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The Atlantic City takeover removes virtually all local control from the gaming district, from police protection to garbage pickup. At the same time the state is finally throwing in the towel on state-backed harness racing, which lost nearly $10 million last year.

The plans — reviewed by The Star-Ledger — were outlined in a report by a special commission created by the governor in February and charged with the task of deciding how best to fix the state’s faltering casino and horse racing industries.

The governor’s office put an advisory this afternoon saying only that Christie will announce the findings of the commission Wednesday at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, and in Atlantic City, but provided no detail. A spokesman for the governor declined comment.

The recommendations, as outlined in the commission report, call for the most significant changes in New Jersey’s once lucrative entertainment, sports and gaming venues since casino gambling was approved and the opening of the Meadowlands in 1976.

Under the plan:

• Atlantic City’s entertainment and gaming districts would become an independent city within a city overseen by state government. That includes the casinos, the marina, beachfront and Boardwalk areas. Those parts of the city would all be put under the administration of a state authority directly answerable to governor.

• New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority would be all but disbanded, becoming simply a landlord for the facilities it now operates.

• The Meadowlands Racetrack could be sold for a token $1, or turned into an off-track wagering facility without live horse racing. The plan also recommends that the Izod Center arena be privatized or sold.

• In addition, the state would help re-finance the long-stalled Xanadu project in the Meadowlands, enabling a new developer to take control of the garish, high-visibility retail and entertainment complex alongside the New Jersey Turnpike that many consider an embarrassment.

• Financial aid to help complete Xanadu would be contingent on changing the building’s much-hated mutli-color exterior, and requiring that it be an entertainment complex, not simply another mall.

The recommendations were made by a seven-member commission headed by former sports authority chairman Jon F. Hanson, who ironically was one of the movers behind the expansion of the Meadowlands Sports Complex and the reach of the sports authority.

Previous coverage:

• Gov. Chris Christie plans review of N.J. sports, shows, gaming management

• Gov. Chris Christie to make sure N.J. sports authority stays afloat

• Gov. Christie creates oversight panel for struggling N.J. casino, sports industries

• N.J. Sports Authority seeks $30M state subsidy as losses mount

• N.J. Sports Authority audit is sought by lawmakers amid mounting debt

• N.J. Sports Authority faces $30M budget gap despite cuts to operations, payroll

• Sports Authority needs N.J. bailout funds to continue operations, state auditor says

• Star-Ledger Editorial: New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority’s time has passed. Let’s kill it.

Both Atlantic City casinos and the Meadowlands Racetrack have steadily been losing market share to out-of-state competition as gamblers are lured by places far closer to spend their money.

In recent years, Yonkers Raceway in New York added slot machines, becoming a “racino.” Foxwoods in Connecticut continues to attract players from New York and northern New Jersey. And just last week, casinos in eastern Pennsylvania began operating table games once exclusive to Atlantic City, including poker and blackjack.

Some legislators have long pushed to turn the Meadowlands — only about eight miles from Times Square and now served by a new rail line — into the new Atlantic City. There has been legislation introduced that would allow slots or video lottery terminals at the racetrack, as well as serious discussions about turning Xanadu, which was never competed, into a casino serving the metropolitan area.

But the Hanson report specifically rejects any expansion of gambling at the Meadowlands. The Atlantic City casinos and the 38,000 jobs they provide remain an economic engine for southeastern New Jersey, and the report argues that Atlantic City be given a chance to get better before consideration is given to gaming anywhere else in the state.

Left unsaid was that the only hope Christie had for getting Hanson’s recommendations enacted was to keep casino gambling in Atlantic City alone. Any move to put gambling in the Meadowlands would result in certain opposition from Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), who could unilaterally kill any of the legislation needed. Sweeney and the rest of the South Jersey contingent in the Legislature are vehemently opposed to gaming licenses being issued outside of Atlantic City.

Instead, the play is being made to keep Atlantic City a major destination resort and in fact expand its entertainment and amusement offerings. The report calls for the revival of the city’s convention business, which has gotten little promotional assistance. Criticizing a generation of underinvestment in non-gaming activities, it also suggests adding family type amusement rides on the boardwalk, and possibly the addition of a NASCAR track.

