Saturday, July 12, 2025

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DIAMOND BEACH — There are no local, state, or federal regulations to require inspections of buildings on pilings, according to Gary Playford, Lower Township Building Inspector.
He said the lack of inspections has been brought to the attention of township council.
Herald staff made attempts to reach owners of The Crab House for comments on the record and for information on the underlying foundation of the area that collapsed, but were unsuccessful. Security personnel on Monday evening were telling patrons the collapse was due to concrete failure.
Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew (D-1st) told the Herald he would explore the lack of inspections at the legislative level. He said there are standards for docks and he wanted to see if those regulations applied to commercial buildings on pilings.
If the Crab House closes, 100 employees would be out of work. If that happens, Van Drew said he would contact the Department of Labor to assist employees.
He took similar action when a fire closed the Lobster House two years ago.
Lower Township Mayor Walter Craig told the Herald he asked Township Manager Joe Jackson to reach out to the township solicitor and engineer to see if ordinances are in existence in other municipalities to address inspections.
Craig said such ordinances could be tailored for Lower Township. He said discussion could take place at the July 16 council meeting. He said he was on scene when the incident occurred and returned to the site yesterday.
Craig said a staff person from the state Department of Community Affairs was expected on the scene yesterday.
The township has three other restaurants built on pilings: Lobster House, Lighthouse Pointe and Harbor View.
After inspecting the collapse, Jackson said the situation could have been a “hundred times worse,” if it had happened in location without an abandoned bulkhead under it.
Despite the injuries, the accident could have been much worse, as in the May 18, 2000 collapse of Club Heat on Pier 34 in Philadelphia. On that day, three patrons were killed and dozens more injured as a portion of the deck bar fell into the Delaware River.
Those in charge of that pier were found to be negligent for not maintaining the facility and ignoring engineering reports that said the pier was not safe.
On June 22 of this year, the nightclub operator Eli Karetny was ordered to serve nine to 18 months on house arrest, then five years of probation for his role in the catastrophe. Similarly, Pier 34 owner Michael Asbell will serve 11 to 22 months house arrest and seven years of probation. Both will also do 1,000 hours of community service.
After the Philadelphia tragedy, a writer there noted the lack of inspections of waterfront venues.
“There are more than 20 entertainment piers along the Philadelphia waterfront,”
Maralyn Lois Polak wrote in a WorldNetDaily.com article after the accident. “And yet, no single city, state or federal agency is responsible for regular underwater inspection.”