by Ron Lieber
Thursday, September 2, 2010

It’s hard to read the headlines and not conclude that becoming a homeowner is a terrible idea.

Last week, the National Association of Realtors announced that existing-home sales in July had fallen an astounding 25.5 percent from the previous year. Sure, there was a federal tax credit in place last summer. But with single-family home sales at their lowest level since 1995 and unemployment still stubbornly high, home prices may fall further.

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In the meantime, millions of homeowners are still far underwater, and government programs to help them have fallen well short of their goals. More foreclosures are coming, casting a deeper shadow over home prices. So it’s hardly surprising that the conventional wisdom says that home values will never again rise faster than inflation.

But as with stocks and the weather, it is dangerous to assume any certainty in the housing market. And by wallowing too much in the misery of others, people looking for a new place to live run the risk of thinking every home purchase will end in regret, at least financially.

Many still could, if they buy in hard-hit areas where prices could fall further.

[See Which Is Cheaper: High-Rise or House With Yard?]

But a mortgage is still a form of long-term forced savings, after all. This is more important than ever, since fewer people have access to generous pensions than they did during the last big housing slump. A 401(k) or similar plan is no bargain, either, with its erratic returns and employer matches that come and go as the economic winds shift. Social Security is also likely to be less generous, and Medicare will probably cost more.

Besides, owning a home isn’t just about what shows up on a net worth statement — something that bears repeating after all the “investing” that people thought they were doing when buying homes over the last 10 or 15 years. Many of these more qualitative factors, from living free of a landlord’s whim to having access to a good school district or retirement community, haven’t changed and probably never will.

It is possible, as a homeowner, to make very little money but still buy plenty of happiness. So before you swear off real estate, reconsider a few of the basics.

Worst Cases

Some buyers may rue the day in 2010 they bought their homes. They may end up like those who bought in 2006 and have lost their jobs. Now those people face the difficulty of moving to pursue employment elsewhere because they owe much more than their homes are worth.

Marke Hallowell and Allison Firmat, who are getting married next month, are well aware of the history. Yet they plan to put 5 percent or less down, using a fixed-rate mortgage backed by the Federal Housing Administration, once they find a condominium in southern Orange County, Calif. (They’ve already been outbid a few times.)

[See Where Home Values Are Falling Most]

Ms. Firmat is not working, and Mr. Hallowell is a Web developer. Does he worry about mobility problems or making the payments in the event of a job loss, given that he’s the sole breadwinner? “We’re getting such a good deal on interest rates that we could rent our place out,” he said.

Mr. Hallowell and Ms. Firmat say they believe their approach is conservative, at least compared to what they might have done five years ago.

“Nothing is going to change the rate we will have,” Mr. Hallowell said. “Condos like the ones we’re looking at now were unobtainable in the past, unless we went into something with a total balloon payment. There were times I was tempted, but never seriously.”

Indeed, many people who are buying at the moment are locking in mortgage rates of about 4.5 percent. A year ago, they might have paid 5.25 percent on a $300,000 loan for a monthly payment of about $1,657. Today, you could lock in a lower monthly payment of around $1,520 on a mortgage that size, or you might not need to borrow that much, given that prices have fallen in many areas.

Forced Savings

You may make nothing at all beyond inflation over time on a home, but the part of your mortgage payment that goes toward principal is a form of forced savings.

Sure, you might do better by renting and investing the difference between the rent and the total costs of ownership. But at least three things need to go right.

First, you need to actually save the money. Americans have trouble with that sort of plan. Then, you need an after-tax return that’s better than whatever a home would deliver. That’s a task that might not have gone so well over the last 10 or 12 years, and it involves its own future risk, given how little safer investments are returning now. Finally, you must not raid the savings along the way.

Difficult Landlords

A bank can kick you out only if you don’t pay your mortgage. But landlords can drive you away in any number of ways.

Laura Mapp and her husband, Carl Berg, rented from a relative, but it didn’t go particularly well. They found another landlord they liked, but came back from a holiday trip one year to a note saying he wanted to move in himself. They had a month to scram. (The note came with a bottle of wine, at least.)

