Frank Longo, proprietor of Frank’s Shoe Clinic at 10th and Haven
Ocean City residents dealt with Tuesday’s latest round of tidal flooding the way Ocean City residents usually do: with a smile and a shrug, and a can-do attitude. They rolled up their sleeves to remove storm debris from their properties; in some cases they rolled up their pants to slog through flooded streets.
At the morning’s high tide it was anything but business as usual. However, people dealt with their particular situation and kept going.
“What are you gonna do, (flooding) is just what happens,” said Frank Longo, proprietor of Frank’s Shoe Clinic at 10
th and Haven. “I grew up right across the street. It’s always been like this.”
10
th Street was impassable by car from West Ave, although you could get to the shop via Haven from 9
th Street. But Haven itself was flooded above 11
th. As a result, no customers could be seen when a reporter visited.
“Nobody can get in here,” Longo said. “But that’s OK because we are able to catch up on some of the work to be done around here.”
Stew Heisler lives at 3
rd and Ocean and was out for his daily walk with the intention of going to the Rite Aid pharmacy. But he was stopped in his tracks when he got to the intersection of 14
th and West, where the street more resembled a lake.
“Well, I guess I’m not going to Rite Aid,” he said with a smile. “That’s what I need to get around,” he said, pointing to a large military truck that rumbled down West and right through the water.
Heisler, a Pennsylvania native who has lived in Ocean City for 35 years, said dealing with flooding had “becomes second nature” over the years and Tuesday’s delay of his pharmacy errand was no big deal.
“I kept looking for places to retire that I liked better than Ocean City, and I could never find one,” said Heisler, who formerly worked for Spencer Gifts in West Atlantic City. “This is the best place to be, even with (the flooding). And today’s flooding wasn’t as bad as yesterday’s.”
On Asbury Avenue a few hardy shoppers were hopping over puddles and patronizing stores that were mainly deserted. At the Sneaker Shop, co-owner Janet Schiltz was basically hanging out. She said even though the alley behind the store had minor flooding, no water had reached her store on Monday or Tuesday. When winter storm Jonas hit recently, they dealt with about an inch of water, she said.
“Today you can see the floor is dirty,” she said, referring to some water-logged foot traffic the store received, “but we thankfully had no real issues this time.”
Like Frank Longo, she noted that not many people were out shopping, and that it really had little impact on the bottom line. “It’s winter,” she said, “our business will pick up in a few weeks.”
