Congressman Chris Smith toured storm damage sites in Wall Township and Howell Township yesterday afternoon to prepare his appeal to the Trump Administration for federal assistance in the recovery, if Governor Phil Murphy asks the President for FEMA’s assistance, as expected.
Smith said his letter to President Trump is already written and that he is prepared to work for federal reimbursement as soon as Governor Murphy makes the request. The knowledge he gained on yesterday’s tour will help him make his case to Trump Administration officials and FEMA when he meets with them to appeal for federal funds.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: August 17th, 2018 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Chris Smith, FEMA, Flooding, New Jersey | Tags: Anthony and Eileen Sosa, Bob Salomon, CD-4, Congressman Chris Smith, FEMA, Governor Phil Murphy, Howell, James Herman, Jeff Bertrand, John Tobia, Monmouth County Department of Public Works and Engineering, Monmouth County News, NJ 4, Summer storm damage, Trump Administration, Wall Township | Comments Off on Congressman Smith Tours Storm Damage In CD-4
Highlands residents Kerry and Jamie Gowan speak at May 2015 announcement that FEMA is reopening Sandy related flood insurance claims
WASHINGTON — Hurricane Sandy homeowners who feel they didn’t get a fair shake from their insurance companies now have until Oct. 15 to ask the government to reopen their claims. The Federal Emergency Management Agency extended its deadline to handle as many as 141,800 requests from homeowners who were not in litigation, about 70,000 of them… Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: September 21st, 2015 | Author: admin | Filed under: FEMA, Flooding, Hurricane Sandy, Monmouth County News, Superstorm Sandy | Tags: FEMA, FEMA deadline, FEMA fraud, Hurricane Sandy, Monmouth County News, Superstorm Sandy | Comments Off on Sandy victims’ new claim deadline: Oct. 15
Today, Jon Bon Jovi is hosting a $1,000-a-plate fundraiser for Hillary Clinton in his French Chateau overlooking the Navesink River. It’s a mile from Jyll Jakes’ neighborhood in Sea Bright, where every other house remains boarded up. “It’s a still mess down here. I think people have forgotten how bad it is,” said Jakes, who credits… Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: June 29th, 2015 | Author: admin | Filed under: 2016 Presidential Politics, Chris Christie, FEMA, Flooding, Hurricane Sandy, Monmouth County, Monmouth County News, New Jersey, Superstorm Sandy | Tags: 2016 Presidential politics, Al Schupp, Chris Christie, FEMA, George Kasimos, Highlands, Hillary Clinton, Hurricane Sandy, Jon Bon Jovi, Jyll Jakes, NFIP, Sea Bright, Stop FEMA Now, Superstorm Sandy | 1 Comment »
Amid the stress and confusion in the immediate aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, residents of coastal communities found themselves struggling to comprehend their losses and how to begin to put things back together. They contacted their insurance companies to file flood claims — but many of them didn’t fully understand the process or their rights. “What happened… Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: May 11th, 2015 | Author: admin | Filed under: FEMA, Flooding, Hurricane Sandy, Monmouth County, Monmouth County News, National Flood Insurance Plan, Superstorm Sandy | Tags: FEMA, Flood Insurance Claims, Superstorm Sandy | Comments Off on Feds Probe Why Sandy Victims Were Shortchanged on Flood-Insurance Claims
MINEOLA, N.Y. — A $24 billion sea of red ink has millions of Americans in vulnerable flood zones, including homeowners still struggling to recover from Hurricane Sandy, facing steep increases in flood insurance premiums. New legislation that went into effect this month — the second time in two years Congress has tweaked the troubled National Flood… Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: April 12th, 2015 | Author: admin | Filed under: FEMA, Flood Maps, Flooding, Hurricane Sandy, National Flood Insurance Plan, Superstorm Sandy | Tags: FEMA, Flood Insurance, George Kasimos, Hurricane Sandy, National Flood Insurance Plan, NFIP, Stop FEMA Now, Superstorm Sandy | Comments Off on Millions, including Sandy victims, facing hikes in flood insurance premiums