The report, though, was highly critical of Atlantic City’s municipal government. According to the report, developers, businesses and casino companies are now wary of investing there while visitors are reluctant to come because of a perception that it is not safe.

The authority would take control of security, planning and traffic in the district, essentially becoming a city within a city. Boardwalk Hall and the convention center would be taken over by the district, while the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority would be shuttered. Money from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, now shared throughout the state, would stay in Atlantic City.

The report also called for sweeping changes and updates in the state’s gaming regulations, mirroring them more closely on Nevada. Rules and laws need to be updated and eased based on changes in technology since the casino rules in New Jersey were first drafted a generation ago — before the explosion of computers and prior to the gaming industry being taken over by multi-national conglomerates based in far-flung locales.

The report calls for the near-dismantling of the sports authority, which currently operates Meadowlands Racetrack and the Izod Center, Monmouth Park Racetrack, the Atlantic City Convention Center, Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall and the Wildwood Convention Center.

Created by the Legislature in 1971, the authority is operating in the red this year, largely because of massive losses in horse racing, as well as funding lost with the closing of Giants Stadium. The old stadium had generated $20 million in income for the authority. Under terms of a deal with the Jets and Giants, however, the authority will see only $6.3 million in lease payments this season when the two football teams move to the privately operated New Meadowlands Stadium.

Under the plan proposed by the Hanson commission, the authority’s operations would be privatized through sale or lease, and the agency itself would become little more than a landlord. The Izod Center would remain open, but sold or leased through a bidding procedure, and operated by a private company.

The authority, which drew fire earlier this year after disclosures that it spent more than $1 million to secure seats in the new football stadium, will be required to sell its seat licenses by March of next year.

The report also recommends that the state offer the Meadowlands Racetrack to the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association for $1 a year, or simply eliminating racing there and turning the facility into an off-track wagering hall. A project to build another OTW facility in Bayonne would be delayed, pending a final decision on the Meadowlands.

Monmouth Park, which runs thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport and expects to lose $10.9 million this year, would be leased out or sold as well.

Xanadu, the stalled retail and entertainment complex next to the Izod Center, would also be revived under the plan.

The $2 billion facility — which features an indoor ski slope, skydiving wind tunnels, hundreds of retail shops and restaurants, and was to be crowned with the country’s tallest Ferris wheel — had been slated to open in 2007, but ran into financing problems and sits unfinished amid questions over the long-term viability of the project. Billionaire real estate developer Steve Ross and his investment partners have been in discussions with the Christie administration for months about possibly taking over the project, but wanted state financing.

Under the proposals put on the table by Hanson’s commission, the state would either put up its own bonding or federal Recovery Zone Facilities bonds, charging the debt against future tax revenue. In return for the financing, state would expect to get an equity position in the project. Financing would be contingent on the Xanadu exterior being redesigned.

If the Xanadu project is not put back on track by year’s end, the report said the state should proceed with foreclosure.

Some of what the governor is calling for can be done through executive orders, but must of it will require approval of the state Legislature — a process that could take time.

By Josh Margolin and Ted Sherman/The Star-Ledger

Michele and Bill Collins of Corbin City designed the family bedroom and sleeping porch for Windsong on Wesley, this year’s RNS Show House. The house, located in Ocean City, opens for tours on Saturday.

By BAILEY CLARK, For The Press of A.C. – Friday, July 9, 2010

Sometimes, interior-design perfection means working to the very last minute.

The smell of fresh paint was strong and the sounds of hammering and power tools filled the air as designers and crew members scrambled this week to put the finishing touches on “Windsong On Wesley,” the 19th Annual Designer Show House for the Ruth Newman Shapiro Cancer and Heart Fund which opens to the public on Saturday.

Twenty-one spaces in the turn-of-the-century Dutch Colonial house on Wesley Avenue have been transformed into minor works of interior-design art. The room treatments ranged from eclectic and dreamy to chic and subdued.

This is the first time Ocean City has hosted the show house. Charlotte Berger, publicity chairperson for RNS, said that they were hoping the location would bring many visitors to the event. “They have a lot of tourists in the summer, and we’re hoping that people will find it interesting,” she said.

Designer John Kelly, of Philadelphia, was still waiting for plantation-style shutters and shower doors to come in for his upstairs bedroom and bathroom on Wednesday afternoon. A girly space featuring upholstered walls and lots of white and pink, he described his approach as “a nice, airy, cool, beachy bedroom.”

