Sandy Hook access?

[storminsteve]

I don't know how bad it is but thought maybe we could post some updates in here as any of you guys hear about them.

[Monty]

Great idea.
Nothing official, but from what I have read online there has been nothing to indicate that it will be open again this year.
And everything on the internet is true.....

[Mike O]

Called the ranger station yesterday, park is closed til further notice. The ranger told me to keep calling for updates.

[Monty]

Pic on Nov 1st

[Monty]

Here is a link to some pics of the Hook.
The Courier Post online
http://www.courierpostonline.com/app...1030043&Ref=PH

A sample of whats there:

[surfwalker]

Monty, looks like that area won't be open for quite awhile. Who knows what has been unearthed there.

[buckethead]

^ Maybe some bombs and ordnance. This was posted today by a Sandy Hook ranger -

"The Hook is NOT open to the public, including fishers, and will not be for some time. Not only is there no electricity or water or sewage services, but the hurricane has left several safety issues we must address first before we can reopen anything. We also want to have a sweep of the beaches for unexploded ordnances, which wash up after major storms like this one in former Army bases like Fort Hancock."

[Monty]

We also want to have a sweep of the beaches for unexploded ordnances, which wash up after major storms like this one in former Army bases like Fort Hancock."

How did they loose bombs?
Where do they wash up from?
This just sounds unbelievably stupid to me.
Irresponsible.

[bababooey]

I don't know the complete history of Sandy Hook, Monty but it was a fort for a long time. (Fort Hancock?) They did use it as an observation post during the war, I think it might of been WWII? With all the sand washed away maybe they meant to say that some bombs were uncovered. I know it sounds lame but the last thing I would want to do would bring my family there to the beach for a sunny happy day and get our feet blown up by an old grenade or something like that, no?

[Monty]

I don't know the complete history of Sandy Hook, Monty but it was a fort for a long time. (Fort Hancock?) They did use it as an observation post during the war, I think it might of been WWII? With all the sand washed away maybe they meant to say that some bombs were uncovered. I know it sounds lame but the last thing I would want to do would bring my family there to the beach for a sunny happy day and get our feet blown up by an old grenade or something like that, no?

I just find it unbelievable that they buried bombs or grenades or whatever other explosive devices there were.
Its great they "sweep of the beaches for unexploded ordnances", they better if there is a chance they are there.

[ledhead36]

^ They did a lot of bad stuff 50 years ago. you should see some of the woods back by whale beach in laurence harbor. They dumped all sorts of toxic stuff into it until the 70s. I think that is one of the reasons it is now on the epa list for cleanups. Its not the lead, its also some heavy metals like chromium and mercury. Nasty stuff. Sandy Hook was probably no different.

[CharlieTuna]

I just find it unbelievable that they buried bombs or grenades or whatever other explosive devices there were.
Its great they "sweep of the beaches for unexploded ordnances", they better if there is a chance they are there.

Don't forget all the pirate booty and gold. Legendary.

[Monty]

Don't forget all the pirate booty and gold. Legendary.

Pirate booty?

[storminsteve]

^^Yeah baby I'd hit that!

[Mike O]

If you guys and gals want to get a good perspective of what the hook looks like after Sandy check it out on google earth. remember to use the timeline tool. There is one big sandbar almost the whole length of the beach front, amazing.

[njdiver]

By MaryAnn Spoto/The Star-Ledger
on December 03, 2012 at 7:30 AM, updated December 03, 2012 at 3:58 PM

Traffic cones block the entrances from Route 36 into the Gateway National Recreation Area, where a small sign announces the park is closed.

Occasionally, curious passersby venture beyond the yellow cones to sneak photographs, and Park Service officials usually indulge them for a few minutes before shooing them away.

That may be the best look people get at the popular landmark in Sandy Hook for some time. Hurricane Sandy left so much damage in its wake that National Park Service Officials say they are uncertain whether the recreational area visited by more than two million people each year will open next summer.

"It’s a day-by-day thing as we evaluate it," Pete McCarthy, assistant park superintendent, said one day last week. "We’re going to try to open for summer."

The 7-mile-long peninsula, dotted with historical buildings and lined with long beaches, picnic areas and multi-use paths took an especially savage blow because it is bordered by the Shrewsbury River and Raritan Bay to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east.

"The problem was, we basically were attacked on two sides," McCarthy said.

