By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
LONGPORT – The borough’s iconic smiley-faced water tower beckons visitors to enjoy their “no worries” summer vacations in a more upscale, laid-back setting. Although, the tiny hamlet that boasts some of the highest real estate values in Atlantic County, has changed like other shore towns, it maintains its charm as an upscale family resort, sans the hustle-bustle of its neighbors.
Longport’s half-block-long commerical district includes a real estate office and two restaurants.
There are only three businesses in Longport – a breakfast and lunch restaurant, an evening dining restaurant and a real estate office – it has two churches and a Post Office, but Longport “loves to patronize the restaurants and businesses in Ventnor and Margate,” Mayor Nicholas Russo said.
“Longport has morphed into a strictly residential area,” Russo said. “I remember when there were two gas stations in Longport. We’re a family oriented town but you have to like the quiet.”
Although the population grows exponentially in summer, the fall, winter and spring months offer quiet, except for the sounds of automatic nail guns, hammers and drills. That’s when wealthy families seeking their respite by the sea rebuild their McMansions at higher flood elevations, taking up nearly every square inch of buildable area, with 5- to 6-bedroom homes and inground swimming pools and hot tubs.
“As the population grew, it became a two-edge sword. With the increased value of the land, it became worth it for people to sell,” he said. “We have about 900 registered voters but on weekends we have about 15,000 people. Small bungalows are replaced by larger homes, but we still try to maintain strict zoning, and do not permit duplexes and triplexes,” he said.
The total assessed valuation of the borough is $1.9 billion, and the average home value is $1.2 million and rising.
The three-member Board of Commissioners are frugal in their spending, which is increasing due to the stressed placed on the aging water and sewer system during the 100 days of summer, mandating that a new well and well house be built on borough property.
“Our last well was upgraded in 1963,” he said. “The new well will set us up for the future.”
Longport water tower
“We continue to provide a high level of services and a lot of the credit goes to the Public Works Department who do so much with just eight or nine people who are cross trained to do everything, including maintaining the beach,” Russo said. “I get a ton of compliments on how clean the beach is. We make every effort to keep it like that.”
Other public works improvements that will start in fall include replacing underground utilities during road reconstruction projects, along with a soon-to-begin bayside bulkhead replacement project near the Margate border.
The smiley-faced water tower, that boasts Longport as “The Best Port,” will soon get a new coat of paint.
“Our challenge is the containment issue,” Russo said. “There’s not a lot of space around it and it will post an engineering challenge to protect nearby properties.”
Although it has a school board, the borough sends about 50 students to the Margate public schools for elementary education, and Atlantic City and Ocean City for high school, which keeps costs manageable.
Longport Police maintain a visible presence with its designated driver HERO Campaign wrapped Humvee.
And the Police Department, which has a widely recognized reputation for strictly enforcing speed limit regulations, keeps people feeling safe, said Russo, a retired state environmental investigator and a former Atlantic City Police officer. He is also a longtime member of the Longport Volunteer Fire Department.
“I think primarily, people want to feel safe,” he said. “Our police officers make themselves visible and provide safety and comfort.”
For those who do come to Longport, there’s active recreation, including basketball, tennis and pickleball at the recreation complex on 33rd Street and the beach. The town has three surfing beaches, and fishing at the jetties on Atlantic Avenue and 11th Street, and in the lovely park behind Borough Hall, where the community garden is located.
The mayor is talking with a potential doner to replace a swing set at the playground, he said.
Most of the entertainment opportunities are planned and managed by the Longport Public Library, which offers activities, concerts, book and knitting clubs, author visits, and hosts environmental talks with the Sustainable Longport group. And while other Downbeach towns offer fireworks on the July 4th weekend, Longport celebrates the end of summer with a fireworks display on Labor Day.
Longport Historical Society Museum
The library has taken over operations at the Longport Historical Society Museum in the former U.S. Coast Guard Station next to Borough Hall, which boasts eight rooms of historic artifacts dating back to the borough’s earliest days, including the Betty Bacharach Home for Disabled Children. Visitors to Longport over the generations include famous celebrities. Amelia Earhart enjoyed the days of her youth in Longport.
Russo said the borough will soon start planning for its 125th anniversary next year.
“We’ll start with getting the older residents involved and those who started the Historical Society before the library took over,” he said. “We will form a committee next month and budget for it in our next round of budget talks. The make-up of the town is changing, but we plan to do something meaningful to celebrate the milestone and share our history.”
The veterans monument in Thomas B. Reed Memorial Park is a sundial that marks historic American military dates throughout U.S. history.
The off-season sees several patriotic services, such as the Memorial Day, Veterans Day and 911 services conducted by the American Legion Post 469.
But the most inspirational event is the Wounded Warrior Week Celebration, which enables a recovering wounded veteran and his or her family to enjoy a weeklong vacation in September on the house, literally. That’s when a Longport family provides a home away from home, gratis, and area businesses and casinos provide free dinners, fishing trips and a trip to the Ocean City boardwalk. The week culminates with a military styled service and dinner at a nearby eatery. The highlight of the week is the welcoming parade, which starts at Ventnor Plaza on Wellington Avenue and proceeds down Dorset Avenue to Atlantic and through Ventnor, Margate and Longport. The stars of the show get to ride in a long, white, stretch limousine waving to the crowds gathered along the way.
Wounded Warrior welcome parade, September 2020.
Although Longport is more laid-back than other Downbeach communities, it is not without some of the same challenges. Parking is at a premium, as it is in other shore towns, but the municipality has passed an ordinance that allows residents to create their own extra parking space when needed. New construction requires an off street parking space for each 1,000 square feet of living space, the mayor said.
“Parking is always an issue on a barrier island. But we allow people to park in front of their driveways as long as they get a little green tag to do that on streets that allow parking,” Russo said.
Many of the cyclists riding in the bicycle lanes are completing their Downbeach loop with a turn-around at the jetty at the end of Atlantic Avenue.
Longport residents learn how to plant flowers that the rabbits won’t eat.
And then there are the rabbits, which multiply, well, like rabbits. Residents are learning how to cope with the fuzzy brown bunnies by planting flowers that are bunny resistant. Without natural predators, such as the red fox, beautifully landscaped properties offer a sumptuous buffet for the creatures.
“The complaints I get in season are with regard to kids congregating, but that’s the nature of the end of the school year. They want to be with their friends,” he said.
Russo welcomes visitors to enjoy a worry-free, be-happy holiday in Longport.
“We will always keep the smiley faced water tower,” he said. “Don’t worry about the Supreme Court, gas prices or anything else while you’re here. Just worry about the color we’re going to paint the water tower.”
The smiley faced water tower beckons visitors to Longport.
This is the final story in our three-part series about the sizzling summer ahead in Downbeach towns.
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