“I have been with RNS for 19 years, and if there ever was a show house that I didn’t think was going to get done in time, this is the one,” said Kelly. “But, it somehow always manages to get done.”

Donna Tursi of Tursi Interiors LLC, based in West Chester, Pa., worked with Joseph Tenaglia, from Joseph Design L.L.C. of Wildwood Crest, to create the relaxing living room featuring neutral colors, starfish accents, nautical rope treatments on the walls and a unique mirrored fireplace. Tursi said that Tenaglia’s contemporary and avant-garde style meshed well with her own traditional approach.

“I tuned him down, and he tuned me up,” she said. Tursi was also waiting for more accessories to come in to complete the room.

Mary Dima, of Daroo Designs, collaborated with Meg Clemm, of Katy MacKenzie Designs, both from Blue Bell, Pa., to create “Surfside Soiree,” a lush and beautiful dining room featuring pastel colors, Louis XV chairs and a crystal chandelier.

“We did not want it to be typical beachy. We call it ‘elegant beachy,’” said Dima.

“We just tried to keep it serene and peaceful,” she added.

Visitors might find themselves daydreaming about living in the 4,500-square-foot privately-owned house, which is just as functional as it is stylish.

A soothing bedroom designed by Bill and Michele Collins, of Painted River Studios in Corbin City, includes white wood-paneled walls, a large painting of the ocean, and lots of blue. “We designed it to look like an old beach house,” said Michele Collins.

Collins envisioned visiting families with kids when designing the suite, which opens up to a sleeping porch with kid-sized custom beds with cubby holes underneath. A ladder leads to an attic playroom stocked with board games.

A tropics-themed sleeping porch makes creative use of a small space with a custom hanging bed suspended by rope and a bench with colorful, detailed upholstery.

“Sometimes small spaces intimidate people, because with a space so confined you wonder what you can possibly get from that,” said designer Beth Reale, who worked with Alicia Brown-Kosko on the room. Both designers hail from Interiors by Alicia, based in Williamstown. “I think we accomplished something very serene, very tropical, and a little rustic,” she said.

Visitors can take home more than interior decorating inspiration. On “Meet the Designer Night,” held every Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m., designers and vendors will be at the house to discuss their work. Furniture and accessories will also be available for purchase.

The $25 admission to the show house, which is available at the door, includes admission to a series of five lectures to be held on Thursday mornings, on topics ranging from health care to the history of Ocean City.

The house will be open through August 15th, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, it will have extended hours until 8 p.m.

The proceeds from “Windsong on Wesley” will benefit AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center’s RNS Digital Mammography Van and the Cancer Centers at Shore Memorial Hospital and Cape Regional Medical Center.

For tickets and more information, visit www.rnscancerandheartfund.org

From Press of A.C. staff reports | Thursday, July 8, 2010

Joseph Romano Sr., owner of Sea Isle Ice Co., died Wednesday, several local officials and friends of the popular businessman said.

Assemblyman Jack Gibson said Romano, 73, was his “best friend,” and that he had just had lunch with him Tuesday and he seemed fine. Romano began feeling ill Tuesday night and sought medical attention Wednesday. He was being taken to a hospital in Philadelphia when he died, Gibson said.

“We were friends since we were kids,” Gibson said. “He was a pioneer in this town, a good businessman and a fair man. He will be greatly missed.”

Romano moved to the Sea Isle when he was 9, Gibson said, and he never left. Sea Isle Ice Co. got its start in Sea Isle in 1965, and branched out with a plant in Woodbine 20 years ago.

He was a member of various civic and business organizations, and at one point served on the Sea Isle Board of Education, Gibson said.

But while interested in politics, Romano never chose political sides, instead opting to help build up his communities, something he did first in Sea Isle and later in Woodbine.

Woodbine Mayor William Pikolycky said Romano was a huge asset to his community.

The company employs 75 people and operates 50 delivery trucks, according to its website. Pikolycky said Romano’s business provided many jobs to local residents.

“Joe was an outstanding member of this community,” Pikolycky said. “He believed in Woodbine, and he gave this town a lot.

“I’m going to miss him. I depended on Joe a lot for his insight.”

