Christie cuts ribbon at Jersey shore event

Associated Press

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J.

New Jersey used a record-breaking gesture Friday to celebrate its recovery from a record-setting storm, proclaiming to the nation that the Jersey shore is back in business after superstorm Sandy.

Gov. Chris Christie and a host of volunteers carried out a ceremonial ribbon-cutting that broke the Guinness world record for the longest such undertaking. The 5.5-mile ribbon symbolically tied together some of the towns hardest-hit by Sandy, and bested the previous record-holder by about a mile, according to Mike Janela, an adjudicator for Guinness, who was present for the event.

“This is an incredible day for New Jersey,” said Christie, who spoke even as front-end loaders carried poles and planks onto the sand for the still-not-quite-finished boardwalk. “Seven months ago, I saw the devastation on this boardwalk. I knew that if we all worked hard, we could get this done.”

The event was part of a no-holds-barred rollout of summer in this famous resort town made infamous by the MTV reality show “Jersey Shore,” which filmed here until wrapping up last year.

The message of the day was that New Jersey is ready for summer fun. In fact, they even hired fun. — the rock band whose anthem “We Are Young” captures the spirit of this blue-collar oceanfront playground that was devastated by the Oct. 29 storm and has been furiously rebuilding ever since. The band played a free concert on the beach.