New Jersey’s two U.S. senators say the number of Hurricane Sandy cases currently in federal court doesn’t begin to represent all the victims harmed by the government’s “unfair” process to recover insurance claims after the storm. Those victims, lawmakers say, are entitled to FEMA settlements. On Friday, Democratic Sens. Robert Menendez and Cory Booker wrote to… Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: March 1st, 2015 | Author: admin | Filed under: Bob Menendez, Cory Booker, FEMA, Flooding, Hurricane Sandy, National Flood Insurance Plan, Superstorm Sandy | Tags: FEMA, FEMA settlements, Hurricane Sandy, NFIP, Senator Bob Menendez, Senator Cory Booker, Superstorm Sandy | Comments Off on Seeking FEMA Money For ‘The Full Universe Of Victims’
President Barack Obama has issued an executive order directing all government agencies handing out federal aid to incorporate stricter building requirements that take sea-level rise into account. The move is aimed at making residents in coastal areas safer from storms like Sandy, as well as ensuring that taxpayer money is spent wisely. Planners and environmentalists have…
Read the rest of this entry »
UNION BEACH — Nine months ago Richard Drake opened a letter notifying him of a 55-fold increase in his flood insurance premium even though he and his wife, Sandra, raised their Union Beach home three feet above federal requirements. Since then, Drake feared the $33,000-a-year bill would force his family to walk away from the home…
Read the rest of this entry »
After Closing On A RREM Grant, DCA Says A New Home For Vietnam Vet Is Not In The Cards
By Art Gallagher
Russell Card Jr removes his “family crest” from his family’s home in Highlands in preparation for demolition . Photo via facebook
A Vietnam Veteran from Highlands and his 65 year-old wife had their expectations of a new home crushed last week when their RREM approved builder informed them that a stop work order had been placed on their project by the Department of Community Affairs, with no explanation. The family had prepared their house for demolition, based upon promises from DCA/RREM, and now fear they will be without a home.
Russell Card, a 72 year-old Vietnam Veteran from Highlands closed on his $150,000 RREM grant on July 28. He put up his $18,000 escrow to cover the difference between the cost of the project and the amount granted. Card, his wife Maureen and son Russell Jr, 35, prepared their home (which was built in the 1890’s and in the family since 1933) for demolition. They moved most of their belongings into a POD on their immaculately maintained property and moved themselves into an apartment the size of the living room in the Bay Avenue house they have lived in since 1986. By mid-September all the utilities were disconnected at the house and it was ready for demolition before their new home would be built. The funding for the new home was the RREM grant, a gap grant of $30,000 from Gap Funding Initiative and $17,762 that was remaining from a $55,000 grant Mrs. Card had received from her employer, CareOne, after Sandy filled their home with eight feet of water on October 29, 2012.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: October 1st, 2014 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Chris Christie, Christie Administration, DCA, Department of Community Affairs, FEMA, Flooding, Highlands, Housing, Hurricane Sandy, Monmouth County, RREM, Superstorm Sandy | Tags: America's Home Plan, CBI-Shaw, Chris Adler, Christie Administration, Community Health Law Project, DCA, Deanna Loicono, Department of Community Affairs, Highlands, Lisa Ryan, Monmouth County, Reconstruction Rehabilitation Elevation and Mitigation, RREM, RREM grants, Russell Card, Russell Card Jr, Russell Card Sr | 10 Comments »
FEMA extends flood insurance filing deadline by 6 months (via
NJ.com)
Homeowners filing flood insurance claims from damage caused by Hurricane Sandy now have more time to submit paperwork supporting their cases. The Federal Emergency Management Agency — which oversees the National Flood Insurance Program — is extending…
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: April 29th, 2014 | Author: admin | Filed under: FEMA, Flooding, Superstorm Sandy | Tags: FEMA, Flood Insurance, Hurricane Sandy, Superstorm Sandy | Comments Off on FEMA extends flood insurance filing deadline by 6 months
Congressman Chris Smith toured storm damage sites in Wall Township and Howell Township yesterday afternoon to prepare his appeal to the Trump Administration for federal assistance in the recovery, if Governor Phil Murphy asks the President for FEMA’s assistance, as expected.
