Sandy’s effects diminish summer labor force at N.J. Shore

Superstorm Sandy may be affecting rentals at the Jersey Shore for years to come.

Many renters displaced by the storm have moved out of the area.

And that will have an impact on the local labor pool, said Donna Blaze, CEO of the Affordable Housing Alliance in Monmouth County.

“As the amusement parks and as the restaurants and as the retail shops come back on line, there’s going to be a limited number of people to be available to work in those things,” she said. “And they’re not the kinds of jobs that justify you commuting 40 miles.”

Blaze says more renters with moderate incomes may be forced to leave the area because the rental market is so tight that landlords are raising rents.

“With a zero percent vacancy rate and the rents as high as they are, and already being in a state which is one of the most expensive places to live in America, the competition is just going to be too great for the low- and moderate-income person to seek housing,” she said.

Blaze says because it could take three to four years to rebuild rental units, some people who’ve moved elsewhere may never return.