"There's no guarantee – if it breaks it breaks – but anything salvageable they will keep." Councilwoman Joanne Filippone said this in September, describing how the borough plans to lift the inscribed dedication boards that families bought after Superstorm Sandy.
Lavallette expects to start replacing its boardwalk decking this month. Borough employees are doing the work themselves, a few blocks per off-season, moving north from the southern end. Because of that pace, the boards that went down together in 2013 will come back to their owners over several years, in an order set by geography and the budget. If your family's name is near Dover Avenue, your board could be in a Public Works garage this winter. If it's near Ortley Avenue, the wait could run for years.
The Southern End Goes First
The borough's project page says the first phase will start "sometime in October 2026" at Dover Avenue and run as far north as the lumber allows, likely around Elizabeth Avenue. Heading north from Dover, the streets go Trenton, Newark, Elizabeth, Princeton, and then Jersey City Avenue. Shorebeat put the likely stopping point a little farther out, somewhere between Elizabeth and Jersey City avenues. The Trenton Avenue and Elizabeth Avenue pavilions both sit within that stretch or right next to it.
Mayor Walter LaCicero gave the reason for starting south. That's where the oldest decking is, and crews will work north from there in later seasons. He also said the borough already has a maintenance program that replaces individual planks. The full re-decking came on the recommendation of the Department of Public Works superintendent, after some people raised concerns about the boards' condition.
On the boardwalk itself, the disruption should be brief and limited to the work area:
- Pace: about a day or two per block, depending on weather.
- Closures: only active work zones get taped off, and crews nail down whatever they open before the end of each day.
- Notice: the work schedule will be posted on the borough website.
- Materials: the new lumber is a higher grade than the decking laid after Sandy and is rated for better weatherproofing. The borough looked at artificial decking but found the cost prohibitive.
As of the borough's most recent website update on October 2, no exact start date or block-by-block calendar had been posted.
A Board Bought in 2013
The inscribed planks date back to the rebuild after Sandy. Lavallette sold "Buy a Board" dedications for $250 each. ABC reported in May 2013 that 1,400 people had bought one, raising $350,000 toward a $1.3 million boardwalk, with FEMA expected to cover 75 percent of reconstruction costs. The final nails went in shortly before Memorial Day that year.
Council minutes from May 6, 2013, give a closer look. The mayor reported 1,275 boards sold at that point, said the Ortley Avenue section had sold out, and noted that roughly 11,000 boards were still available.
So more than a thousand households have a personal stake in a project that, on paper, is ordinary wood replacement. Neither the borough nor Shorebeat describes a new round of dedication sales. Shorebeat calls the program something the borough "had offered in the past," and the borough's current plan is about saving the existing boards.
How the Inscriptions Come Up
Filippone described the method. Crews will cut off the inscribed portion, the first two feet of the board, as its own piece, then come back for the rest. Pulling the whole plank at once would probably cause more damage.
If you own a dedication board, here is what the borough and Shorebeat have said so far:
- Watch the schedule. Work dates will be posted on the borough site, and Filippone suggested keeping an eye on progress in person too.
- Know where saved boards go. Salvaged inscribed boards will be kept at the Public Works garage for owners to pick up.
- Don't wait too long. No firm holding period has been set. Filippone estimated about a year.
- Expect some losses. The borough says it will make every effort to remove inscribed boards without damage but can't guarantee it.
The one-year estimate and the block-by-block pace mean pickup will happen in waves. Owners in this fall's blocks will have their own window. Owners farther north won't have one until crews reach their section.
The Budget Sets the Pace
How long that takes comes down to money, and the two published accounts don't fully match.
| Star News, Aug. 28, 2026 | Shorebeat, Sept. 15, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Spending cited | $250,000 in this year's municipal budget, continuing in future budgets | $47,645 lumber contract with 84 Lumber of Lakewood |
| Blocks per year | About five this year, before cold weather | "Three to five" per year |
| Total timeline | Roughly five years | Not stated; a larger project may join next year's capital budget |
| Who said it | Mayor Walter LaCicero | Councilwoman Joanne Filippone |
Filippone's comments to Shorebeat explain the timing. "With a $6 million well we were paying for this year, we couldn't also have a $2 million boardwalk project," she said. She added that the boardwalk will become a capital improvement project and the borough may do more next year because it will budget for it. Shorebeat put the cost at about $10,000 per block, given the grade of lumber the coastal setting requires, and noted that wood prices could climb if a trade war with Canada escalates.
The boardwalk runs roughly 26 blocks. At three to five blocks a season, the north end is several off-seasons away. A bigger capital allocation next year would shorten that. "It's all dictated by money – if we get more, we'll do more," Filippone said.
The borough has done this kind of partial re-decking before. In 2016, the council set aside $38,100 for new decking between Ortley and Reese avenues. The boards there had last been replaced 10 to 12 years earlier and had survived Sandy, and borough employees installed new decking while leaving the undercarriage in place. The current plan follows the same in-house model on a longer stretch.
The next regular council meeting is October 19, 2026. That's the most likely public setting for an update on the schedule or next year's funding.
Using the Boardwalk While the Work Moves North
For most of the boardwalk, the off-season rules apply as usual. The 2026 bathing season ran June 20 through September 7. Outside bathing season, bikes have no time limit on the boardwalk, compared with the summer windows of 5 to 8 a.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. Leashed dogs are allowed on the boardwalk only outside bathing season, and they're never allowed on the beach. Councilman Mike Stogdill noted that the boardwalk "gets used every day, even during the winter."
On days when crews have the southern blocks taped off, it's easy to step off at the street ends. A town guide notes that every street from Dover to Ortley has a boardwalk beach entrance. Near the likely northern edge of this year's work, the same guide places Sand Dollar Pancake House between Jersey City and New Jersey avenues and Colonial Bakery at Grand Central and Jersey City. Either one is a short walk from where the new decking is expected to end this season.
LaCicero told Star News the boardwalk is "important to the identity" of Lavallette, used by bicyclists and joggers and by evening strollers. The first new boards are expected to go down at Dover Avenue this month, and the borough will post each step on its boardwalk page.
If your family has a dedication board on the boardwalk, or a Lavallette home tied to years of summers here, Suzie & Ed keep up with projects like this one block by block. Contact us anytime with questions about the boardwalk work or what it means for your property.
