Last Tuesday, I waded through my neighbor Frank’s basement in Lakewood after his sump pump failed during our first heavy spring rain. Six inches of water, family photos floating by, and that unmistakable musty smell that haunts basements for months afterward. “Should’ve checked the damn thing in March,” he muttered, hauling soggy cardboard boxes upstairs. Frank’s misfortune is a reminder for all of us living along the Jersey Shore – that neglected sump pump in…