In yet another rental, they let their landlord know they were looking to buy and inquired about a month-to-month lease. No problem, their landlord said, as long as they used his boyfriend as their real estate agent.

Earlier this year, the couple gave up on landlords and bought a house in the Highland Park neighborhood in Seattle.

The Nice Part of Town

No matter how pretty the neighborhood, prices may still fall further in places like greater Detroit, Cleveland and Las Vegas; outlying areas of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Phoenix; and much of Florida.

But if you want to live in the Fox Hill Farm development in Glen Mills, Pa., you’ll have to buy because renters are not allowed, said Bob Kuhn, who lives there. The same may be true of other communities for older people.

And there may not be many family-size rentals — or at least any financial edge to be gained by renting — in suburbs or urban neighborhoods with excellent public schools.

After many years of building their down-payment fund and a couple of years of watching the listings in the Eagle Rock and Mount Washington areas of Los Angeles, Garret and Alison Williams realized that prices simply were not falling much there.

By the time they were ready to pounce this year, they had a big enough down payment and interest rates had fallen so far that renting didn’t make much financial sense, even if they could have found a rental big enough for them and their two small children.

“Had we rented, we would be paying more than we’re paying for a mortgage,” said Ms. Williams, who had lived in the same two-bedroom rental for 12 years before she and her family moved into their new house in Eagle Rock earlier this month. “I don’t see how we could really regret having made the move when it’s so much better for us on so many levels.”

White House Sub Shop in Atlantic City. (The Press of Atlantic City / Ben Fogletto)

Next spring, after 64 years of business in one spot, the White House sub shop will become a chain.

The family owning the sandwich landmark in Atlantic City’s Ducktown section has agreed to lease space for a second location a mile and a half away in the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, both businesses announced Thursday.

Husband and wife Brian and Mary Conley and her cousin, Genevieve Basile, members of the restaurant’s founding families, have owned White House at 2301 Arctic Ave. for six years. They’ve deflected other offers to open in casinos while they became familiar with the business, Brian Conley said.

“This just sounds like a good fit for us,” Conley said.

Conley expects to offer the same menu, with eat-in or take-out, and to open with some staff from the old. Conley said he didn’t know how the prices would compare: “The plan is to keep things as reasonable as possible.”

White House will be the hotel’s first locally based eatery, spokeswoman Mary Moyer said. It will replace the vacant Boardwalk Treats site in the second-floor shopping and dining area known as Spice Road.

Geotubes are exposed even more by the effects of former Hurricane Earl at New Jersey Avenue in Atlantic City on Saturday. Photo by: Anthony Smedile

By STEVEN LEMONGELLO Staff Writer | Saturday, September 4, 2010

Saturday’s brilliant blue skies revealed little major damage to area beaches in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Earl, which was a hurricane when it passed by the New Jersey coast on Friday afternoon.

Most beach patrols reported minor erosion, if any, mostly damage to already eroded beaches.

“We really dodged a bullet on this one,” said Brigantine Beach Patrol Chief Bob Guenther. “We anticipated a lot more flood tides and higher levels of water from tidal surges. But the tide was high by 3 p.m., and by 3:30 the tide had gone out. The wind helped, pushing the tide back out.”

“Things meshed together to keep barrier islands from being flooded out,” Guenther said.

At the surfing beach at New Jersey Avenue in Atlantic City, geotubes meant to capture and stabilize beach sand were displaced by Earl’s tides.

“That beach had no dunes anyway,” Atlantic City Beach Patrol Chief Rod Aluise said. “Some steps washed away, and there was some additional damage at States Avenue.”

On parts of Long Beach Island, meanwhile, the storm may actually have replenished the beach somewhat.

“We anticipate that the storm, along with last weekend’s storm, moved a lot of sand up out of the sand bars and onto the beaches,” Long Beach Township Beach Patrol Chief Don Myers said. “As soon as the weather calms down, we’ll have the best-looking beaches all summer.

In Ocean City, modest waves lapped the beaches at 59th Street where the 10th Annual Marie A. Becker Memorial Longboard Contest kicked off with about 100 participants.

