Sea Isle City, New Jersey

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Sea Isle City is a city in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 2,835. Sea Isle City is located on Ludlam Island, which also contains part of Dennis Township.

Sea Isle City was originally incorporated as a borough on May 22, 1882, from portions of Dennis Township, based on the results of a referendum held six days earlier. The borough was reincorporated on March 31, 1890. On April 20, 1907, the area was reincorporated as the City of Sea Isle City, based on the results of a referendum held on April 30, 1907.^[1]

Contents 1 Geography 2 Demographics 3 Coastal storms 4 Government 4.1 Local government 4.2 Federal, state and county representation 5 Education 6 Transportation 7 Notable residents 8 Miscellaneous 9 Trivia 10 References 11 External links

[edit] Geography

Sea Isle City is located along the Atlantic Ocean at 39°8′45″N, 74°41′55″W (39.145755, -74.698654)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.6 km² (2.5 mi²). 5.7 km² (2.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.9 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (13.73%) is water.

Sea Isle City borders Upper Township, Dennis Township, Middle Township, Avalon Borough, and the Atlantic Ocean.

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1930	850		–
1940	773		-9.1%
1950	993		28.5%
1960	1,393		40.3%
1970	1,712		22.9%
1980	2,644		54.4%
1990	2,692		1.8%
2000	2,835		5.3%
Est. 2005	2,968	[2]	4.7%
Population 1930 - 1990[3]

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 2,835 people, 1,370 households, and 794 families residing in the city. The population density was 497.5/km² (1,287.3/mi²). There were 6,622 housing units at an average density of 1,162.2/km² (3,006.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.88% White, 0.28% African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.07% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.06% of the population.

There were 1,370 households out of which 15.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.0% were non-families. 37.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.71.

In the city the population was spread out with 15.7% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 20.8% from 25 to 44, 31.4% from 45 to 64, and 27.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 51 years. For every 100 females there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $45,708, and the median income for a family was $62,847. Males had a median income of $42,713 versus $31,375 for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,754. About 6.4% of families and 7.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.7% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.

Sea Isle City is a beach town with most of its housing used for vacation rentals and second homes. It has a 1.5 mile beachfront promenade and several arcades, shops, restaurants and bars in the center of town.

[edit] Coastal storms

There have been many hurricanes and huge storms that have hit the small island of Sea Isle City, New Jersey. The storms of the 1890's, 1920's, and the 1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane have been some of the worst natural disasters to hit the coast of New Jersey. The Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962, a major Nor'easter that hit on March 6, 1962, tops all other storms that have hit the area in the recent past. The storm lasted three days of continuous rain. It was categorized as a "100-year storm." Almost every beach front home or property was destroyed or damaged. Many people evacuated in time to save their lives, but came back to find their homes and assets destroyed. Eventually, the only way out of town was the causeway, and when that flooded, rescuers had to use helicopters to evacuate the rest of the town.

About a week later when the storm had subsided, Sea Isle City citizens moved back into their homes and began the needed revisions. As a result of the storm, a "dune line" was formed, and this caused beach front businesses and homes to move back from the shoreline an average of one block.

[edit] Government

[edit] Local government

Sea Isle City is governed under the Walsh Act form of New Jersey municipal government by a three-member commission.

Members of the Sea Isle City Board of Commissioners are:

• Leonard C. Desiderio - Mayor and Commissioner of Revenue and Finance^[4]
• James R. Iannone - Commissioner of Public Affairs and Public Safety^[5]
• Angel D. Dalrymple - Commissioner of Public Works, Parks and Public Property^[6]

[edit] Federal, state and county representation

Sea Isle City is in the Second Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 1st Legislative District.^[7]

New Jersey's Second Congressional District, covering all of Atlantic County, Cape May County, Cumberland County and Salem County and portions of Burlington County, Camden County and Gloucester County, is represented by Frank LoBiondo (R, Vineland). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).

The 1st legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Nicholas Asselta (R) and in the Assembly by Nelson Albano (D, Vineland) and Jeff Van Drew (D, Dennis Township). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).

