Rebuilding slows 1 year after Jersey Shore boardwalk fire

Rebuilding is slow one year after a fire devoured more than four blocks of boardwalk and destroyed more than 50 businesses in two New Jersey shore towns.

The boardwalk that was lost on Sept. 12, 2013, has been rebuilt between Seaside Heights and Seaside Park. But the Seaside Park section remains mostly vacant of the businesses that once served residents and tourists alike.

Berkeley Sweet Shop owner Berent Hage tells the Asbury Park Press that the private corporation that owns the section of boardwalk is composed of 18 business partners that must agree on a reconstruction plan. Hage says the cost to rebuild is high.

Investigators determined the boardwalk fire started in aged wiring that had been compromised by salt water and sand during Superstorm Sandy.

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