“Right now the waves look OK, but nothing big, “ said Ricky Sanchez of Pleasantville, waiting to surf in Corsons Inlet State Park on the other side of the jetty from the competition. “They are just closing out very quick. I’ve gotta figure out some way of getting speed and getting on the face of the wave.”

In Ventnor, Beach Patrol Capt. Bill Howarth said that due Friday’s tide, “We lost a lot of beach from one end to the other. But nothing prevented us from opening up today.”

“It could have been worse,” Howarth added. “It’s not really as bad as we thought. Tides always come up to the dunes on one side of the pier and to the bulkheads on the other side. But most of the day is low tide anyway, so there will be plenty of room for everybody.”

On the beach at Newport Avenue in Ventnor, Paul Menno, of Winslow Township, Camden County, said the high water helped pack the beach down.

“It’s nice, “ Menno said. “The water came up so far, it kept the sand down. Even though it’s getting windy today, you’re not getting sandblasted.”

The gusty winds was all that prevented Saturday from being the perfect beach day. At Bartram Avenue in Atlantic City, the winds toppled a lifeguard stand and injured a lifeguard’s hand,” Aluise said.

In Ventnor, however, one beachgoer saw the gusts as an opportunity.

“We haven’t had the chance to fly the kite this summer,” said Renee Vennera, of Ventnor, holding 2-year-old son Renzo in one hand as 4-year-old Sandro tried to maneuver their monster-decorated kite. “It’s gorgeous, beautiful. I’m so glad we’re here. I think some people didn’t come down and are going to be really disappointed they didn’t.”

Beautiful weather is forecast to continue through the holiday weekend, with sunny skies and temperatures in the high 70s and low 80s expected.

Elsewhere, Massachusetts suffered a few hundred power outages, a handful of downed power lines and isolated flooding. Maine saw rain and churning surf, but no gusts strong enough to produce damage.

After skimming past both North Carolina and Massachusetts, Earl finally made landfall Saturday morning near Western Head, Nova Scotia, toppling some trees and knocking out power to more than 200,000 customers in Nova Scotia.

Jolly Roger Motel Wildwood Crest

By TRUDI GILFILLIAN Press of A.C. Staff Writer | Wed., Sept. 1, 2010

WILDWOOD CREST — New hotel construction or existing hotels and motels that undergo renovations will have to meet new parking requirements under a new borough ordinance.

The regulations, approved this week by Borough Commission, require onsite parking at hotels and motels of 1.2 spaces for units as large as 650 square feet.

Deborah Rogers, land-use administrator, said Wednesday that the town’s old guidelines allowed for one space per unit of that size.

“We’re slightly increasing parking requirements because most people come down with more than one car,” Rogers said. “It’s basically one more space for every five units.”

The new ordinance, created at the recommendation of the borough’s Planning Board, also specifies that tandem space, meaning parking one behind the other, is not allowed for units as large as 650 square feet.

Motel units of between 651 to 799 square feet must have two spaces, but tandem parking is permitted for those units, Rogers said.

“Parking is at a premium at the shore,” Rogers said.

The ordinance also requires additional parking for restaurants with more than 60 seats of one space for every six additional seats. Gift shops do not add to the parking requirement.

Rogers said the new ordinance applies to construction or renovations, not existing buildings.

Also this week, Borough Commission approved the purchase of a school district property near the Public Works building near Washington and Newark avenues.

Borough Clerk Kevin Yecco said the school district said it no longer needed the land, which hosted tennis courts and soccer fields.

The borough will pay $195,000 for the parcel, and Yecco said the borough could sell off the front lots along Newark Avenue.

The borough is buying three parcels all together.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted composite index of mortgage applications for the week ending August 20 increased 4.9%. Refinancing applications rose 5.7%. Purchase volume rose 0.6%. Refinancing made up 82% of total applications.

Orders for durable goods — items expected to last three or more years — rose 0.3% in July after decreasing a revised 0.1% in June. The increase was largely due to improved demand for commercial aircraft. Excluding volatile transportation-related goods, orders posted a monthly decrease of 3.8%.

