June 2026 News

June AHLOA News

Date: June 1, 2026 | Issue: 164

President's Message

The Memorial Day weekend was mostly a washout, but the rain paused and the fog lifted on Monday morning in time for the annual parade to take place. Led by a color guard and contingent of veterans from American Legion Post 331 marching in formation, the parade made its way down Dune Drive to Veterans Plaza, where the memorial ceremony was held.

Those gathered heard retired Marine Corps Sargeant Thomas LaRosa, the recipient of two bronze stars for service in Vietnam, deliver a heartfelt remembrance of his friend Richard, who died during combat operations while they were on patrol in a Vietnam jungle. “Even after almost 60 years, Richard is still with me,” Sargeant LaRosa revealed as he held back tears. “I think of him every day, and often talk to him.”

I suspect many of us who had the privilege of listening to Sargeant LaRosa’s emotional tribute also sensed Richard’s presence there at Veterans Plaza, and came away from the ceremony with a fresh understanding of the meaning of Memorial Day.

The town was crowded for most of the three-day weekend, and the weather turned out to be a boon for local businesses. Parking was at a premium downtown, the wait times even at restaurants accepting reservations were extended, and getting a stool at one of the bars in town was near impossible.

There was one note of caution and concern, however. On Saturday at 9:15 pm, Circle Pizza posted a notice on Facebook that it was closing its dining area early because of “some unruly juveniles.” Hopefully, this is not the harbinger of a return to the juvenile bad behavior Avalon experienced last summer or a foreshadowing of the need for more restrictive juvenile regulations other shore towns have been forced to enact.

I’m probably showing my age here, but the Circle Pizza incident immediately brought to mind the public service announcement that often preceded local news broadcasts in the 1970s and ’80s: “It’s 10 pm, do you know where your children are?”

On a brighter note, today Sue Keen retires after 23 years of service to the Borough of Avalon and its residents. During her tenure Sue held positions as Director of the Avalon Senior Center and as Secretary to Mayor John McCorristin and former Mayor Marty Pagliughi. Eryn Chobert has transitioned from the Borough’s Construction Office and will assume Sue’s responsibilities. We wish Sue a happy and healthy retirement, and thank her for her long commitment to the Avalon community.

This past Saturday marked the beginning of the annual Spring into Summer celebration in Avalon. One of the highlights of this month-long series of events will be AHLOA’s Community Open House and Kids Corner, which will take place on Saturday, June 13, from 8:30 to 10:30 am at Avalon Community Hall. The event is open to the public and invites residents, visitors and families to enjoy coffee, light refreshments and the opportunity to connect with Borough officials, departments, and community organizations, including members of Council and the Planning and Zoning Board, the Borough Administrator, and even Borough Meteorologist Joe Martucci. A new feature of this year’s event will be the Kids Korner, with interactive educational activities hosted by the Avalon Free Library and the Avalon Police and Fire departments. The Open House is designed as a flexible drop-in experience to engage with the community, to learn more about local resources and to enjoy a fun, family-friendly morning.

Also on Saturday, June 13 at 6:00 pm at Surfside Park, AHLOA and the Avalon Library will present a concert by the Rock ‘N Roll Collective. See below for more on this really talented teen band that performs classic rock.

For a full slate of all Spring into Summer events in June, visit the Avalon Chamber of Commerce and 7 Mile Business Community Association website at visitavalonnj.com.

The beach replenishment roller coaster ride that Avalon has been on since last August’s nor’easter caused serious beach

and dune erosion at the north end of the island appears to be coming to an end. As the story below details, the Avalon-funded sand back-passing project was completed just prior to Memorial Day and bids for a federally-funded hydraulic fill project to fully restore the beaches in Avalon and Stone Harbor were opened by the Army Corps of Engineers on May 29.

Finally, the article below reminds us that June begins the nesting season for female turtles, and their travel to the nest often requires crossing busy roads where traffic presents a real hazard. Please keep a sharp lookout as you travel into and out of Avalon this month.

Hope to see you at AHLOA’s Community Open House and Kids Korner on Saturday, June 13 and at the Surfside Park concert later that evening.

Warren Faulk

President

Sand Back-Passing Completed; Hydraulic Fill to Begin

Just in time for Memorial Day weekend, the Borough-funded $671,450 sand back-passing project to replenish the eroded north end beaches was completed. Since the project began on April 14, the Borough’s contractor, Schiavone Construction of Malaga, N.J., has scraped more than 70,000 cubic yards of sand from beaches south of the fishing pier and trucked them north to the beaches between 9th and 16th streets that incurred the most severe erosion during the last nine months. The 70,000 cubic yards represents almost twice the volume of sand moved over the previous two years. The Avalon Department of Public Works also participated in the project by rebuilding the paths to each of the beaches. As of the beginning of Memorial Day weekend, all north end beaches and paths were open.

