More than three years after Hurricane Sandy destroyed the Mad Hatter, the owners of the popular shore restaurant and restaurant are still seeking approval to rebuild.
SEA BRIGHT - Well, the Mad Hatter's supporters are certainly a vocal bunch.
A Facebook page dedicated to raising support for the popular restaurant and bar in its ongoing battle to rebuild after being destroyed by Hurricane Sandy has more than 1,000 likes. And a planning/zoning board meeting Tuesday night was packed with local residents, many of whom were wearing shirts support of the Mad Hatter with slogans like #MadPride printed on them.
Whenever an opponent to the Mad Hatter's application to rebuild a new, higher structure on the land where the Sandy-ravaged building currently sits spoke out against the project - or asked questions they deemed to be repetitive, unnecessary or misguided - many members of the group would groan and/or yell out their own opinions.
Rendering of the proposed new Mad Hatter in Sea Bright. (Courtesy of Scott Kelly) The group wasn't entirely negative in its communications, however, as it erupted in applause several times after comments or decisions in favor of the Mad Hatter's application were made.
The most significant of which was a lengthy round of applause that came after the attorney for one of the neighbors opposing the project said his clients had their concerns about sound satisfied by the applicant.
The Mad Hatter's owners - Scott and Amy Kelly - agreed to make several modifications to their construction plans, including: using building materials and windows that better muffle noise, installing a sound system that can better control volume levels and constructing a glass wall on one side of the outdoor patio.
"You will now see how silent I can be," the attorney, Jeffrey Gale, told the board after the Mad Hatter's planner, Keenan Hughes, went over some of those changes.
This drew a standing ovation from many members of the group of Mad Hatter supporters, to which Gale joked: "I've been waiting for that!"
However, the Mad Hatter is still facing opposition from a few other neighboring property owners.
Ron Gasiorowski, the attorney representing one of those neighbors, has already voiced concerns on behalf of his client on issues ranging from the proposed new building's increased size and lot coverage to noise from live bands and the additional people the new Mad Hatter would accommodate.
Gasiorowski began questioning the first of the two experts he plans to have testify against the application on Tuesday night. That expert, a traffic engineer, and the second expert, a planner, are expected to continue their testimony when the planning/zoning board resumes its review of the application on Thursday, May 19.
That special meeting will be the Mad Hatter's eighth planning board meeting on its application.
Rob Spahr may be reached at rspahr@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheRobSpahr. Find NJ.com on Facebook.