New home sales fell 12.4% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 276,000 units from a revised rate of 315,000 units in June. It was the lowest reading since recordkeeping began in 1963. Economists had expected a pace of 330,000 units.

In its second report, the Commerce Department announced that gross domestic product — the total output of goods and services produced in the U.S. — increased at an annual rate of 1.6% in the second quarter of 2010, rather than the 2.4% increase initially reported.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 31,000 to 473,000 for the week ending August 21. Economists had projected claims would fall to 490,000. Continuing claims for the week ending August 14 fell by 62,000 to 4.46 million.

Upcoming on the economic calendar are reports on the housing price index on August 31, construction spending on September 1 and pending home sales on September 2.

Atlantic City Intl Airport

By ERIK ORTIZ Press of A.C. Staff Writer | Tuesday, August 24, 2010

More passengers traveled through Atlantic City International Airport in the first half of this year than in any comparable period ever before, validating a need for the facility to expand its services and position itself as an airport of convenience in the region, transportation officials said.

Figures provided Tuesday by the South Jersey Transportation Authority, which operates the airport, show the scheduled passenger count was more than 688,000 from January through July, an increase of nearly 29 percent from 534,339 passengers in the first seven months of 2009. The airport began commercial service in 1985.

June saw a 12 percent rise: 71,933 scheduled passengers in 2009 versus 80,746 in 2010. Scheduled passengers are those booked on a commercial flight departing the airport, currently through either Spirit Airlines or AirTran Airways. Arriving passengers are not counted.

The increase came even though Spirit, Atlantic City International’s main carrier, canceled daily flights to and from the Egg Harbor Township-based airport for five days in June because its pilots walked off the job in a contract dispute. Hundreds of Spirit pilots eventually ratified a new five-year contract in July.

SJTA spokeswoman Sharon Gordon said Spirit canceled 161 flights at the airport in June, 156 of which were directly related to the strike. AirTran benefited from the cancellations, flying out of the airport with “100 percent” capacity, Gordon added.

Now, the airport is planning a new economic impact study following one conducted in 2007. That report said more than 360,000 visitors came to the region using the airport and spent $185 million at local businesses.

Airport use is expected to increase following a $25 million expansion of its terminal and the opening of a federal inspection station to be used for customs.

“Spirit has already indicated that when we include the federal inspection station, they are prepared to offer direct international service,” Gordon said.

While the airport has wanted to diversify its carriers, having two low-cost airlines does help attract travelers, SJTA officials said.

In the first quarter of 2010, Atlantic City International had the lowest fares of the top 100 U.S. airports by passenger count, with tickets costing an average $187.78, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“The airport is easy to access, parking is just steps from the terminal, low-fare airlines make flying more affordable and the wait time from arrival to gate is minimal,” Bart Mueller, SJTA executive director, said in a statement.

But also helping its passenger numbers is that the airlines added more routes: Spirit began service to Boston last year and to Detroit in May, while AirTran began offering flights to Atlanta last year.

The airport did lose another carrier in May, WestJet, which ended service to Toronto because of low ticket sales.

Spirit, however, will add Chicago to its itinerary next spring.

While it is unclear how many passengers flying through Atlantic City International this year were local residents versus tourists, any surge in airport traffic will likely benefit the region, said Jeffrey Vasser, president of the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority.

His authority is in charge of marketing the resort, and he recently went to Boston to lure travel writers and bloggers to Atlantic City. A vibrant airport is pivotal to ensure tourists have faster access here, he added.

“We want them to say what a great trip Atlantic City was and how convenient it was to get there,” Vasser said.

AVALON – The first major rehabilitation project in the history of the bridge that serves as the gateway to the shore borough is set to start immediately after the summer tourism season comes to a close.

Cape May County is planning to begin work on the Avalon Canal Bridge, which connects the borough to County Road 601, on Sept. 7, the day after Labor Day.

The project is funded through grants from the Federal Highway Administration and expected to cost $3.3 million.

County Engineer Dale Foster said it will be the first major rehabilitation for the bridge in its 43-year history.

“It’s held up pretty well,” Foster said.

Despite its proven track record, the bridge needs a lot of work done, Foster said.

