Editing Brick Township, New Jersey (section)

==History==
The Havens Homestead Museum is dedicated to the Havens family that originally settled in the [[Laurelton, New Jersey|Laurelton/Burrsville]] section of Brick. The museum is the original Havens home which lies on a small plot of farmland. The museum has a gift shop and runs tours of the property daily.<ref>[http://www.bricktwphistoricalsociety.com/henry-clay/henry-clay.htm Henry Harry "Clay" Havens] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724152137/http://bricktwphistoricalsociety.com/henry-clay/henry-clay.htm |date=July 24, 2013 }}, Brick Township Historical Society. Accessed January 22, 2013.</ref>

Brick Township has also been in the news for a claimed [[autism epidemic]], in which 40 children out of over 6,000 surveyed were found to be autistic, though Brick's autism rate is statistically near the national average. Many of the children found to be autistic were born in Northern New Jersey and other parts of the country. There is no evidence that the levels of autism are linked to any specific environmental factor in Brick.<ref>Bertrand, et al. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11694696 "Prevalence of Autism in a United States Population: The Brick Township, New Jersey, Investigation"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190104175700/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11694696 |date=January 4, 2019 }}. ''Pediatrics'' Journal of the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]], November 5, 2001. Accessed January 20, 2013. "Conclusions: The prevalence of autism in Brick Township seems to be higher than that in other studies, particularly studies conducted in the United States, but within the range of a few recent studies in smaller populations that used more thorough case-finding methods."</ref> Parents of children diagnosed with autism have moved to the township in order to make use of the special education programs offered by the school district.<ref>Nee, Daniel. [http://brick.patch.com/articles/as-federal-report-on-autism-is-released-brick-school-officials-wish-funding-promises-were-kept "As Federal Report on Autism is Released, Brick School Officials Wish Funding Promises Were Kept"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210005417/http://brick.patch.com/articles/as-federal-report-on-autism-is-released-brick-school-officials-wish-funding-promises-were-kept |date=2011-12-10 }}, January 24, 2011. Accessed January 20, 2013. "Still, Hrycenko and Magovern agreed that the noted program in Brick is necessary, despite a lack of assistance from outside sources. 'There's no doubt about it,' said Magovern. 'Especially in the autistic population, a lot of people move here because we provide those services in the district.'"</ref>

Brick has been affected by the [[Heroin|heroin epidemic]]. According to the state's statistics, in 2012 Brick was ranked sixth in the state with 550 reported incidents of heroin or opiate abuse, behind [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]], [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]], [[Paterson, New Jersey|Paterson]], [[Atlantic City, New Jersey|Atlantic City]] and [[Camden, New Jersey|Camden]]. In 2017, Brick improved to 438 reported heroin abuse cases, ranked ninth in the state.<ref>Davis, Tom. [https://patch.com/new-jersey/pointpleasant/30-nj-towns-most-heroin-abuse-new-2018-report "30 NJ Towns With The Most Heroin Abuse In New 2018 Report"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227084755/https://patch.com/new-jersey/pointpleasant/30-nj-towns-most-heroin-abuse-new-2018-report |date=December 27, 2018 }}, Point Pleasant Patch, October 1, 2018. Accessed January 3, 2019.</ref>

On July 11, 2004, Brick Memorial High School student, Brittney Gregory went missing. The news of her disappearance went on national news. Her body was found in a shallow grave, after a woman led the police to the area, just off. Suspect Jack Fuller Jr., a drug addict and acquaintance to Gregory's father admitted to killing Gregory. Fuller stated that he was giving her a ride to her boyfriend's house. Fuller began smoking crack in the car and Gregory became upset. Fuller punched Gregory several times and when she died, he buried her.<ref>Macintosh, Jeane. [https://nypost.com/2004/07/28/brittneys-body-found-tragic-search-ends-2-miles-from-jersey-fiends-lair/ "Brittney’S Body Found – Tragic Search Ends 2 Miles From Jersey Fiend’S Lair"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314055502/https://nypost.com/2004/07/28/brittneys-body-found-tragic-search-ends-2-miles-from-jersey-fiends-lair/ |date=March 14, 2023 }}, ''[[New York Post]]'', July 28, 2004. Accessed March 20, 2023. "The body of tragic teen Brittney Gregory was found yesterday in a sandy, shallow grave that apparently had been hastily dug less than two miles from her accused killer's eerie wooded haunts in New Jersey. The makeshift grave, discovered more than two weeks after the Brick teen's disappearance, was only 2 feet deep but clearly was dug with a shovel, said Ocean County Prosecutor Thomas Kelaher."</ref>

During the [[December 2010 North American blizzard]], Brick Township received {{convert|30|in}} of snow, the highest accumulation recorded in the state.<ref>Nierenberg, Larry. [http://www.erh.noaa.gov/phi/skywarn/newsletters/march2011.pdf "Winter Storms"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916115322/http://www.erh.noaa.gov/phi/skywarn/newsletters/march2011.pdf |date=September 16, 2012 }}, ''Storm Spotter's Newsletter'', [[National Weather Service]], [[Mount Holly, New Jersey]], Volume 3, Issue 4, Spring 2011, pp. 2-3. Accessed February 19, 2013. "A strong Nor'easter system impacted the Middle Atlantic region starting early Sunday morning December 26th and ending on Monday December 27th.... Numerous locations along the New Jersey coast received 20 inch or higher amounts, with the greatest snowfall measurement of 30 inches taken in Brick Township in New Jersey."</ref><ref>O'Reilly, David; Katz, Matt; and Simon, Darran. [http://articles.philly.com/2010-12-28/news/26356112_1_nj-transit-lieutenant-governor-state-offices "Not a blizzard, but snowfall was one for the books"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112104018/http://articles.philly.com/2010-12-28/news/26356112_1_nj-transit-lieutenant-governor-state-offices |date=January 12, 2016 }}, ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'', December 28, 2010. Accessed February 6, 2013. "Coming in from the south on winds that gusted as high as 62 m.p.h. at Wilmington's airport, the storm left accumulations of just two to six inches to the north of the city, but dropped 26 inches on parts of Cape May County, piled 30 inches on Brick Township, Ocean County, and paralyzed New York City and much of New England."</ref> In October 2012, parts of Brick were devastated by [[Hurricane Sandy]]. Barrier island and other waterfront properties were particularly hard hit. Homes and such buildings as the Shore Acres Yacht Club sustained major damage; some buildings had to be demolished.