Long Beach Island (colloquially known as LBI or simply The Island) is a barrier island and summer colony along the Atlantic Ocean coast of Ocean County, New Jersey in the United States. Aligned north-south, the northern portion is generally slightly higher end, low-density residential; whereas the southern portion possesses more economical, higher-density housing and considerable commercial development. The primary industries include tourism, fishing, and real estate, with the only access point to the island by land is a single bridge.
The island is home to about 20,000 people on a year-round basis. The population is distributed among six separate municipalities, the largest of which is Long Beach Township. However, the island's population swells significantly during the summer months and reaches about 100,000 people, including part-time residents and tourists. The island's close-knit communities are largely affluent and contain vacation homes for wealthy residents who reside elsewhere, especially New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut.
In October 2012, Long Beach Island was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. As a result of the storm surge, flooding and high winds, dozens of homes and business were damaged or destroyed. After the waters receded, streets were left covered with up to four feet of sand. Early estimates suggest between $750 million and $1 billion in damages to the island alone. Governor Chris Christie issued a mandatory evacuation order on October 28 that would not be lifted until 13 days later.
Read more about Long Beach Island: Geography, History, Demographics, Culture, Transportation, Notable Locations
Famous quotes containing the words long, beach and/or island:
“As for your friend, my prospective reader, I hope he ignores Fort Sumter, and “Old Abe,” and all that; for that is just the most fatal, and, indeed, the only fatal weapon you can direct against evil ever; for, as long as you know of it, you are particeps criminis. What business have you, if you are an “angel of light,” to be pondering over the deeds of darkness, reading the New York Herald, and the like.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“From the beach the child holding the hand of her father,
Those burial clouds that lower victorious soon to devour all,
Watching, silently weeps.”
—Walt Whitman (1819–1892)
“Your kind doesn’t just kill men. You murder their spirits, you strangle their last breath of hope and freedom, so that you, the chosen few, can rule your slaves in ease and luxury. You’re a sadist just like the others, Heiser, with no resource but violence and no feeling but fear, the kind you’re feeling now. You’re drowning, Heiser, drowning in the ocean of blood around this barren little island you call the New Order.”
—Curtis Siodmak (1902–1988)