A month after the storm deluged the narrow peninsula with a tidal surge more than 13 feet at mean high tide, crews are still clearing parking lots blanketed with sand. The waves may have been even higher, he said, because that measurement was taken just before the gauge broke.

Of more immediate concern to park officials are unexploded ordnance that may have been exposed when so much sand washed off the beaches, once an Army testing ground for ammunition.

Pete McCarthy, the unit coordinator of Sandy Hook for the National Park Service, said he's not sure the popular beach and recreation area in Monmouth County will reopen in time for the 2013 summer season.Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger

Four of the park’s six concession stands were damaged by floodwaters up to six feet high. So were the fire department, ranger station and theater.

Ten days after the storm, parts of Sandy Hook still had about 2 ½ feet of standing water, and weeks after the storm, crews were still pumping sand and water out of the sewage stations.

The seven-mile-long macadam and cement path popular with runners, bicyclists and rollerbladers was heaved or washed out in at least seven places because of severe erosion.

Workers are still checking the pipes that carry water throughout the peninsula for damage, and the sewage treatment is also being evaluated. McCarthy said that without a functioning sewage system, they would not even try to turn the water back on — even if the pipes weren’t damaged.

At what is known as Area C, where summer concerts are held, the 40-foot-by-16-foot stage is washed away.

"We’re still looking for it," McCarthy said. "We’re still looking for a lot of things."

Linda Slater, a spokeswoman for the National Park Service, said 500 people were assessing the damage to the beaches, historic buildings and other cultural resources.

In the end, Slater said, Sandy Hook would be among the other national parks competing for scarce federal resources to rebuild. For now, she added, there is no damage estimate.

"There’s a list of things that need to be done," she said. "We have to prioritize what needs to be done."

When park officials begin to describe the damage, they almost doesn’t know where to begin.

The ferry dock at the northern end of the peninsula was picked up by the surge and almost folded in half. At the entrance is a huge crater where there once was sand, exposing pipes.

Once the storm passed, it took crews — along with help from the U.S. Coast Guard — five days to push the mountains of sand to the side of the roads to make them passable.

Drifts of sand a quarter-mile long and nearly six-feet high ran intermittently for more than 3 miles on the main roads, McCarthy said.

When the roads were finally passable, crews came in to stabilize some of the buildings, including those on Officers Row, where porches of the former military homes sustained varying degrees of damage, from minor sagging to complete washouts.

Despite the vast amount of destruction, McCarthy remains hopeful.

"The one thing we’ve taken from this is it’s the people’s park," he said. "It still will be Gateway. It still will be Sandy Hook, but it might be changed a little."

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/201..._closed_n.html

[DarkSkies]

Thanks, as always, for the updates, NJDiver......

[voyager35]

In the end, Slater said, Sandy Hook would be among the other national parks competing for scarce federal resources to rebuild. For now, she added, there is no damage estimate.

"There’s a list of things that need to be done," she said. "We have to prioritize what needs to be done."

When park officials begin to describe the damage, they almost doesn’t know where to begin.

That is part of the problem. As far as prioritizing goes. Sandy Hook is lower on the list than some of the other federal parks. I don't see much happening until late next year.

[Mike O]

I'm pretty devastated about this news about the Hook. One of the reasons I started fishing there in the 80's was because of the unfriendly and sometimes hostile situations I've come across on and in a lot of the other Monmouth Co. shore towns, no parking, private property keep out, no access, no beach access after dark, head on parking only. And not to mention having to possibly getting your vehicle broken into while you are fishing or worse getting mugged (almost happened to me once in Asbury Park in the days of the flume) If it were not for a 4 foot gaff I use to carry when jetty hopping I might not even be writing this. Of course I was a lot younger then, but you get my drift. Sandyhook has always been a special place for me even though it might not be as productive as other places. What a drag. Oh well, like every other bad thing that happens I will just move on.

[buckethead]

I agree Mike, Sandy Hook was the safest place to be at 2am. Never had to worry about your car being broken into. Although do you remember the burned out car that was in the 2nd parking lot about 6 years ago? It sat there for a whole winter before they got rid of it. Other than that I have never had any crime worries when fishing Sandy Hook. Now the back bay, places like Keansburg and Laurence Harbor, those are different stories. You can't keep anything nice showing in your truck when fishing there or they will take it.