Tuesday, July 19, 2016

INTRODUCTION


AN INTRODUCTION TO PLEASANTVILLE, NEW JERSEY

This year your Hurricane Sandy mission team consists of Pat Bradley, Kelly Brown, Bod Rodibaugh, Ron Smedley and Frank Wassilak.   The base camp we’ve been assigned to by “A Future With Hope” is located at Bethany St. Johns UMC in Pleasantville, a suburb just west of Atlantic City.   This introductory blog will give you some background about the community and church and how the area was affected by Hurricane Sandy, as we currently understand it.

Source: Google Earth

Overview

The satellite photo, looking approximately southeast, shows Pleasantville and our church location at 615 Risley Avenue in the lower left corner.  Atlantic City is in the upper left corner and to the right is Somers Point, where your 2014 mission team was based.    Between Pleasantville on the mainland and Atlantic City on the barrier island is a large body of water and low land, which likely played a role in the devastation the area was subjected to when Sandy made landfall.

Pleasantville

According to Wikipedia:

“Pleasantville was originally incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on January 10, 1889, from portions of Egg Harbor Township, based on the results of a referendum held on December 15, 1888. Pleasantville was incorporated as a city on April 14, 1914, replacing Pleasantville borough, based on the results of a referendum held that same day.  The city was named by Dr. David Ingersoll for its surroundings.”

The 2010 census showed the population to be 20,249, of which 24.33% were White, 45.94% Black or African American, 0.83% Native American, 2.42% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 22.00% from other races, and 4.45% from two or more races.  Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 41.06% of the population.   The median household income was $36,913.  We don’t know yet whether the recent economic decline in Atlantic City from the closure of some of the casinos has had any impact on Pleasantville, but as of 2011 the Atlantic County poverty level was 10.8%.

Bethany St. John’s UMC

Pastor Carol Hutchinson described her church to me as “The Little Church That Could”.   A look at the church’s web site (http://www.bsjumc.com/), explains part of this.    It physically is a little church, with an average Sunday attendance of twenty.    But they donated over 17,000 pounds of food to the local food bank last year, they distribute food and clothing to the homeless in Atlantic City and they've hosted Sandy recovery mission teams from all over the country since the day of the storm.   This is a lot of mission work for a small church.

The Effects of Hurricane Sandy

The eye of Sandy made landfall the evening of Monday, October 29, 2012, near Atlantic City.  Chunks of its famous boardwalk were torn up and streets flooded.   Throughout the state, the width of beaches decreased an average of 30-40 feet.   Residential and commercial damage wasn’t as severe in Atlantic County, where Pleasantville and Atlantic City are located, compared to other counties, but it was been ranked in one report as the 11th worst impacted county out of 21.   Approximately 8,000 residential storm damage claims were filed with insurance companies in the county.  Among low-income households in Atlantic City, 81% had no home owners insurance.

Some images of damage in Atlantic County can be seen at

A Future With Hope

A Future With Hope is sponsored by the United Methodist Church of Greater New Jersey and UMCOR.   To date, they've restored or built 239 homes, with the support of 11, 260 volunteers from all over the country.   More information about the great work they have done can be found at http://www.afuturewithhope.org/.

Frank Wassilak

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