LISTEN to podcast. Margate Commissioner Maury Blumberg gets his first real taste of growing offshore wind opposition.
Those attending the May 16 commission mtg loudly boo’ed and heckled Blumberg.
Mr. Blumberg openly admitted that he feared losing cash payouts, alleged hush money, from a group of wind companies. Close to $500k from an entity called Ocean Wind Trust.
Listen >>
Who distributes those Ocean Wind Trust dollars? Barbara Gaba, President of ACCC and Brian Jackson, COO of Stockton University, to name a few.
After months of remaining neutral, Mayor Michael Collins now joining the fight against offshore wind farms.
Note: Margate officials, Collins, Horn and Blumberg didn’t attend or endorse recent fundraisers at Sofia in Margate and Provenza in Ventnor.
One attendee shouted that she could raise $500K right now. Another shouted ‘blackmail’.
Blumberg: This resolution is full of hysterical language. It will be ignored because of the way it’s written. I unequivocally oppose this.
Proposed Atlantic Shore wind turbine project will ruin the pristine South Jersey coastline.
Margate’s former first lady, Margie Reale, warned attendees about the danger of these experimental offshore wind turbines.
Over 200 wind turbines will be visible from the shore. This will ruin the marine ecosystem, fishing, tourism, lower property values, increase cost of electricity, dead marine mammals.
These projects are not green. Not cheap. Not reliable. Not ready for prime time. The projects require the use of fossil fuels to operate, and leach dangerous chemicals into the ocean.
Margate Commissioner Maury Blumberg was booed and heckled. He feared losing wind money.
Blumberg believes offshore wind turbines will help save the planet from climate change. No great rush to vote on this.
Boooooooooo.
Blumberg was recently passed over for being named Margate’s Mayor.
Longport Mayor Nick Russo supports offshore wind farms. His fellow Longport Commissioners do not.
Ventnor already pitched in $10K to battle OSW along with 7 other shore towns. Mayor Lance Landgraf said Ventnor may kick in another $20k to fund the next lawsuit.
To date, Ventnor soon-to-be mayor, Tim Kriebel, supports OSW. Sheepishly, Kriebel is pro-wind.
Update MAY 22, 2024:
Happy to hear that Ventnor Commissioner Tim Kriebel (the next Ventnor Mayor) has stepped up his public stance against offshore wind.
From Ventnor Commissioner Tim Kriebel:
I found your (DownbeachBUZZ) characterization of my support for OSW and wind energy as “sheepish” inaccurate. I refer you to my vote in favor of continuing our shared legal efforts with other municipalities.
While it may have taken me longer to be convinced of the negative effects and I never authorize the use of taxpayer funds without consulting experts and discussion , I have always aligned with Mayor Landgraf in opposing the proposed wind turbines.
I attended two presentations, one supporting and one opposing the turbines, and engaged in private meetings and phone calls with both sides.
My understanding is that the wind turbines will do more harm than good to our environment and community while increasing costs for ratepayers.
I am firmly against the turbine proposals for numerous reasons, including their environmental and economic impact, and the burden they place on ratepayers.
Although I support alternative energy, the current wind farm proposal raises our rates and introduces too many environmental uncertainties.
Regards,
Tim Kriebel
Ventnor Commissioner.
Margate took $500,000 from developers of the wind mill farms.
Did they give the money to Margate because they love Lucy? NO.
They are trying to buy the loyalty of our city officials. They successfully did just that.
Time to stand up as a united administration and community and say no to wind mills.
Who are our officials kidding? Collins is now against it?
Many of us were born at night… but it wasn’t last night.
With the amount of money Margate is receiving from new construction and taxation of real estate, I say send the money back, and take a stand against the windmills.
Stop saying what you think the taxpayers want to hear and start representing what the people of Margate are asking.
Jay. You are a blessing. The most honest man in the history of Margate. Most of us locals wish you were elected!
Hey Maury, you’re hearing from me. I had the Go Blue Green sign on my lawn for months. But, I didn’t vote for you.
Blumberg’s commentary is disturbing on multiple levels.
Saturday, May 20, 2023 Margate hosted the Downbeach Coalition’s OFFSHORE WIND FORUM. Claire Swift spoke and Mayor Collins greeted attendees at the door. Was he not informed? Or, did he think people just forgot about the forum? At this meeting, Horn said this matter was discussed in the last two weeks.
Blumberg cited information found on Yahoo News but discredited those who provided facts and figures taken from the thousand plus paged reports reported by the windmill companies.
Reading the reports, the wind companies never purport to remedy climate change. However, in these reports the developers do list “takes”, marine life that can be injured or killed in the industrialization.