The 158-foot-long concrete deck must be replaced after having been riddled with potholes over the years. The deterioration has caused spalls – areas of concrete that have popped up and broken free – to form along the bridge, Foster said.

In addition to fixing the bridge, the construction is intended to ease traffic patterns into the borough by next summer.

Mugrose Construction Inc. of West Caldwell, New Jersey is the general contractor for the project, and Gibson Associates of Ocean View in Dennis Township will serve as the project engineer.

Foster said the county plans to widen the bridge so there are two lanes leading into the borough and one leading out. The bridge now has just one lane in both directions.

Foster said new traffic signals will include a left-turn lane for drivers exiting the borough, something that’s currently not in place.

“It won’t take care of all the backups there, but it’s definitely going to help,” Foster said.

Foster said the construction will require lines run by Comcast, Verizon and Atlantic City Electric to be pulled above ground during the construction.

Work is expected to take place from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and normal traffic patterns are expected to resume in time for Memorial Day, Foster said.

A dolphin leaps over the wake of a boat near the shore Friday near Pittsburgh Avenue in Cape May. Photo by: Dale Gerhard

By MICHAEL MILLER Press of AC Staff Writer | Saturday, August 21, 2010

Dolphins can be seen from most beaches in southern New Jersey between June and September, but this summer they have been especially abundant along Cape May Point State Park, where they have been seen frolicking near the shore almost every day.

“We’ve noticed a trend that they’ve been down at Cape May Point State Park more this year than the Delaware Bay or Wildwood,” said Capt. Jeff Stewart Jr., who operates the Cape May Whale Watcher, a whale and dolphin tour boat based in Lower Township.

Stewart has been tracking dolphins aboard his tour boat since 1993. He said Cape May Point’s beaches form a natural cove that draws baitfish, which attract dolphins.

“Dolphins eat 40 to 50 pounds of fish every day,” he said. “Cape May Point is a natural fishing spot.”

The dolphins use the beach to corral their food. The beach at Cape May Point State Park has a steep incline at the water’s edge that allows the dolphins to swim remarkably close to land – in some cases mere yards away as they torpedo through the surf.

“When they’re feeding in the morning before the beaches get crowded, they’ll school the fish within a few feet of the shoreline,” said Peter Pietras, captain of the Cape May Point Beach Patrol.

Pietras said the dolphins seem to put on a regular show, especially on days when the water is choppy.

“They were doing it today,” Pietras said earlier this week. “They’re playing in the waves. That’s what it looks like.”

Pietras said the borough’s beaches attract large pods of dolphins every summer. When the lifeguards swim or row their boats out in the morning, they give the dolphins the right of way, he said.

“I think all the guards enjoy watching them. They’re beautiful animals,” he said.

Cape May Point State Park, much of which is in Lower Township, is a popular attraction among school and church groups. Park naturalist Matt Pellegrine said some children see their first dolphins there.

“It’s almost a magical experience for them,” he said. “We get a lot of comments about them.”

Pellegrine said he sometimes sees the dolphin’s aerial acrobatics. He is most impressed with one of their apparent feeding strategies in the shallows.

“I noticed it looks like they’re trying to do a headstand,” he said. “They’re probably trying to get flounder. Their tail is flapping on the surface.”

This beach, with its accommodating tides and ready source of food, serves as a calving ground, Stewart said.

“We’ve seen quite a few newborn calves there,” Stewart said.

These day-old dolphins are usually jet black with wrinkled sides and a dorsal fin that lolls over to one side, which facilitates birthing, Stewart said.

Jackie Toth, a researcher at Rutgers University’s marine field station in Tuckerton, has studied New Jersey’s dolphins for years.

“Not much is known about the New Jersey population that hangs out here,” she said.

Toth said she frequently sees dolphins leaping out of the water, splashing or smacking their tails on the surface. She said it is not always easy to determine why dolphins perform some of their stunts.

“We just don’t know. Maybe they’re happy about a whole bunch of food they just found. They’re very playful animals, and very active and social,” she said.

