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Wednesday, February 19, 2025

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Wooden ‘Walk Work Worries Merchants

Crowds stroll the Ocean City Boardwalk on Labor Day afternoon at 13th Street

By Bill Barlow

OCEAN CITY – The last of five phases of boardwalk renovation work, set to start this fall, is drawing concern from the boardwalk businesses that will have to close when it starts.
Business owners claim the fall is an important part of their year, and want the city to wait as long as possible before shutting the seaside walkway.
City officials respond that the work needs to be done sometime and that the contractor needs time to complete the work before the 2018 season heats up in the spring.
Under a $2.9-million project, contractor Fred Schiavone Construction of Malaga is set to begin Oct. 10, tearing up the boardwalk and the substructure from 10th to 12th streets.
City Council awarded the contract in April. Four previous phases of the work have already been completed.
Frustrated Owners
In a series of interviews, several boardwalk merchants have expressed frustration with the project, and with what they see as a lack of communication from the city.
“The boardwalk’s a thoroughfare. In any other town, they wouldn’t just shut you down like this. If you tried this on Asbury Avenue, they would go nuts,” said Doug Jewell, the owner of Air Circus, a kite-and-hobby shop at 1114 Boardwalk, referring to the city’s downtown.
“Everybody had a soft year anyway, so this is just adding insult to injury,” he added. Jewell has been on the boardwalk since the 1970s.
Other longtime business owners said the fall is an important part of their year and asked the city to hold off on the project, which will mean shutting shops earlier than they planned.
Issue Raised
City Councilwoman Kathy Bergman raised the issue at the Aug. 22 City Council meeting. She asked Mayor Jay Gillian for an update on the project’s timing. 
“When do we plan on doing the boardwalk?” she asked.
“We’re talking about it right now,” Gillian responded. “I know they’re calling all of the time.”
For previous phases of the work, the city began immediately after Columbus Day Weekend. That’s when the huge fall Block Party takes place along Asbury Avenue.
Deadline March 25
Gillian said the city got lucky in previous phases with the weather, but that it could not count on that luck holding forever. The project has to be completed by the weekend of Palm Sunday (March 25, 2018), he said, and a snowy winter could make that timeline impossible. He suggested the work could be delayed about a week, but no more.
“I can’t make everybody happy, but I’ll need the support of council if they don’t like some of the decisions we’ve made,” said Gillian, who owns and operates Gillian’s Wonderland Amusement Pier on the boardwalk.
“Believe me; I understand boardwalk livelihood. We’ll do the best we can. We might be able to squeak a week, maybe,” he said.
Til Block Party
While things typically slow down after Labor Day Weekend, weekends are usually busy through September. Many merchants see Block Party weekend as the turning point when things slow dramatically.
Not everybody packs up and closes shop.
After the meeting, boardwalk merchants contacted for this story said some along those two blocks remain open all year. Jewell cited a Christmas shop in that area.
“I’m a kids’ store, and they’re closing me before Halloween. That’s a problem,” said Chrissy Triggiani, who owns the shop Bad Kitty at 1064 Boardwalk. “That’s a big deal for us.”
Make or Break
Jamie Ford, who owns Barefoot Trading Company at 1070 Boardwalk, said the fall could make the difference between a business making money one year or falling behind.
“My rent is paid, my product is bought. This is where I make my profit,” he said. But he said his primary frustration is with a lack of communication from the city.
He said customers are asking when he will be closed for the year, and he can’t really say.
Mayoral Angst
In City Council chambers, Gillian expressed frustrations of his own.
“I tried to explain to them; it’s not just the boardwalk merchants. There’s a whole community that uses that boardwalk all the time,” he said.
That became obvious when the city closed the boardwalk for previous projects, he said. People wanted access to the boardwalk all year. “It’s in our best interest to do it as quickly as possible in the best weather we can.”
The project calls for the contractor to demolish the boardwalk and the substructure and rebuild from the ground up, according to city spokesman Doug Bergen.
Yellow Pine, Not Ipe
With this final phase of the work, the total cost of the project will be about $10 million. While some sections of the boardwalk have used a tropical hardwood known as ipe in the past, Bergen said this project includes a decking of yellow pine.
However, the planks of the deck will be thicker than the deck that’s being replaced, which he said will mean the deck will last longer than previous pine decks.
He said the city recognizes it will be a hardship for some businesses to close, but added that if the boardwalk is not maintained, it will mean a bigger problem in future years.
Wanted: Jan. 1 Start
In a phone interview, Triggiani recognized the work had to be done but was worried about her livelihood.
There was no easy consensus as to when the work could take place. At the meeting, Gillian said merchants wanted to delay until after Christmas, which he indicated would be way too late to start.
“They’re breathing down our necks. They wanted to start Jan. 1,” he said.
But Jewell said the first day at the beach, a big event following Ocean City’s First Night celebration on New Year’s Eve, is a big day for his store if the weather’s nice.
To contact Bill Barlow, email bbarlow@cmcherald.com.

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