Garden Pier open

pressofatlanticcity.com/news/press/atlantic_…

excerpt: %26#39;Czar Engineering%26#39;s preliminary findings were reported as the company surveyed the pier for Revel Entertainment%26#39;

czar def: an autocratic ruler

Czar Engineering: do as I say or off w/your heads

excerpt: %26#39;Revel has been in talks with the city about acquiring the pier, but has lobbied to obtain it for free%26#39; WELL DUH, Revel sends in a hired czar for inspection

excerpt: %26#39;The worst conditions on Garden Pier are at the ocean end, where there is no decking%26#39; AND where no one has been allowed on since 1944

entire article: %26#39;ATLANTIC CITY - Mayor Lorenzo Langford announced Wednesday the reopening of a landmark pier in the city%26#39;s South Inlet after it was temporarily closed over a troubling engineering report earlier this month.

Several engineering inspectors, both public and private, determined that Garden Pier is ';structurally sound,'; and officials unlocked its gate Tuesday morning. A preliminary visual report by Czar Engineering recently questioned its structural integrity, prompting its immediate closing May 4.

';The safety of the citizens and visitors to the pier is my paramount concern,'; Langford said in a written statement Wednesday.

The city has not released the original report, but acting Business Administrator Michael Scott said the inspection found alarming corrosion and decay beneath the pier. He said the worst area is toward the back of the structure, which is gated off to prohibit access.

That area is still barricaded as a precaution, Scott said Monday.

';The problem area is only two columns underneath (the pier) toward the rear,'; Scott said. ';It does not affect the buildings that are on the front.';

Scott said the city intends to contract for minor work at the pier to reinforce the columns. The work they plan to have done is known as ';wrapping,'; which lines the piles with a strong, tapelike substance to make it more durable.

Officials in the Mayor%26#39;s Office confirmed that Czar Engineering%26#39;s preliminary findings were reported as the company surveyed the pier for Revel Entertainment, which is currently building a $2 billion casino site nearby.

Lloyd D. Levenson, an attorney representing Revel, said the engineering firm was inspecting the pier to determine what options Revel could have at the site. Levenson said the casino developer hoped to get an opportunity to revitalize the front of the pier, which would be considerably cheaper than demolishing it and rebuilding it entirely.

';They determined it wasn%26#39;t safe enough to do that,'; Levenson said.

Revel has been in talks with the city about acquiring the pier, but has lobbied to obtain it for free, arguing that its costly redevelopment of the pier would benefit the city enough. When the pier closed earlier this month, Levenson said negotiations with the city had gone nowhere.

City Engineer John Feairheller, along with engineers from Alaimo Engineering and Churchill Engineering, inspected the pier after the initial visual inspection. Czar Engineering also aided the city, officials said.

The pier%26#39;s brief closing, which lasted 15 days, required the city to move the few government workers from the site for safety reasons. They were all reassigned to different departments and returned to work at the pier Tuesday.

Garden Pier, constructed in 1913, has been owned by the city since 1944. It took ownership several months before a hurricane washed away a grand ballroom that once stood at the end of the pier, located at New Jersey Avenue and the Boardwalk%26#39;

Garden Pier open

hum - interesting. Sounds like someone wanted to build their case to get the Pier for free.

Garden Pier open

Instead of Heinz pickle pins, they%26#39;re giving visitors life jackets in case it caves in...

ACM

sebum