Stewart said dolphins are opportunistic hunters that adopt techniques to suit their environments. On some beaches in the Carolinas, dolphins have been known to nearly beach themselves to catch fish. In Florida, some dolphins create bubble nets, much like whales do to corral schools of fish.

“This is learned behavior,” she said.

But everywhere she goes, dolphins appeal to people, Toth said. Maybe it’s that grinning countenance or their natural grace, she said.

“We see dolphins the most. That’s the biggest draw,” she said. ” I think right whales are absolutely amazing animals. But how often do you see a right whale off Cape May?”

But Toth said their abundance is not the only reason for the dolphins’ charm.

“They’re playful, charismatic, beautiful animals,” she said.

Steel Pier amusement park has been owned and operated since 1992 by Anthony Catanoso, 55, of Cape May Court House, his brothers and Ed Olwell, who all co-own Atlantic Pier Amusements. Photo by: Edward Lea

By KEVIN POST, Business Editor | Posted: Sunday, August 15, 2010

ATLANTIC CITY — There is much that is unique about Steel Pier, starting with its crucial role as the Boardwalk’s only amusement park.

In a town full of entertainment for adults, Steel Pier stands almost alone as a place for kids.

On Sunday, three of them were sons of Stephanie Fisher, 38, of Frederick, Md.

Fisher said she and her husband, Robert, 35, have been coming to Atlantic City about every other weekend for the past two years.

When it’s open, Steel Pier is the daytime highlight.

“It’s the kids’ turn for fun during the day, then it’s our turn at night,” she said. “I would like to see more attractions like this in Atlantic City.”

While older (and taller) brothers Casey and Jordon got to drive the motorized carts, Dylan Fisher, 8, said he likes Steel Pier because it has “lots of kids stuff.”

“I especially like the Disko and the Rocket,” he said.

The Disko is another thing unique about Steel Pier.

The big spinning saucer on a half pipe is one of four rides whose first U.S. appearance was on Steel Pier, said Anthony Catanoso, 55, of Cape May Court House.

Catanoso, along with brothers Chuck, Bill and Joe, all of Cape May, and Ed Olwell, of North Wildwood, co-owns Atlantic Pier Amusements, which owns and operates the amusement park.

The pier’s slingshot Rocket ride was the first of its kind to use, instead of bungee cords, steel cables and springs for propulsion skyward, with an electromagnet holding the passenger ball in place until liftoff, Anthony Catanoso said.

The Crazy Mouse spinning roller coaster was a first when it was introduced in 1996, and this year’s national debut was the Steel Pier Monster Plunge.

“That’s a drop and spin tower, with a 50 foot tower,” Catanoso said. “No other tower in the country spins as it drops.”

At the ocean end of Steel Pier is another ride he said is unique to the Jersey Shore: helicopter tours.

Up to three passengers can choose one of three tours, starting at $39 each. “We also do packages with various hotels and bed and breakfasts in the area,” he said.

Atlantic Amusements started on Steel Pier in 1992 after Trump Entertainment found out the state wouldn’t approve plans for condo development across the Boardwalk from its flagship Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort.

The amusement park has grown steadily since — this year adding two kids rides in addition to the spinning drop tower — and now has 25 rides, 22 games of chance, 11 food outlets and four retail outlets, Catanoso said. The Flores Family performs a free motorcycle show inside a big steel ball at the pier entrance four to six times a day.

The growth has been driven by an increase in families, he said, and on the Fourth of July this year more than 30,000 people went onto the pier.

The market niche the park has developed fits nicely into Gov. Christie’s plan to make Atlantic City, and especially its Boardwalk, more family friendly, he said.

“I feel good about the governor’s initiative. I think it’s going to help, concentrating on more noncasino, nongaming attractions, and also talking about public-private partnerships,” Catanoso said.

In particular, he thinks it’s time for Atlantic Pier Amusements to get public help — perhaps from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority — with funding a major attraction such as a $4 million roller coaster.

“We’ve been here 19 years and we never took any public money,” he said, but now it could be time. “We’re the perfect candidate.”

A coaster would be a major draw and add to the pier’s strongest segment, thrill rides, he said. And bolstering the city’s best-performing tourist attractions makes sense.

