feature story
What’s New at the
Jersey Shore
L ucy the Elephant, the perennial symbol of
the Jewish shore capital of Margate, New
Jersey, is undergoing “a whole body lift ,”
as Rich Helfant, the executive director of Lucy,
describes it.

Helfant’s nonprofi t Save Lucy Committee is rais-
ing $2.1 million to replace “every single bit” of
Lucy’s exterior skin. Th e project costs so much
because the committee is using a metal alloy that
takes a lot longer to rust.

With $1.2 million in grant money already in
hand, Helfant only needs another $900,000 or so
from Margate locals who care about their land-
mark. Lucy’s body is 80% renovated, according to
the director. He just needs money for her head, the
areas around her windows and the areas around her
doors, among other spots.

Th e Margate resident estimates that Lucy will be
This Year?
as good as new by the end of August.

Or just in time to mark the conclusion of the
town’s summer of renewal.

“As soon as they’re done, we’ll take the scaff old-
ing down and people will see Lucy,” Helfant said of
the attraction that dates to 1881, four years before
Margate was even incorporated as a borough.

Before locals and visitors see the new Lucy this sum-
mer, though, they will see Margate again for perhaps
the fi rst time since the prepandemic days of 2019.

Beth El Synagogue on North Jerome Avenue is
hosting two comedians in July and its golf tour-
nament at Harbor Pines Golf Club in Egg Harbor
Township in September. Performers and the tour-
nament were regular features of the temple’s sched-
ule before COVID, but not since, according to Rabbi
Aaron Krauss.

In the summer of 2021, Beth El did bring back
its weekly mahjong game. But “this year, we expect
attendance to be increased,” Krauss said.

“It’s coming back,” he added. “It’s defi nitely com-
ing back.”
Th e Shirat Hayam Congregation in neighboring
Ventnor also is bringing back its in-person schedule
for 2022.

Rabbi Jonathan Kremer said the synagogue is
cosponsoring/hosting three diff erent concerts over
the summer. Two of them, including an open mic
show later in the season, are new this year, while
another, an outdoor party with vendors and games
for kids, debuted in 2021.

At the same time, the temple will continue its
“Devotion by the Ocean” Shabbat service series.

Congregants sit on the beach while Kremer leads
the service, and a band plays the music behind him.

Th e 15-year-old tradition was one of the few that
A Margate beach crowd
16 JUNE 2, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Photo by Tom Briglia
JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER