Donald Wittkowski

Gray Haenn, Tom Melchionni and Donna Brown are family members who are in the real estate business. Now, they are part of a real estate firm that they consider to be their extended family. They have joined Berger Realty, a household name in Ocean City that they say treats their employees and clients like, you guessed it, family.

Ocean City added $262 million in new tax ratables this year and remains in strong financial shape overall, but rising costs will provide a challenge in the 2023 municipal budget, Mayor Jay Gillian said Thursday while delivering his annual State of the City address. Giving a sneak preview of the proposed $98.9 million budget, Gillian said the tax rate will go up slightly less than two cents and he also intends to ask City Council’s approval for a small increase in the parking rates to generate more revenue.

City Council President Pete Madden joked in mock disgust that he needed a shower after wearing a certain article of clothing. Not just any clothing, mind you. A big Eagles fan, Madden had to swallow his pride -- and wear a Kansas City Chiefs jersey -- after losing a bet with fellow Councilman Bob Barr on the outcome of the Super Bowl.

Authorities confirmed Saturday that a construction worker was killed when a concrete balcony collapsed on top of him at an oceanfront condominium in Sea Isle City. The worker was identified as Jose Pereira, 43, of Philadelphia. He was employed by a private company that had been working on the exterior of the south tower of the Spinnaker condominium complex at 3700 Boardwalk.

The owner of a luxury resort brand at the Jersey Shore unveiled plans Thursday night to develop a high-end hotel that would represent an epic transformation of the Ocean City Boardwalk. Eustace Mita, chairman and chief executive officer of Icona Resorts, said his proposed hotel project would feature 325 rooms and cost upwards of $150 million to develop.

West 17th Street is an enclave of mostly upscale bayfront homes accessible by crossing a tiny bridge off Bay Avenue. The neighborhood, essentially a narrow island jutting out into the back bay, is vulnerable to tidal flooding because of its location and the low-lying topography. Hoping to reduce the chronic flooding, Ocean City is preparing to start construction on a nearly $1.5 million project that will include a stormwater pumping station, new drainage and outfall pipes, elevating the road where possible, repaving and landscaping improvements.

The Ocean City Housing Authority is entering a critical phase in the next several months in its plan to develop a 60-unit project that will replace the aging Pecks Beach Village housing complex. Jacqueline Jones, the housing authority’s executive director, described a series of key preliminary steps that are needed for the design, financing and construction of the estimated $22 million to $23 million project.

Ocean City's beaches between Seaview Road and 14th Street have been elevated, widened and rebuilt as part of a $24.4 million replenishment project that added 1.5 million cubic yards of new sand. Visitors call them clean and "very nice."

A new survey conducted for the Ocean City Free Public Library shows that it continues to have strong loyalty among its users, but that it has not yet been able to climb back to pre-pandemic levels in the number of visitors.

During the busy summer tourism season, cars, trucks, bicycles and pedestrians all share space on Ocean City's congested roadways. The results can be tragic. A 21-year-old woman from New Hope, Pa., was struck by a car on Aug. 11, 2021, at the intersection of 26th Street and West Avenue. She died from her injuries two days later. Hoping to improve safety on some of the most heavily traveled roads, Ocean City is asking Cape May County to install flashing crosswalk signs at seven intersections to help pedestrians navigate their way.