Funtown Pier Application to be Heard This Month in Seaside Park

The Seaside Park Planning  Board will hold a public hearing at the end of the month on changes to Funtown Pier ‘s proposed boardwalk reconstruction plan.

The application is a follow-up application to plans already approved, according to Harvey L. York of the Toms River law firm Novins, York & Jacobus, the attorney representing Funtown Pier, destroyed during Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and again nearly one year later by fire in September, 2013.

“We are amending the plan somewhat to allow for additional construction of buildings along the boardwalk, east and north of the Saw Mill Café,” said York.

The plan includes retail buildings, including apartments on the second floor of one of the buildings, kiosks along the boardwalk, and various retail buildings east of the kiosks along the sand, according to York.

York said he expects the application to be approved without any issues, noting Funtown Pier is following up on what it told the Borough it planned to do and municipal officials have been pleased.

“The buildings will have a uniform-style.  They’re ‘Nantucket’ gray, uniform, so they won’t look like what the boardwalk used to look like. They’ll be much more subdued,” York said.

York said he doesn’t believe anyone knows for sure which businesses will occupy the buildings, but added Kohr’s Frozen Custard is slated to move into one of them.

York confirmed Funtown Pier and Borough officials have agreed there will be a pedestrian right of way to prevent any type of barricade to impede traffic on the boardwalk.

“This application doesn’t interfere with that. In fact, it respects it, and helps create it, so that when you are coming south on the boardwalk, they’ll be some kind of entry area so you’ll know you’ve left Seaside Heights and are entering Seaside Park, and that pedestrian walkway will continue to exist from the border of Seaside Heights/Seaside Park south through Seaside Park,” said York.

Describing the boardwalk as “lonely and vacant” right now, York said he hopes the application process moves quickly to get done in time for this season.

York said other agencies must sign-off on the reconstruction plan, but said this should be the final approval from the Seaside Park Planning Board.

“Funtown Pier would like to start construction within 60 days after getting the approvals, but that depends on all of the governmental agencies and the weather,” York said.

The public hearing is scheduled for February 24, at 7:00 P.M, at the Seaside Park Borough meeting room, second floor, at Sixth and Central Avenues.