Dear Friends,
Please take the time tonight before you go to bed to make sure your cars are in a safe place. The National Weather Service issued a Coastal Flood Watch in effect through Saturday morning. The tide is expected to peak before dawn at 5:37 a.m., and the forecast calls for moderate flooding, a level we have not yet seen this year. More information on this event is available at www.ocnj.us/oem.
For the health and safety of all and in line with other closings, the Spring Block Party that had been scheduled for May 2 has been canceled. The event is always a highlight of the spring for residents, guests, vendors and merchants. I want to thank everybody for their understanding as we continue to suspend all social gathering in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Unrelated to the coronavirus pandemic, I was informed this week that the Army Corps of Engineers beach replenishment project for the north end of Ocean City will be delayed by about a month. Work will begin in June to rebuild beaches from Seaspray Road to 13th Street. About two blocks of beach at a time will be closed, and work is now expected to extend well into July.
I understand that this will be an inconvenience to residents and guests, but Ocean City will always remain grateful to our partners at the Army Corps and state Department of Environmental Protection. These ongoing renourishment projects are vital in protecting property. More detail will be available as the work gets closer.
I’d like to take a moment to pay tribute to Lou Davis, who became Ocean City’s first black firefighter in 1965. Lou passed away on March 23 at the age of 82. An Ocean City High School graduate and Army veteran, Lou served the Fire Department for 38 years before retiring as a captain in 2003. The department held a procession through town yesterday in his honor, but services will be postponed until social gathering restrictions are lifted.
I also want to note the passing of two other members of our community: Sharon Miles and Priscilla Crawford. Michele and I would like to extend our deepest condolences to the Davis, Miles/Johnson, and Crawford/Rowell families. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
Warm regards,
Mayor Jay A. Gillian
