COVID beach memorial at Jersey Shore needs new home by summer
BELMAR — A beachfront memorial for COVID-19 victims has grown from 150 names to more than 2,000 in a span of less than two months, as the clock is ticking to find a new, permanent home for the artistic installation.
In the sand at Belmar’s 3rd Avenue beach, river-style stones each bear the name of a person who has died of COVID-19, carefully grouped inside heart-shaped borders made of yellow-painted clam shells.
The memorial was first created on Jan. 25 by Rima Samman, who lost her brother, Rami, to the virus. It was in memory of what would have been his 41st birthday.