Boardwalk

BELMAR, N.J. - The first major boardwalk reconstruction at the Jersey Shore since Sandy pummeled the state got under way Wednesday, with the threat of a lawsuit prompting Belmar officials to drop their plan to use tropical rain-forest wood to rebuild it. Mayor Matthew Doherty said the resort bowed to pressure from environmental groups that had threatened to seek a court injunction against the plan to use ipe, a type of Brazilian rain forest wood that...

For some, a boardwalk conjures up memories of summer afternoons running from beach to arcade and back again; for others, it brings to mind the chaotic nightlife chronicled in the reality show Jersey Shore . But for the summer towns that dot New Jersey's coast, boardwalks are an economic lifeline that they are rushing to rebuild before the summer season starts in just under six months. "The boardwalk will be back," vowed Seaside Heights Councilman Tony Vaz. "It has to be. We have to survive.

BRICK, N.J. - Tricia McAvoy is busily preparing for Christmas. She's making a list of whom to invite to a party she's having. She's planning the food and drink menu, mentally checking off what can be cooked indoors and what can go on the grill she still has to replace. And she's envisioning where the tree, lights, and decorations will go. The party is set for July at the lagoon-front home she hopes to have back in usable shape by then because, she said, "Christmas this year was just not Christmas.

Central Bucks East rode hot shooting in the second half and capitalized on turnovers to beat Mainland, 44-24, and capture its bracket of the Boardwalk Classic at Wildwoods Convention Center. The Patriots shot 50 percent from the floor after halftime and outscored Mainland, 14-2, in points off turnovers. Brandon McGlaughlin led the way offensively with 11 points, and Matt Stauffer added 10. Tommy Strasburger had seven rebounds. The Patriots outscored Mainland, 22-9, in the second half to pull away for the title in the Frank McAlarnen bracket.

WILDWOOD, N.J. - Bob Hurley believes his St. Anthony of Jersey City basketball team has "lots of room to grow. " The Friars likely will be better in March, based on Hurley's Hall of Fame coaching and the program's demanding schedule. But St. Anthony can be dominant in December, too. Playing in the Boardwalk Basketball Classic for the first time, St, Anthony was clinical in its defensive execution and rolled to a 57-23 victory over Camden on Sunday night. "We're not smooth at the offensive end," Hurley said after the game at the Wildwoods Convention Center on the boardwalk of this seaside resort town.

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. - They're the places where generations of families savored fast-melting ice cream cones and chowed down on garlicky slices of pizza, where teens scoped out potential dates, where a tipsy Snooki tottered unsteadily, and under which the Drifters sang about falling in love. For all their nostalgia, boardwalks are still a major economic engine for Shore communities. Tourists and residents alike spend their money on food and drinks there, or on games of skee ball or balloon darts to win a stuffed animal.

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. - The remains of a roller coaster that was knocked off an amusement pier during Hurricane Sandy and partially submerged in the Atlantic Ocean might be left there as a tourist attraction. Seaside Heights Mayor Bill Akers told WNBC-TV in New York officials had not decided whether to tear down the ride. But he said he was working with the U.S. Coast Guard to see whether the roller coaster was stable enough to leave alone, because he believes it would make "a great tourist attraction.

On most summer evenings, in the afterglow of a sinking Cape May sun, Vincent Panzano headed for the Cove, the beach at the end of the promenade. There, he took his post at a flagpole that stood for everything he believed in. He switched on a tape player, amped up the sound, and as Kate Smith's "God Bless America" soared, lowered the Stars and Stripes. On hand was an ever-changing passel of children whom he taught to properly fold the flag. The half-hour rite finished, he got into his Ford van with the "JUNE644" tags and drove home to Emerald Avenue, leaving behind an indelible Cape May tableau.

WILDWOOD, N.J. - The last time that Shaun Murray, now 31, was in Wildwood was after his Toms River High School North senior prom, when he and Elise Giordano spent the night in some motel on the boardwalk. That time, unlike last week, he did not cry on the ride down. Flooded out of his home in Seaside Park, his job as a hairstylist literally washed away, dressed in a donated Phillies sweatshirt and Phillies flip-flops, Murray stood among the frondless plastic palm trees at the offseason Blue Palms motel Friday, smoked a cigarette, and tried to make the best of it. Room 125 was not so bad, a block from the boardwalk, in the shadow of Splash Zone.