By Matt Lobosco |
MIDDLETOWN – After years of fighting to recover from Super Storm Sandy, the Leonardo boating community took a huge step in its recovery from the storm.
On Saturday, June 10, officials from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) joined boaters, local officials and summer visitors to celebrate National Marina Day by unveiling the marina’s new office building. The day-long event began with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the building and included kayak tours, and craft and food vendors.
Open since 1963, Leonardo State Marina is one of New Jersey’s six state marinas. The 17-acre facility along the shores of Sandy Hook Bay provides 176 berths for boaters as well as numerous educational programs for young people during the summer. However, several structures which provided services crucial to the operation of the marina were completely destroyed by Sandy, including its garage, its office, and its public restrooms.
Now the marina has a brand new building to provide virtually all the services lost from the storm. Along with restoring office space for the marina staff, the building provides new showers, bathrooms, a lobby area and a multipurpose room including a kitchenette, tables and chairs.
The one-story structure stands across from the marina on the other side of Concord Avenue, which runs the length of the harbor.
“This marina has been here for years. If you took a ride up the coast here, the boats all got lifted up and corralled and a lot of them were out of the water. This place was devastated,” said Richard Boornazian, DEP assistant commissioner. “We think this is a vibrant community. So it’s not only a service, it’s an amenity to have this marina here. This is a great boating community and we want to keep it here.”
Boornazian said he was at the marina two days after the storm and could not believe the devastation. He emphasized his excitement over the hard work of the staff and the enthusiasm of the community for getting the office built. For as destructive as Sandy was, the staff and the town saw this as an opportunity to make the marina even better.
Maggie Mitchell, superintendent of the parks and forestry division of the DEP, shared Boornazian’s outlook. “Opening this building and getting this open benefits everyone in the community,” she said.
Ronald Sebring, owner of Ronald A. Sebring Associates, LLC and creator of the blueprint for architecture of the office building, echoed the feelings of the marina staff about the opportunity brought on by this project. He said he believed the facilities that existed prior to Sandy had many issues that were essentially being covered with Band-Aids. Sebring said the facilities “in my mind needed updating” and Sandy brought an opportunity to fix those issues.
Perhaps the new building can serve as a small silver lining in what has been a difficult recovery from Sandy. After five years of looking for a source of stimulation and excitement, the Leonardo community appears galvanized by the construction of the marina’s new office building.
“This is a great community. I love the way things turned out. This building will last for a very long time,” Boornazian said.
This article was first published in the June 15-June 22, 2017 print edition of The Two River Times.