Press of A.C. staff reports | Tuesday, July 6, 2010

The Cape May County Emergency Management Communications Center is asking municipal emergency management coordinators and local police to consider opening cooling centers for residents and visitors.

Meanwhile, the county says it’s senior centers are open to elderly who need relief from the heat.

With temperatures expected to reach 100 today and the heat to last through Thursday night, the county is asking the towns to consider people stranded by the conditions. 

Cape May County Emergency Management Director Frank McCall said, “The Cooling Center does not have to be elaborate. It should be air conditioned and water, juice, chairs and cots should be available if possible.”

Additionally, municipalities were asked to inform their local Dispatch Center, Police, Fire, EMS and the media of the opening and location of their Cooling Center.

 McCall added, “It is important that we in Cape May County be attuned to the needs of our residents and visitors. While our summer months can be very enjoyable, conditions like we are experiencing this week can have a serious impact on our children, senior citizens and individuals who may have medical conditions that leave them vulnerable to the effects of scorching heat and record-like temperatures. 

The Cape May County Senior Centers are open from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm at the following locations:

–Howard Stainton Senior Center 3304 Bay Ave, Ocean City,  398-2552

–Lower Cape Senior Center, 2612 Bayshore Rd. Villas, 886-0070

–North Wildwood Senior Center, 10th & Central Aves, North Wildwood, 729-2090

–Upper Twp. Senior Center, 1369 Old Stagecoach Rd, Palermo, 390-1969

By TRUDI GILFILLIAN Press of A.C. Staff Writer | Thursday, July 8, 2010

WILDWOOD — City Commission opted Wednesday night not to vote on a plan to allow the city’s bars to stay open an extra hour. Instead, the commissioners will consider a new proposal to allow the bars to stay open 24 hours a day from May to October.

After a public hearing that lasted about three and a half hours, Mayor Gary DeMarzo and Commissioner Edward Harshaw said they did not support allowing the bars to remain open one extra hour because they agreed the additional hour would be off little value to the bars. But they embraced a suggestion made by John Davis, bar manager at Luna Ristorante on Pacific Avenue.

Davis, a former city police officer speaking on behalf of the city’s tavern owners, said the bars needed every advantage to compete with neighboring municipalities in a difficult economy.

“We propose that we open 24 hours a day for the tourist season,” Davis said, explaining the season stretched from May to October.

He pointed to resorts such as Atlantic City, Brigantine and Las Vegas that allow alcohol service 24 hours a day.

Davis said the idea could increase business for Wildwood’s bars and eliminate the city’s bar break, that period of time after the 3 a.m. closing time when hundreds of bargoers spill out into city streets.

“What do you have to lose?” Davis asked.

Davis said he worked the midnight shift for 18 years and knows well that the 3 a.m. closing sends bar patrons into the streets and neighborhoods all at one time.

“This would alleviate the mass exodus,” Davis said.

Commissioner Al Brannen, who opposed allowing the bars to stay open until 4 a.m., also opposed the 24-hour idea.

DeMarzo and Harshaw, however, said the proposal has merit.

They amended the ordinance that would have allowed the 4 a.m. closing and added the 24-hour plan. A public hearing on the revised ordinance now is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. July 28.

During Wednesday’s hearing, dozens of residents and business owners spoke for or against the time change.

Currently, the city’s bars operate under an ordinance that requires “alcoholic beverages shall not be permitted to be sold, served, delivered or dispensed between the hours of 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. in any premises licensed to sell alcoholic beverages.”

That ordinance was adopted in a 1997 vote in which 54 percent of residents supported moving the closing time back from 5 a.m. to 3 a.m.

That change was prompted in part by the Feb. 15, 1997, death of John Vollrath Jr., a 23-year-old North Wildwood man who died after being beaten outside the former Club Kaladu. Police were called to the scene that day at 2:36 a.m.

One resident said she remembered the 1997 incident and how it had hurt Wildwood’s reputation.

Others said Wildwood is a resort that serves many segments like Walt Disney World.

Wildwood Crest resident Joseph DiEduardo, whose family owns a city bar, said the city could serve a range of visitors including families and others without conflict.

“Even Disney has a nightclub area,” he said.

Others, such as resident Larry Lillo, said the bars have 20 hours a day to operate and that should be enough.

