5 day forecast
In Sandy's Wake: Atlantic City slowly recovers, but many still endure hardships
-
The jetty is all that remains of the northern section of boardwalk, north of Revel casnio, in Atlantic City. The main part of the boardwalk along the casino district is intact. -
Ray Guangon of Cherry Hill, N.J., crosses over the remains of the boardwalk north of the casino district in Atlantic City to go fishing today. The boardwalk in front of the casinos remained intact, only an older section of the boardwalk north of the Revel casino was demolished.
Share with others:
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.-- A vibrant orange sun rose this morning over the Atlantic Ocean, its shimmering rays waking up a city whose own vibrancy remains affected by Superstorm Sandy even as its flood waters and high winds have receded into a horrific recent memory.
Atlantic City's famed casinos are up and running but even on a weekend night -- and one when Carrie Underwood was playing in town--people and energy were lacking in them. The streets were quiet. For a city where something always seemed to be happening nothing much was happening.
"It was slow before Sandy," said a cab driver. "After Sandy, it's a ghost town."
Blame it on the city's famed boardwalk, the world's first. Or, more accurately, blame it on the reports that the boardwalk was destroyed by Sandy's terror.
That's partially true. The northern end of the board walk, in Uptown, was destroyed but that section is away from the city's center and, according to many in town, was old and in need of repair.
Still, the national reports had damaged the perception that the city wasn't open for business.
"You know how reporters are," one man said to a reporter.
What is sadly true is the human suffering in Uptown and areas north where flooding from the storm created hardships that endure.
Kemyelle Ali, 40, shed tears as she recounted how she and her three children have been living without heat and hot water since Sandy hit. Holding a cup of coffee she hoped would warm her, she stood on Oriental Avenue near the pilings where the northern end of the boardwalk once stood.
Like her and the missing portion of the boardwalk, the city in general remains trapped in Sandy's downward spiral.
First Published November 10, 2012 12:37 am