This past Friday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened bids for the 100% federally-funded hydraulic beach fill project which will fully restore all eroded beaches in Avalon and Stone Harbor. The three bids ranged from $15.7 million to $28.2 million, with the low bid coming from Norfolk Dredging of Chesapeake, Virginia. The bids are subject to legal review by the Corps of Engineers before the contract can be awarded.

No start date for the project has been announced, but it is anticipated that it will commence sometime this summer. When it does begin, it will be a 24/7 operation. If all bid options are awarded, more than 900,000 cubic yards of sand will be dredged from Townsend’s Inlet and spread on the beaches beginning at 9^th Street and ending at 27^th Street. The Army Corps of Engineers will establish the beach restoration profiles and supervise the project.

It is important to remember that it has taken a full-court press by local, county, state and federal officials to cobble together the federal funding needed for this and other beach restoration projects in the Cape May County after Congress failed to appropriate any money for beach replenishment in this fiscal year’s budget. The American Coastal Coalition (ACC), of which Avalon is a member and Borough Administrator Scott Wahl is Chairman, is currently engaged in a campaign to have Congress establish a recurrent fund to finance beach replenishment and coastal protection projects. The ACC’s campaign includes a petition to Congress to demonstrate public support for protecting America’s beaches. You can add your voice to this campaign by visiting its website and clicking on the #YES To Beaches tab.

13th Street beach looking south

Rock N' Roll Collective on June 13

We wish to remind everyone that AHLOA and the Avalon Library are co-sponsoring the first Surfside Park outdoor concert of the summer as part of the Spring into Summer program. At 6:00 pm on Saturday, June 13th, bring the whole family to enjoy the classic-rock oriented set list performed by the singers and musicians of the Rock N’ Roll Collective. This high-school aged teen band is comprised of talented young kids who are focused on music as a major element of their aspiring careers. The band performs primarily in the Philadelphia and Southern Connecticut areas during the school year, then tours domestically and internationally in the summer seasons as the warm-up group for professional bands at clubs and outdoor concert events.

If you enjoy classic rock and would like to see the original School of Rock concept alive-and-well in Avalon, come join us on Saturday night June 13 at 6:00 pm. Bring your chairs, kids and grand kids. Your younger family members will enjoy seeing a kids band of more than a dozen musicians close to their age sing and perform on stage at Surfside. If the weather does not cooperate, the concert will move indoors to Community Hall.

Long Live Rock! See you at Surfside.

The band rehearses for Spring into Summer at Surfside in 2024

Turtle Crossing

It’s time to talk turtle. This is the month that Avalon’s most commonly seen species nest and lay eggs. And as their nesting destination, the female diamondback terrapins often choose the roadsides of busy Avalon Boulevard which connects the island to the mainland at 30th Street.

Terrapins nest above the high tide line in upland areas near salt marshes, according to Wetlands Institute research scientist Brian Williamson. They prefer to nest in sunny open patches of ground, in sand, dirt, grass, and even gravel or shell. The other type of turtle seen in Avalon, the eastern box turtle, lives in the woods or dune habitats.

The reason you will see “Turtle Crossing” road signs is that terrapins are very particular about where they nest, and typically try to return to the same area year after year. It is likely they cross Avalon Boulevard and other roadways to get to these preferred nesting areas, rather than nesting in the first suitable spot they find.

When driving, never stop to block traffic because a turtle is crossing the roadway. But if the road is clear and safe in both directions, you could help the turtle continue in the direction it’s headed.

Terrapin eggs typically hatch about two months after they are laid, but the hatchlings may stay in the nest for a while. Hatchlings usually emerge from the nest beginning in late August through October, while some may even spend the winter hibernating in the nest. Why do we care about the survival of these cold-blooded reptiles? Terrapins play an important role in maintaining saltmarsh ecosystems. Without them, the marsh would be degraded to a barren mudflat.

Quick Hits

The Cape May County Commissioners have begun considering plans for the replacement of the Townsends Inlet Bridge, which was constructed in 1939 to link Sea Isle City and Avalon. At the Commission’s April 28 Caucus Meeting, consultants for the County rated the bridge’s condition as “poor” and detailed the numerous reasons for that rating. Five replacement alternatives were presented, with costs ranging from $190 to $230 million. The Commissioners expect to select a “preliminary preferred alternative” in December. The current projected timeline for the bridge replacement is 7 to 10 years.

Help the Avalon Garden Club celebrate its 50th Anniversary by attending its 42nd annual Flower Show on Saturday, June 6 from 10 am to 3 pm in Community Hall. This year’s theme is “Jubilant Reflections.” Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in the judging of the exhibits.

Connect with Avalon’s past by registering for the Avalon Historical Society’s Olde House Tour on June 19 from 1 to 4 pm. Tickets can be purchased online starting June 6 on the Avalon Free Library’s events page, or at the Avalon History Center starting at 10 am on June 19.

Visit us on the Web at AHLOA.com or call 609.796.2491

The Avalon Home & Land Owners Association

Warren Faulk, President