Union Beach Wins Independence Day Celebration

The party will be courtesy of the TV Network Destination American and USA WEEKEND.

Union Beach has won an "over-the-top" Fourth of July celebration on the beachfront, thanks to its ex-Fire Dept. Chief who nominated the Hurricane Sandy-devastated Bayshore town in a national contest sponsored by the TV network Destination America and USA WEEKEND.  The 2 mile-square town was selected with Fayetteville, NC as being "most deserving" among 3,500 entries submitted in March.  The judges were persuaded by Union Beach resident Robert LaBerta's 500-word essay. In it, LaBerta wrote, "I'm a humble 37-year resident of a small NJ town. During Superstorm Sandy, 90% of our town was flooded and many homes destroyed. The residents of my small town came together to not only rebuild but save each other emotionally. I had the honor of being …

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This Inspiring Story Brought to You by Grape-Nuts

'Oh Sandy' Anthology Uses Humor to Examine Seriousness of Historic Storm

A Matawan man with close ties to Union Beach was one of several Sandy survivors to be published in the collection titled "Oh Sandy: An Anthology of Humorous Stories for a Serious Cause."

Hurricane Sandy was no laughing matter for those people displaced from their flooded homes, for those throwing out hundreds of dollars worth of food after losing power or for those who lost their homes entirely.   However, they say laughter is the best medicine. "When you are gutting people's houses, you either start laughing or start crying and don't stop," said James Butler, a former Union Beach resident who continues to coach youth soccer there. "When you are dealing with tragedy there is at first shock and then you kind of move on to the gallows of humor." Each day after the storm, Butler, now a Matawan resident, visited Union Beach to help his parents, his childhood friends and his soccer players' families clean up and rebuild.  He …

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Over 1,700 Union Beach Homes Damaged by Sandy

A report on NJSpotlight.com shows that 282 of those homes suffered over $28,800 in damages.

It's no secret that Sandy's brutal assault on the Bayshore devastated Union Beach, a community of small bungalow style homes nestled along Raritan Bay.  According to an analysis of New Jersey Department of Community Affairs data by NJSpotlight.com, the storm inflicted damage on 1,705 homes, including 1,426 houses and 296 rental units.  The data further categorized the damage by the cost, labeling homes with under $8,000 in damage as "minor", homes with between $8,000 and $28,800 as "major", and homes with over $28,800 in damage as severe. In Union Beach, there were reportedly 1,096 houses and 84 rentals with minor damage, 136 houses and 107 rentals with major damage, and 194 houses and 88 rentals with severe damage.  The report indicates …

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Hurricane Sandy

VIDEO: Sandy Victims Walk for Hope

An estimated crowd of about 1,000 walked in support of recovery in Union Beach Saturday.

Towns all along New Jersey's coast were devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Boardwalks were pulled back into the sea by surging waves, homes were knocked off of their foundations and residents left homeless. Despite the disaster, there's still hope. In Union Beach Saturday, and estimated crowd of about 1,000 people walked through the Sandy-ravaged town to show their support for recovery and each other. With little notice about the event other than a posting online, word of mouth spread throughout the week, resulting in a large and somewhat unexpected turnout. Many of those walking count themselves among those left homeless or living in significantly damaged structures.  As long as there's hope, they said, they'll survive. 

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RBR Spreads Holiday Cheer to Displaced Union Beach Families

School community distributes proceeds of benefit drives at Union Beach Fire House

The Red Bank Regional community recently extended the Christmas spirit to more than 70 Union Beach families who had been displaced by superstorm Sandy. Struggling familes enjoyed a holiday dinner and presents Dec. 21 at the Union Beach Fire House, where representatives of RBR handed out holiday donations culled from a recent benefit drive. “This was wonderful, because I told my daughter that Christmas gifts were just not a priority this year," said Union Beach resident Jeanne Cavallo, who is temporarily living in an apartment while her family waits for electricity to be connected to the trailer they purchased after their home was damaged. RBR sought to lessen the burden of those in their school district displaced by Sandy and established a…

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Hurricane Sandy

Union Beach Home, Iconic Image of Sandy's Destruction, Torn Down [VIDEO]

The yellow brick home along the Raritan Bay, known as the Princess Cottage, was torn down Friday morning.

The photo of the Princess Cottage carved nearly in half by surging flood waters has become one of the most enduring images from Hurricane Sandy.  Located along the Raritan Bay in Union Beach, the yellow brick home stood for 150 years before Sandy caused damage beyond repair. On Friday, Jon Zois and his family watched as the historic building was demolished, finishing the job the storm started.  It's not the way he wanted to make history, Zois said, but he believes that the image of the building, still standing even after being cut in half, stands as a symbol of New Jersey's resiliency in the face of disaster. Though the home is gone and along with it the associated history, Zois said his father, the owner of the property, plans on …

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LS Work Party Helps Wounded Warrior in Union Beach

The group of 20 volunteers pitched in to help clean up the storm-damaged home of a soldier who lost both of his legs in an explosion while serving in Iraq.

In 2009, a group of volunteers from Little Silver joined a work party in Union Beach to help build a home for a disabled vet whose legs were blown off while serving in Iraq. They returned a few times to help build ramps to accommodate Army SSG Michael Minard, 26, while he was temporarily living at his in-law's in Keyport, and to build his new home with the group Homes For Our Troops. And when they heard that Minard's home, which he shares with his wife Lynda and two young daughters, sustained damage during Superstorm Sandy, the group returned Sunday, Nov. 18 to help with the clean up. According to Little Silver's Doug Glassmacher, the efforts to aid Minard were spearheaded by fellow resident and professional contractor Hugh Dougherty, who …

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How to Help Union Beach Students

RBR's "Restore the Shore" is collecting musical instruments for Union Beach students who lost theirs during Superstorm Sandy.

When Red Bank Regional staff first ventured into Union Beach following Superstorm Sandy, they brought counselors to meet with families of the 108 students enrolled at the high school from the town for moral support. What they quickly realized, though, was what those displaced really needed was the basics: food, blankets and clothing. The school community quickly mobilized and have organized cleanup crews and a clothing and supply drive through the relief effort dubbed RBR Helps "Restore the Shore," and headed by teachers Andrew Forrest and Mandy Galante. Now they are asking for folks to dig through their attics and crawl spaces to donate musical instruments to replace those lost to Sandy. According to RBR Vocal teacher Kris Zook, the …

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Hurricane Sandy

In Union Beach, So Much Lost

Two homeowners on High Ave. return to see the devastation of Hurricane Sandy

When Beth Whitehead returned to her High Avenue home in Union Beach, the sight of the devastation made her cry.  Whitehead has lived in Union Beach for 41 years, on High Ave. for 13 years, but she had never seen experienced anything like it. The tide had pushed the Bay into the creek, and the creek had rushed her house. At one unthinkable moment during Hurricane Sandy, half the house had been submurged in nine feet of dirty, briny water.  "Nothing in salvagable," she said, standing outside a mountain of furniture that overwhelmed her yard. She had cleared the house of its contents. Inside the wooden floor was buckled and covered in a film of filth, a stench of mildew hung in the air. Her sister's house on Dock Street was totally demolished…

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