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GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE and the cast of MTV’s ‘Jersey Shore’ have announced that the shore is back following Superstorm Sandy.
The rock band ‘Fun’ whose anthem ‘We Are Young’ were also brought in to announce the reopening of the oceanfront playground that was devastated by the 29 October storm.
“This is known as a happy place,” said Paul ‘Pauly D’ Del Vecchio, one of the cast members of ‘Jersey Shore’, which was filmed here until wrapping up last year. “Right after the storm, it was the exact opposite: dead, silent. To see this place being rebuilt makes me happy.”
The show was broadcast from Seaside Heights, where the storm swept a roller coaster into the ocean. The roller coaster was taken away this month, but Casino Pier, the seaside amusement park where it used to sit, plans to have 18 rides open this summer.
Christie said about 80 percent of the shore will look as it did last summer, and acknowledged more work needs to be done to fully recover. He is to tour parts of the storm-hit shore next Tuesday with President Obama.
Tourism is a $38 billion industry in New Jersey, and shore towns are counting on a good summer to help them recoup major losses they incurred after the storm.
Snooki
Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi said crowds will be back this summer.
“You just come here to have a good time,” she said. “It’s a great place. You come here with your friends. Everybody’s here, it’s getting rebuilt; it’s just amazing.”
Her cast-mate Deena Cortese urged tourists to patronize Seaside Heights as it recovers.
“It’s kind of like a family on the boardwalk here,” she said. “Everybody needs to come this summer, especially for them.”
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