felt “at this stage of the legal action, that we needed to communicate with the Keyport community on what was transpiring and what was at stake,” he said.

Union Beach Mayor Charlie Cocuzza said it’s the opportunity to make a choice about your own child’s education that parents in his town desperately want. He has a seventh grade daughter preparing to enter high school in the next two years. She’s unsure whether she wants to attend Keyport High School and the thought “that choice might be taken away from her” is upsetting, Cocuzza said.

Having a choice of high schools to attend provides children with “the best chance to pursue the educational opportunities that best fit their needs and goals,” said members of Union Beach Memorial School PTA Executive Board in a statement sent to NJ Advance Media.

The matter is still pending in the state Department of Education’s Office of Administrative Law.

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jroman@njadvancemedia.com and @ByJackieRoman.

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First came a Red Horse. Now, The GOAT.

Following the 2021 opening of Rumson's Red Horse by David Burke, the chef and restaurateur will open The GOAT by David Burke in Union Beach in early April.

The 110-seat American bistro takes the place of Piero's Italian Restaurant, which closed in the fall. Burke bought the restaurant and began renovating in February.

The GOAT is accepting reservations for Easter Sunday and Mother's Day.

Featuring an open kitchen and wood-burning oven, the restaurant will serve modern Continental and American cuisines.

As of press time, the menu was being finalized, but dishes may include Wagyu meatballs with polenta; salmon crudo with peas and pistachio gremolata; and roasted chicken for two with penne flambéed table-side (prices, which also may change before opening, range from $16 to $35).

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“Piero’s lasted for 30 years, that says something about the location,” Burke said in a news release about deciding to open a restaurant in the Bayshore. “Somebody went to the Meatpacking District in New York first, right? Somebody had to be first in Asbury Park. There’s a 10-mile stretch of highway that is underserved. There’s a renewed interest in the area.

"People want to get out and dine out, and they are tired of going over to Highway 35 to eat at chain restaurants," he said. "I grew up near here, and I’m very excited about The GOAT."

In addition to Red Horse by David Burke in Rumson, Burke manages Drifthouse in Sea Bright, and owns restaurants in East Brunswick, Fort Lee, Morristown and West New York.

Go: 1411 Route 36 in Union Beach; 732-264-5222, thegoatbydb.com

Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to sgriesemer@gannettnj.com