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Governor Chris Christie celebrated the completion of post-Sandy repairs made to the Asbury Park boardwalk and welcomed tourists to the city for one of the biggest holiday weekends at the Jersey Shore at a ribbon-cutting ceremony held Friday afternoon on the south side of the boardwalk near Convention Hall.

It was his third ribbon cutting; prior to his Asbury Park visit he also made stops in Seaside and Belmar.

He began with a joke, just as the last traces of a morning fog dissipated and the sun crept through the clouds.

“And it’s not snowing,” he said. “Thank God — I am done with snow,” he said, before reflecting back on the damage the storm had caused and the need to keep moving forward.

“We owe it to them to celebrate the effort and the continued investment that they make in their businesses and, by extension, in our state,” Christie said. “So I will never apologize for celebrating the successes that we’ve had. To celebrate those successes does not mean that we’ve forgotten there is more to do, it just means that we want to take the moment to thank those people that continue to invest in our state and let them know that we are going to stand with them, the same way we are going to stand with those people who are still working towards recovery.”

He then stood with Mayor Myra Campbell and Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jackie Pappas to jointly cut the red, white and blue ribbon on the newly completed southern section of  the boardwalk, which workers wrapped construction on last week.

The repairs finish the sections of the Asbury Park boardwalk that were damaged or compromised by Hurricane Sandy. Phase one repairs took place prior to last summer along the southernmost section, from the Casino structure to just passed the First Avenue Pavilion.

The first permanent boardwalk constructed in Asbury Park took place in 1880, according to Jackie Pappas, executive director for the Asbury park Chamber of Commerce.

“Today, Asbury Park city officials, our department of public works, lifeguards and boardwalk and area businesses are here to celebrate a cooperative effort that was involved to get the structural work completed, the stores open, and our waterfront in tip-top condition for all of you fans,” Pappas said.

Last year, over 150,000 beachgoers generated more than $4 million in revenue for the city, not only through patronage on the boardwalk but in businesses downtown, on Main Street and on the West Side, said Pappas.

“I’m excited and ready to go,” said Asbury Park Mayor Myra Campbell. “We are open for business and it’s going to be a fantastic summer. The weather is going to be great, the businesses are open, and families are going to have a lot of fun during the day and at night. We’re ready.”

“We’re always glad to see the governor in Asbury Park,” said Garrett Giberson, Sr., Asbury Park’s beach utility manager. “He’s always got our back and as far as the season goes we are going to be bigger and better than ever — it’s going to be a great season.”

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