“Even last year, in a bad economy, the four segments that increased were Steel Pier, The Walk, Gardner’s Basin and Atlantic City Cruises,” Catanoso said. “All are noncasino, all family entertainment, succeeding in a sluggish casino environment.”

Before it can add a coaster or other high-end attraction, Atlantic Pier also needs to get a longer lease than the two- and three-year increments Trump Entertainment has offered previously, he said.

“Hopefully we’ll enter into a longer lease. There are indications that we’ll get one,” he said.

Whatever the future of Steel Pier, it will always have its other unique attribute: A 20th century history as the Showplace of the Nation that helped launch the careers of Burns and Allen, Frank Sinatra and many others.

That keeps entertainers such as Kim Delaney and Pia Zadora, as well as sports stars Allen Iverson, Julius “Dr. J.” Erving and Shaquille O’Neal, coming to walk on the entertainment world’s sacred ground above the ocean

“We try to give them their space. We don’t bug them too much,” Catanoso said.

Owner: Atlantic Pier Amusements; principals Anthony Catanoso, of Cape May Court House, and brothers Chuck, Bill and Joe, all of Cape May, and Ed Olwell, of North Wildwood

Founded: 1992

Employees: 200

Revenue: Undisclosed

The pier is located at 1000 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ, 08401.  The pier is open 3 p.m. to midnight Monday through Friday, noon to 1 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Single tickets are $0.75, 35-ticket books are $25, 80-ticket books are $50, 200-ticket books are $100. For more information, call 866-386-6659, 609- 345-4893 or click here for a link to the park’s website.

A train from Cape May Seashore Lines carries passengers from Rio Grande to the the Cape May Station on Lafayette Street. The train crosses the swing bridge over the Cape May Canal.

By RICHARD DEGENER, Press of AC Staff Writer | Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Related Links

• Related: Cape May Seashore Lines schedules, fares and information

CAPE MAY — Passenger train service to the city resumed Tuesday for the first time in five years, and it happened without much fanfare.

City officials were not even aware Cape May Seashore Lines had brought back the service. It was announced to about 400 railroad buffs on the social networking site Facebook, and about 40 passengers were on the first run from Rio Grande.

Cape May Seashore Lines President Tony Macrie was on the first train Tuesday morning.

“We are back, Jack,” said Macrie shortly after the two railroad cars pulled into the station here off Lafayette Street.

Macrie said bystanders were excited seeing the train steam down the track.

“Kids were running to the train. People were waving. People in swimming pools were jumping up,” Macrie said.

The city had train service from 1863 to 1983, mostly during an era when trains were used to bring tourists to the resort. The rise of the automobile and paved highways to the shore after World War II led to the demise of train service, but Cape May Seashore Lines returned as a tourist attraction in 1999.

Macrie said it was going pretty good until 2005, when a series of problems arose. The setbacks included mechanical issues with the swinging railroad bridge across the Cape May Canal. They were fixed in 2006, and Macrie was planning to restart in 2007, when an April Northeast storm damaged the tracks and stranded his locomotives in Tuckahoe.

Macrie also had a well-publicized battle with Middle Township over storing some cars in Rio Grande but said those problems have since been ironed out.

“We just got a letter of support from Middle Township. The timing is right to get things running,” Macrie said.

Local officials were not aware trains were returning, but Cape May Point Mayor Carl Schupp was excited about the development, partly because he believes trains could be useful for hurricane evacuations.

“That’s great. It may be useful to emergency management if we ever needed to evacuate,” said Schupp.

Macrie said he has promoted the idea for years. He said he could run 10 cars at a time with 80 people per car. The track is currently clear from Cape May to Cape May Court House and eventually could go to Tuckahoe or even further north and west.

“There’s probably no better way to get people out of here,” Macrie said.

For now, he’s just looking for paying customers. The plan is to operate three runs a day between Rio Grande and Cape May from Tuesday through Friday into Labor Day weekend.

“We have ample parking in Rio Grande. It’s $10 per round trip for adults and $5 for kids age 2 to 12. We want to keep it reasonable and get people to ride,” Macrie said.

Passengers exit the train after arriving in Cape May.