mmm Interesting question

Maybe. . .

because they're all sand bottom beach breaks. Homer Simpson moment. Dooooop. Reefs typically require coral- seen any of that around Jersey lately? Rock reefs are generally called point breaks. Get all your buddies to paddle out with a rock every time they surf and drop it in the same place. Eventually, you'll have the start of a Jersey reef if you really want it bad enough.

 

There are rock reefs as well but I agree on the East Coast we mainly have sand bottoms. Coral reefs tend to lend themselves to much warmer year round waters.

 

ill tell you why. 2 reasons. The first being the eroding of the appalachian mountains. The Appalachians were taller than the himalayas at one point in geologic time and have since eroded glaciers and other eroding forcess to their present state. All of the sediment from these great eroding mountains was carried over time down the many rivers on the east coast that lead right into, or eventually into the ocean. Thus causing the greatest deposit of sediment on earth to be right offshore of the east coast. This is why the shelf of the atlantic is sooo massive, and really why the east coast sucks so much. This is also the reason you hear people talking about drilling on the east coast non stop on the news now, because huge sediment deposits mean the potential for oil.

2. The dirty nasty water of the east coast. In case you didn't know coral reefs are alive (until you touch them). Now most all reefs you will surf over will be long dead, the point being that the were once alive and grew to their present state. Now reefs need a few things to live, light being one of them. Light easily penetrates clean blue water, but not this brown water we have here.
And thats why there are no reefs in the mid atlantic, now just go check out new hampshire and maine you will probably be singing a different tale.