“I don’t want to see the bars open late,” Lillo said. “All we’re doing is giving more alcohol to people who don’t need more alcohol.”

Still, others said the city’s Police Department should do more to enforce existing laws and make Pacific Avenue, the city’s struggling downtown area, a safer place for visitors and residents.

Attorney David Stefankiewicz, who operates Good Night Irene’s, said the bars need an edge to compete with neighboring towns.

“I do think we need a better police presence,” Stefankiewicz added.

Brannen continued to argue that there are other ways, such as live music, to attract business beyond extending the bar hours, and he urged city residents to patronize the city’s bars and restaurants.

“We have to wake up this town to support bars and restaurants on Pacific Avenue,” he said.

Stuart McGinnis displays the low-speed models at South Jersey Electric Vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires low-speed vehicles to have headlights, tail lights, brake lights, turn signals, mirrors, parking brakes, windshields, safety belts and vehicle identification numbers — even though they only go as fast as 25 mph.

By KEVIN POST, Press of A.C. Business Editor | Sunday, July 4, 2010

A strong market is emerging for small electric-powered vehicles and southern New Jersey — with its barrier island communities and many campgrounds — is an early adopter of them.

Called low-speed vehicles, or LSVs, they look like beefed-up golf carts, from which they evolved in the past decade.

But LSVs have enough federally required equipment that they’re made for their specific purpose: Driving no faster than 25 mph, mainly on municipally approved roads with 25 mph speed limits, but in some circumstances on roads with limits as high as 35 mph in New Jersey and most states.

Their appeal is that they’re efficient and cheap to operate: They cost less than a car and can drive 40 miles on 20 cents worth of electricity.

Governments at all levels are starting to embrace LSVs for their negligible pollution and low operating costs. Island municipalities in the region have approved them for use and people are driving them around shore towns such as Ocean City.

In 2002, only a fourth of states allowed LSVs — and now 46 do. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates there were 40,000 on U.S. roads in 2008.

Low-speed vehicles are headed for much wider use if they can get past one substantial speed bump: They would have to be considered safe enough to share roads with much larger cars and trucks.

LSV evolution

Low-speed vehicles and the market for them have evolved over a few decades, and South Jersey Electric Vehicles, of Egg Harbor Township, has been a part of that transformative growth.

While the company’s name suggests a recent startup to take advantage of green-energy trends, Stuart McGinnis, 53, started South Jersey Electric Vehicles in 1980.

Back then, the business was all golf carts, McGinnis said, first servicing them at area golf courses and then selling and leasing them to country clubs as well.

When the golf market got saturated, McGinnis diversified in a way that laid the foundation for the low-speed vehicles of today – branching out into the region’s large campground market more than 20 years ago.

“I took the golf-bag racks off and put on utility boxes, making them like little pickup trucks,” he said. The quiet and inexpensive carts were used for campground oversight, maintenance and housekeeping.

Then McGinnis, who also lives in Egg Harbor Township, put rear seats on carts so owners could give prospective customers tours of parks. At that point, he said, some campgrounds started renting such carts to campers for their own use getting around.

Seasonal campers especially started buying their own carts and customizing them. McGinnis said golf carts tricked out to look like a Mustang and a Rolls-Royce were among special orders made by South Jersey Electric Vehicles.

While the campground market was leveling out like the golf market before it, gasoline prices were rising and interest was growing in vehicles that provided clean, cheap alternatives.

In 2006, New Jersey joined the national trend of authorizing low-speed vehicles and opened a new market for South Jersey Electric Vehicles.

Carts no more

Under state law, LSVs can’t be modified golf carts, and federal requirements make that impractical anyway.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires LSVs to have: headlights, tail lights, brake lights, turn signals, mirrors, parking brakes, windshields, safety belts and vehicle identification numbers.

New Jersey requires operators of LSVs to carry automobile insurance coverage of $15,000 to $30,000 for bodily injury and $5,000 for property damage.

McGinnis said the Columbia models he sells, made by the Electric Car Company of Long Beach, Calif., go beyond the basic requirements with features such as hydraulic brakes and safety glass.

Models range from a two-seater costing $10,000 to a “nicely equipped” four-passenger LSV with disc brakes for $14,000, he said.

John Yarrington, who lives in Elmer, Salem County, and has a summer house in Ocean City, got his first look at his new Columbia four-passenger LSV on Thursday, which is red with tan seats and four-wheel brakes.