Cape May County is governed by a five-member Board of Chosen Freeholders. Cape May County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director Daniel Beyel (term expires December 31, 2008), Freeholder Vice-Director Ralph E. Sheets, Jr. (2008), Ralph E. Bakley, Sr. (2007), Leonard C. Desiderio (2006) and Gerald M. Thornton (2007).

[edit] Education

Students in kindergarten through eighth grade attend Sea Isle City School.

For grades 9-12, students attend Ocean City High School, in Ocean City, as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Ocean City School District.

[edit] Transportation

Exit 17 on the Garden State Parkway provides access to Sea Isle City via Sea Isle Boulevard which becomes JFK Blvd.

Sea Isle City has no public transportation to speak of, nor does it offer Jitney service. However, NJTransit does offer a inter-city (#315) bus that runs through the town once a day and shuttles people to and from Philadelphia

There was a train service that ran the length of the island on Pleasure Ave. The train was in use from the early 1900's until the mid 1930 when the tracks were removed and the streets were paved due to increase use of cars.

[edit] Notable residents

Current and former notable residents of Sea Isle City include:

• John C. Gibson, former member of the New Jersey General Assembly
• Zoey Castelino, freelance writer and popular female blogger, now living in Toronto, Canada
• Josh Lomberger, professional wrestler with World Wrestling Entertainment

[edit] Miscellaneous

From 1885 until 1962, Sea Isle City was the location of Ludlam's Beach Lighthouse.

[edit] Trivia

• The tallest building in Sea Isle City is The Spinnaker condominium towers. The tallest freestanding structure is the town water-tower.
• The water-tower always had "Welcome to Sea Isle City" painted on it until 2002 when the printed message was change to "Smile! You're in Sea Isle City"
• Sara The Turtle Day is the city's local holiday, celebrating a fictional turtle named Sara who became the city's unofficial mascot. The city also hosts an annual Polar Bear Plunge every February
• As of 2001, the only amusement park, Fun City, was closed and the land was sold for development of beach homes.
• The average price for a weekly summer beach house rental during peak season is $1,500 a week.
• Landis Avenue, Sea Isle City's main street, is named for the city's founder, Charles K. Landis, who was also the founder of Vineland, New Jersey.
• The local 7-Eleven food store is one of the few stores in the chain that is not open 24-hours a day. The store opens at 6am and closes either shortly after or at midnight.
• Busch's Seafood is the city's oldest seafood restaurant, which will celebrate its 125th anniversary in 2007. The restaurant has been passed down through five generations of Busch and Phillips families who have owned and run the establishment.
• Contrary to popular belief, Strathmere (located at the north end of Ludlam Island) is not part of Sea Isle City. It is part of Upper Township. Townsend Inlet, located at the south of the island, is part of the city
• Technically speaking, Sea Isle is not an "island city" as it shares its land on Ludlam Island with Strathmere. Neighboring Ocean City, however, is an island city as the entire land mass surrounded by water, belongs to the town.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Sea Isle City web site
• Sea Isle City Information
• Sea Isle City School
• Sea Isle City School's 2005-06 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• National Center for Education Statistics data for the Sea Isle City School
• Sea Isle City Beach Patrol
• Sea Isle City Tourism Commission
• Sea Isle City tourism guide
• Sea Isle City Chamber of Commerce
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 39.145755° -74.698654°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA

v • d • e Municipalities of Cape May County, New Jersey (County seat: Cape May Court House)
Boroughs	Avalon | Cape May Point | Stone Harbor | West Cape May | West Wildwood | Wildwood Crest | Woodbine
Cities	Cape May | North Wildwood | Ocean City | Sea Isle City | Wildwood
Townships	Dennis Township | Lower Township | Middle Township | Upper Township
CDPs and communities	Cape May Court House | Diamond Beach | Erma | Marmora | North Cape May | Strathmere | Rio Grande | Villas | Whitesboro-Burleigh