Yet when dead dolphins and whales wash ashore, the companies are never considered responsible.
Blumberg said the resolution as it was written was full of hysterical language, but he sounded far from reasonable — or plausible — or legitimate.
Thankfully, saner heads prevailed.
Jay, very good comments.
These windmills will be a disaster.
They have been a disaster in Europe.
Remember what happened in Texas a few years ago when Texas had a cold winter, the wind mills froze and did not work and caused huge problems.
The old saying…”Follow the money” for it usually leads to what is going on.
Windmills do not and will not work and they know it so just stop it before it is regretted later.
1000% agree with you. Europe has published reports over and over again that these monstrosities do not provide enough electricity.
There was a man from Scotland reporting daily last year on wind mill speeds and electrical out puts. None of these windmills ever produced more then 1/3 the promised output of electricity if they worked at all.
We all know that the mapping has been the cause of death for a multitude of sea life and that many AVES will die once operational.even if the windmill industry won’t admit it.
Why should we industrialize and pollute our oceans and coasts?
Why haven’t you install the little three and four foot turbine windmills up and down the parkway and turnpike if you think windmills work? Wouldn’t that be a better test run of these devices?
My wife and I are fervently against these dangerous, harmful, ugly off shore windmills. Stop this program now!!
Blumberg must be living under a rock. He acts as though this is something brand new.
I think he should educate himself on anything that effects the area he is representing. Shame on you for thinking that the proposal is too dramatic, what is about to happen to the coast is dramatic and something we will suffer the consequences of for years to come.
Our grandchildren will be the ones left with the permanent damage in 20 yrs.
At best these turbines last 20 yrs on land, at sea I would guess 1/2 that lifetime. Then they fall apart and cannot be completely removed from our ocean floor. Leaving our ocean uninhabitable with the chemicals used to run them and other pieces that emerge.
Being from Texas, we have have found no environmental or financial benefits from wind energy. We have not receive any reduction on our energy bills. As a matter of fact you will likely be seeing an increase in energy cost directly effecting your monthly bill.
It is true that when the freeze hit Texas a few years ago we had major power outages across the state thanks to ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas). Which has been less than reliable. For the past 6 or 7 years that I have been coming to the wonderful City of Margaret.
I have grown to love this community and it’s people. Each one you have something special there and its worth fighting for. The summers in Margate are like no other.
I have to tell you Margatians that the amount of change that I have witnessed in my short time of going there with the bigger homes, bars, more party goers atmosphere and now windmills seems to be destroying the fabric of your wonderful community.
For some reason it feels like there is this constant struggle in preserving Margate. If it isn’t a lie about rooftop bar or an apartment complex its something else. I see the struggles, land rights is important and balancing that out with the benefits to the community is as equally as important.
Final thoughts you folks are smart and care deeply about Margate and want to pass that way of life off to the next generation. Please, don’t fall for this wind mill garbage.
For the progressive people that are trying to make changes to improve Margate I have to ask; At what cost? Destroying it.
Remember the old saying “Do not fix what ain’t broke.”
As a Ventnor resident for more than fifty years, we have never had so many whales and dolphins wash up over a few months. The offshore windmills are responsible.
There is plenty of land space where they can be built why are people so anxious to build them off our coast when they are killing these beautiful mammals?
It’s insanity.
Pam
No one knows what effect offshore electric generation windmills will have on climate change.
The experts “think” it will have a cooling effect or at least reduce the rate of warming. And what will NJ’s windmill footprint contribute to that effort? It cannot and will not be quantified – it’s impossible.
And at what cost?
New Jerseyans will pay higher taxes, higher utility rates, suffer economic and ecological losses that can never be recovered to virtue signal at the altar of climate change.
It’s a fool’s errand.
I’m not sure why we must listen to those who have never visited or lived here at the shore.
Think about how much China, India, Mexico or any third world countries and consider the amount of pollutants that they spew out on a daily basis. There are no laws or “Green Deals” in those parts of the world. Their focus is to make money with the least amount of investment or cost.
So how will these 200 mills affect our global footprint? My guess is less that 1%.
Until those countries come to the table and implement similar programs in their countries all we’re doing is ruing our vacation paradise!
STOP THE MADNESS!
Give the bribes back and tell them all to “pound sand”!
Time for Blumberg to retire from Margate City government.
It’s a HUGE scam perpetrated by our government and foreign companies. They couldn’t care less about the people or the environment. ALL they care about is their bank accounts and screw everyone else. To me their the lowest form of life on Earth.