“I think it’s going to be good over here,” Yarrington said from Ocean City. “We’re in the north end and anticipate going to the beach and downtown to shop, wherever a regular vehicle is used but this should be easier because its smaller and more environmentally friendly.”

He said he has several friends in town who already own LSVs, one of whom drove 1,500 miles in one season.

He said having an LSV at the shore will allow him and his wife to each have a vehicle on the island without having to drive down from Elmer separately.

“They’re fun to drive, a good summer vehicle,” Yarrington said. “Now I just have to figure out a rack system so I can put my beach chair on the back.”

LSVs are also available configured as small trucks, with pickup, van or dump-truck bodies, and they cost $18,000 to $20,000, he said.

Two shore municipalities have recently purchased truck-style LSVs to reduce the cost and environmental impact of light work.

“Wildwood bought one (in May) with a pickup body for its Public Works Department and North Wildwood bought one (last fall) with a van body,” McGinnis said. “They use it for their parking meter collections and installations. They used to send a dump truck that was burning diesel fuel for that job.”

The federal government encourages LSV purchases with 10 percent tax credits of up to $2,500.

McGinnis said the state waives the sales tax as an incentive and doesn’t require vehicle inspections.

Last year, the federal government ordered 800 LSVs from Columbia and then another 200, mainly for use at military facilities nationwide, he said.

And this week, the Federal Aviation Administration’s William J. Hughes Technical Facility in Egg Harbor Township started receiving 13 LSVs under a federal contract. McGinnis said that as the local supporting dealer, he is prepping the vehicles as they arrive.

The low-speed-vehicle market seems to have reached the critical mass and momentum to make them a common alternative for personal transportation.

The final component of their success – widespread public acceptance – may hinge on whether they are viewed as safe enough.

The safety issue

The insurance industry doesn’t think LSVs are safe, especially on any roads with speed limits higher than 25 mph.

The industry’s Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says the growing use of LSVs is a disturbing trend that goes against 40 years of work by government, automakers and insurers to reduce the risks of injuries and fatalities on the nation’s roadways.

The institute, famous for its crash tests of vehicles, reported in May that it had given an LSV two crash tests at 31 mph and found they would have resulted in “severe or fatal injury” to occupants.

The institute suggested that people and agencies seeking greener vehicles choose full-featured hybrid cars and trucks instead.

McGinnis said he hadn’t heard of any accidents in the region involving an LSV.

“A tragedy can happen and it’s a shame when it happens, but I think driving an LSV is much safer than being on a moped or motorcycle,” he said.

Motorcycles, after all, go 60 mph and faster, “so at least we’re starting on low-speed roads,” he said, with motors designed to keep the LSV at 25 mph or less.

Another safety factor in LSVs’ favor is that where they operate is controlled by municipalities, which can rule out busy and potentially dangerous roads such as West Avenue in Ocean City.

McGinnis said Egg Harbor Township decided against allowing LSVs on its roads, which he said was probably wise since the township is crisscrossed with many busy through streets.

The island communities, though, are self-contained with limited through streets, making them suitable for this environmentally friendly form of transportation, he said.

Every oceanfront municipality from Cape May to Ocean City has allowed LSVs, he said.

That’s where South Jersey Electric Vehicles — which had gross sales of about $1 million in 2009 — sees its current market, and where the region will see what role LSVs will play in transportation.

Hostess Pauline Taylor, a 35 year employee of Busch's, seats Dave and Dorothy Fetters of Delran for dinner. The Fetter's have been customers of Busch's since 1958. Busch's Seafood Restaurant, a landmark establishment in Sea Isle City, is in its final year of service this season. Although Busch's will be closing for good at the end of the summer, Owners Al and Kim Schettig will be opening up a smaller, seafood take-out version of the restaurant, next year on the adjacent block. (Dale Gerhard/Press of Atlantic City).

By BRIAN IANIERI Press of A.C. Staff Writer | Wednesday, June 16, 2010

SEA ISLE CITY — Busch’s Seafood is bracing for its last summer after 98 years of serving shore vacation meals to generations who have enjoyed its traditional  deviled crab and lobster tail.

