Seaside Heights now owns historic carousel

SEASIDE HEIGHTS - The borough now owns a carousel.

And it's not just any merry-go-round, it's the Dentzel/Looff carousel, built in 1910, and located in Seaside since 1932.

Borough Administrator Chris Vaz said Seaside took title to the carousel this week, and took control of a parking lot located between Sampson and Carteret avenues.

More: Seaside Park installs longer mat for disabled beachgoers

The carousel and the parking lot were included in a controversial beach-swap with the Storino family, owners of Casino Pier, that was approved by the Borough Council in 2015.

Under the terms of the deal, the pier owners traded the carousel and the parking lot property for 1.36 acres of beach that allowed Casino Pier to expand.

New business: Playa Bowls has come to Seaside

A new rollercoaster, Hydrus, was opened this summer on the expanded pier, near a new 131-foot Ferris wheel. Hydrus replaces the Jet Star roller coaster, which was dumped into the ocean in October 2012 when superstorm Sandy's winds and waves tore off the pier's eastern end.

Also included in the swap is 67 acres of wetlands in Toms River, located adjacent to Winding River Park off Route 37. A permanent conservation easement prohibiting future development would be placed on the Toms River property, which is owned by Ocean County.

Vaz said the Storinos took title to the beach property this week.

The borough hopes to house the carousel in a building that would be constructed on the parking lot and plans to seek grants to build the structure.

Borough Attorney George R. Gilmore said Casino Pier will continue to house the carousel and to maintain it even though it's now officially owned by the borough.

More: Free Range eatery opens in Seaside Heights

The carousel will operate at the pier while Seaside Heights works on securing funds for the building, Gilmore said.

"They have nowhere to put it now," he said of the carousel. "If they took it apart to store it, they'd never be able to get it back together again."

Gilmore has said the carousel building could also house artifacts and documents from Seaside's history.

Casino Pier will use revenue from the sale of carousel tickets to help maintain the merry-go-round until it's moved.

The Dr. Floyd L. Moreland Dentzel/Looff Carousel, as it's known, has been in Seaside Heights since 1932.

Built in 1910, it was initially located at Burlington Island Park near the Delaware River. A 1928 fire destroyed most of that amusement park, but only partially damaged the carousel. It was fixed, disassembled and moved to Seaside Heights at the height of the Great Depression.

It is named after Moreland, 74, who lives nearby in Toms River's Ortley Beach section. Moreland oversaw the restoration of the badly deteriorated carousel in the 1980s.

His friends and family members spent countless weekends inside the then-unheated carousel building in the off-season, painstakingly repairing more than 50 horses and two chariots as well as the two camels, one lion and one tiger that made up the merry-go-round's menagerie.

Watch the video above to learn how Moreland helped save the carousel, and how it helped him survive after Sandy.

Gilmore said the state's Green Acres program has indicated it would consider an application for a grant to construct a building to house the carousel.

Sketches of the building produced in 2015 showed a two-story structure, with the carousel on the first floor and an observation deck on the second floor. The second floor could also be used for weddings or banquets, officials have said.

Gilmore said there is no cost estimate yet for the building.

In July 2014, Casino Pier's owners decided to sell the iconic carousel at auction. The owners said the economy forced them to look for a new home for the ride.

Former Mayor William Akers came up with the idea for the carousel/land swap and took it to the Borough Council in late August 2014.

More: New coaster is latest step in Seaside's rebuilding

The Storinos had decided not to rebuild the pier's original footprint since new DEP regulations make building over the ocean extremely expensive.

The pier owners then sought to buy a privately owned beach on the pier's south side, but they were unable to reach an agreement to buy the property.

Eventually they reached an agreement with Seaside to swap the carousel for the beach property.

The beach-swap generated plenty of controversy, with many business owners and residents supporting it. But others have argued that it's a bad idea to trade a portion of beach for a carousel that could be expensive to restore and operate.

Store returns: Berkeley Candy back after Seaside boardwalk fire

Stephen Melvin, one of the owners of 3 Brothers from Italy Pizza on the boardwalk, has argued that Seaside "exceeded its powers" when the Borough Council adopted an ordinance approving the swap.

Melvin filed suit in state Superior Court in Ocean County, claiming the borough had acted illegally when officials voted to transfer a public beach to a private landowner.

Last fall, Superior Court Judge Arnold B. Goldman ruled in the borough's favor, noting the land swap was "an attempt to restore the local economy."

Melvin has appealed the decision.

Jean Mikle: 732-643-4050, jmikle@gannettnj.com