CBS/AP/ November 27, 2012, 11:33 AM

N.J. roller coaster submerged by Sandy to be removed

A man looks over the debris on the Seaside Heights, N.J., beach near Casino Pier on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Star-Ledger, David Gard/POOL) / Gard, David

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. A roller coaster swept off a New Jersey amusement pier by Superstorm Sandy and left partially submerged in the ocean won't remain as a tourist attraction.

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Seaside Heights: Now and then

Seaside Heights Mayor Bill Akers last week told a TV station that the half-sunken remains of the Jet Star Roller Coaster would make a "great tourist attraction." But the mayor now says that "was not the brightest comment."

Akers told the Asbury Park Press the town and the owners of the Casino Pier are in talks to remove what remains of the amusement ride.

Casino Pier officials say they are still assessing the damage.

The mayor also said construction of a new boardwalk should begin in January, and be ready by Memorial Day.

As winter sets in, some Sandy victims still without heat

Nearly a month after superstorm Sandy blasted through the New York City metropolitan area, some shoreline residents remain without heat.

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Devastation and determination in Belle Harbor

As CBS Station WCBS reports, while many homes have had their power restored, damaged furnaces need replacing.

That leaves kids feeling the chill while doing their homework.

"I'm cold, and when I'm trying to write, my hands are freezing, so I can't grip the pencil right," 8-year-old Miracle Brunette of Rockaway Beach told WCBS' Dick Brennan.

Cleanup was still under way Monday night in Rockaways, where the Brunette family was still struggling to keep warm. Space heaters were barely doing the job, and Miracle's mother, Sharon Decoute, made the most of things by heating water on the stove for food and showers.

"I boil the water in the pot, put it in a bucket, and wash them down with it," Decoute said.

The family said because of the extensive water damage to their home, it could be weeks before they replace the boiler. Decoute said she would rather just start with a new house from scratch.

"I want my home back for Christmas," she told WCBS. "Got a home in line? I'll take it."

Meanwhile, in Long Beach on Long Island, some families who had just gotten their electricity back Sunday night were still struggling with the weather.

"It's too cold. It's just bitter cold. And your hands get cold, because things are still wet," said resident Monica Sardo, who added that the space heater in her home was insufficient.

It was a similar problem for Andrea Capone, who in this case only had a Jets curtain on the wall to keep the cold air out. "The Jets are hanging here, because the air is rushing through," she said.

Schools re-opening on Fire Island, Belle Harbor

Life has slowly, but surely, started to return to normal on hard-hit Fire Island and in the Belle Harbor section of Queens.

Students returned to classes as two schools in Belle Harbor, Queens, reopened Tuesday, nearly a month after Superstorm Sandy struck the area.

/ WCBS

On Tuesday P.S./M.S. 114 and P.S. Q256 in Belle Harbor, Queens, opened their doors, CBS Station WCBS reports. It was the first time students were allowed back in the buildings since the storm.

Belle Harbor on the Rockaway peninsula was among the areas hardest-hit by Sandy. Many of the students living there not only lost their homes, but were forced out of schools that sustained flood damage.

Teacher John Cucuzza told WCBS the experience had been very traumatic for the kids. "Coming back to school gives them a sense of normalcy," he said.

On Monday, WCBS correspondent Dana Tyler reported dozens of kids finally returned to their school on Fire Island, the Long Island barrier island in Suffolk County. And they seemed happy about it.

Excited elementary school pupils could not wait to hit the books again at the schoolhouse in Ocean Beach.

"It's nice to be back and have our regular classroom and school," said Sam Iessa, 11.

"The students are all safe, and most have moved back to the island. A few of our families, unfortunately, still have to live on the mainland," said teacher Gabrielle Donovan.