The 450-seat seafood restaurant, bar and packaged goods store at 87th Street and Landis Avenue is being sold to a development company that plans to demolish the structures to build a city-block-wide complex of several new restaurants with 13 condominiums above them.

Meanwhile, Busch’s Seafood will remain in Sea Isle City, but will operate as a takeout seafood establishment across the street at the site of the restaurant’s prep kitchen.

For fifth-generation owners Al and Kim Schettig, the decision to sell was not easy, and not something they welcomed, said Al Schettig, a chef who was stirring she-crab soup Tuesday afternoon before the restaurant opened.

Schettig, 63, of neighboring Ocean View, Dennis Township, said the building would require costly renovations in the coming years. And the overhead, expenses and labor costs made the summer restaurant, which is open 99 days of the year, no longer financially viable.

“Ninety-nine days and 365 days of bills,” Schettig said.

The restaurant employs more than 100 people in the summer, including 10 Bulgarians through a work-exchange program, he said.

“Many of the people who come in say where are we going to go for dinner (after it closes)?” Schettig said. “To me, it’s a testament, if people miss you, you must have to be good.”

The 86th Street Development LLC, whose principals are local businessmen Joe Ragusa and Christopher Glancey, are the contract purchasers of the property, records at the city’s construction office show.

Glancey said their decision to buy the property was based on a zoning change approved by Sea Isle City Council in 2008 to allow more residential units above businesses. The change was designed to encourage businesses from becoming entirely residential properties.

“There’s nothing else on that end of the island. That end of the island is in need of new development and new commercial spaces for people to go to,” he said.

The change to city zoning meant about 10 more residences could be built above the commercial units, making the project economically feasible, he said. The company, which plans to start construction in October, has a contract to buy but won’t make settlement until the fall, he said.

At Busch’s Seafood, business was off last year, Schettig said, but the costs of maintaining and running such a large restaurant — coupled with an offer last year to buy — swayed the decision, said Schettig, who did not disclose the price.

Busch’s Seafood is in the southern end of Sea Isle City near Townsends Inlet. It is among a small stretch of businesses in an area a few miles from downtown Sea Isle City.

Busch’s started as a hotel in 1882 at a time when Sea Isle City bore little resemblance to what most shoregoers know today. The hotel even predated the Ludlum Beach Lighthouse, which was constructed three years later at the urging of city founder Charles K. Landis.

Busch’s established the restaurant in 1912. Today, the large white-and-black building is a landmark site for motorists and bicyclists crossing the Townsends Inlet Bridge from Avalon.

The traditional seafood eatery will be the latest of the long-established restaurants to close on the southern New Jersey shore in the face of developments that made such establishments less attractive than residences or other uses. In 2008 in Stone Harbor, Henny’s Restaurant on Third Avenue closed after more than 70 years. A development firm plans an upscale hotel and restaurant.

Schettig has high hopes for the takeout seafood business that will become Busch’s future.

A film company is making a commemorative documentary on the Busch’s Seafood that the restaurant plans to sell in August and play at the takeout seafood business next year.

Al and Kim Schettig’s children — Logan, 17, and Tyler, 13 — may one day inherit the family seafood business, if they so choose, Al Schettig said. Logan has worked as a line cook who taught foreign work exchange students how to use the dishwasher.

“We’re going on, and we’re continuing on in the highest-quality manner,” he said.

The decision to adapt the business has drawn mixed feelings.

“That’s a shame,” said Anna Biegalski, of Avalon, who was riding her bicycle past the restaurant on Tuesday afternoon. “They did the same thing in Avalon, too, tearing down lots of buildings like Donnelly’s Deli.”

“If you’re going out to dinner with the family, (Busch’s) is where you go,” she said. “It very established — almost like a landmark.”

Annie Ryan of Avalon said, “My parents come here a lot, a place to get seafood in Sea Isle.”

Sea Isle Beaches Open

SOUTHEND BEACH FILL PROJECT COMPLETED:

Great Lakes Dredging Company completed beach fill operations on Sunday June 13, 2010.  Beaches from 73rd Street – 94th Street received 800,000 cubic yards of sand and are now open to the public.  The total project cost 6.6 million dollars, with the State of New Jersey committing to pay 75% and the City of Sea Isle City responsible for paying the remaining 25% of the total cost  Expect to see equipment clean up and de-mobilization over the next few days.