Historic, devastating Sandy pummels Atlantic City and the region, bringing President Obama and Gov. Christie to South Jersey less than a week before the presidential election.
“The governor has issued an order that all access to the barrier islands be restricted until further notice. At this point in time, it is still unknown when we will receive the ‘all clear’ to allow residents back onto our island. Please be assured that we are doing everything possible to address all of our issues in order to make the city safe for your return.”
ON WEDNESDAY, HALLOWEEN DAY— less than a week before the 2012 presidential election — President Obama traveled to Atlantic City to join Christie in viewing the storm damage.
Air Force One landed around 1:15pm at the Atlantic City International Airport. Obama then toured Atlantic City and the Jersey shore by helicopter for an hour, before his motorcade made its way north to Brigantine to visit the Brigantine Beach Community Center, which is serving as a shelter for flood victims.
According to reports the president’s motorcade went through Atlantic City, but did not stop on its way from the airport to Brigantine, following the helicopter tour.
SEE PHOTOS : Obama and Christie in Brigantine and at ACY
Obama told those at the center that Christie is working hard to help those affected by Sandy.
“I want to let you know that your governor is working overtime,” Obama said. “The entire country has been watching what’s been happening. Everybody knows how hard Jersey has been hit.”
“It’s really important to have the president of the United States here,” said Christie.
Obama, who said, restoring power is his “top priority,” added: “We’re going to be here for the long haul.”
On NBC’s Today show Wednesday morning, Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford spoke to Al Roker live from the resort. Roker started the story by telling America:
“You can’t think of Atlantic City without thinking about one of its most iconic features, the Boardwalk. Well, I’m on the Boardwalk, but the problem is the ocean where the Boardwalk should be is about 200 yards that way, and that’s the danger here when you have the power of water and it meets a force and something like a Boardwalk, even though as sturdy as this thing has been, and it stood for 80 years, it was no match. And it is now pushed as far south as parts of the casinos that make this city famous as well. But, even though it has been destroyed, the mayor here says they will rebuild.”
Langford told Roker: “[The Boardwalk] can be replaced. Human lives cannot be replaced, and so we’ll do what we can and what we must and what we should do to regroup and pull ourselves together. We’ll rebuild this Boardwalk, no doubt about it.”
In response to what he called “extensive damage” in the city, Langford added: “I see the glass as half full and not half empty. Given the catastrophic nature of this storm, I certainly expected it to be a lot worse than it was.”
When Roker brought up the dust-up between Langford and Christie — which has made international headlines — in connection to the governor’s evacuation orders for Atlantic City and his Monday night press conference when he scolded the mayor on TV for not doing “his job,” Langford responded:
“I can tell you, we said on a number of occasions, both in the electronic media and print media that residents should heed the clarion call and get out of the city. We said it repeatedly and consistently.”
When Roker asked Langford what long-term challenges A.C. faces in the aftermath of Sandy, he said, “To rebuild this Boardwalk and other parts of the city and make it bigger and better than it was before.”
(See more photos, video and coverage on Hurricane Sandy and aftermath HERE.)
The South Jersey shore community — along with celebs from across the country — come together for post-Sandy relief and to let folks know Atlantic City is open (and the Boardwalk) for business.
With a stellar lineup slated for this weekend, Nov. 9-11, the club, in collaboration with associates Angel Management Group, the EMM Group and Revel, will be utilizing the performances from all three nights, and the revenue they generate, as an opportunity to reach out to a local community in dire need.
Not heeding pending-storm evacuation orders is never a wise move, but it can afford a better appreciation for what workers are up against when making barrier islands safe for return.
Exit 0 Jazz Fest in Cape May; Post Sandy Can-DO AC Campaign, Ocean City Goes 'Quiet' for Annual Festival Exit 0 Jazz Fest in Cape May; Can-DO AC Campaign Post Sandy, Ocean City Goes 'Quiet' for Annual Festival
"I could almost guarantee that the ones who wanted the mayors to let them return home would also be the ones to protest if they had been put in danger by returning too soon. "
"Since the national media showed so many images of a city underwater and a broken Boardwalk, we launched the 'Can DO AC' blog. It includes pictures of the city ready and open for business."
Obama: "You had a 15-year-old young man whose mother was disabled, and he was making sure that she was okay, and taking on extraordinary responsibilities for himself but also for his mom."
Watch the video of Atlantic City Mayor Langford on CNN Nov. 1 accusing Gov. Christie of a 'double standard.'
The latest Sandy storm coverage for the Atlantic City, New Jersey area.
Gov. Christie gives Sunday evening press conference urging residents of the Garden State to heed advice of officials and stay at home Monday unless they have already evacuated.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he is trying to mitigate any damages in the state due to Hurricane Sandy, which has been blamed for the deaths of at least 58 people in the Caribbean as of Sunday afternoon.
According to the report, "Each New Jersey power company gave out a slightly different power outage estimate, but the longest outages during Hurricane Irene were seven or eight days, said Greg Reinerk, a spokesman for the state Board of Public Utilities
Atlantic County under state of emergency effective 6am, Oct. 27. Residents urged to relocate.
The storm, which has killed several dozen people in the Caribbean, is expected to be a "storm of historic proportions" for the Mid-Atlantic region, including the New Jersey shore, New York City, Delaware, Pennsylvania and possibly Ohio.
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1. Paul Schmid said... on Nov 7, 2012 at 11:40PM
“I applaud both Barack Obama and Chris Christie for doing something that the country needs in general, especially following the election — putting people before politics. Plain and Simple. Both men had "politics" somewhere in the back of their head no doubt when they toured the New Jersey shore and Atlantic City areas, but they both forgot about Republican, Democrat, Election Day, etc, and worked together to ensure OUR federal government - FEMA - would step up and help the so so many individuals, families, communities and businesses hurt by the storm, some, real bad. The NJ Shore will never be the same. However, Sandy, with all the tragic loss it's brought with it, has already created jobs for the region. Much-needed jobs. And, tho people and possessions lost can never ever be replaced, AC and the Jersey Shore will be back. The Jersey Shore Comeback will be in full effect come 2013 with the ACA, state, and casinos behind it. That old piece of bwlk is finally gone. Let's roll.”