N.J. Congressman: Sandy funds still needed for infrastructure, businesses (via NJ.com)
FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – While public officials welcomed the news that the latest round of Hurricane Sandy recovery money will cover the New Jersey’s unmet need for housing funds, one congressman says that the funding does not go far enough. U.S. Rep…
New bill reauthorizes regional contribution agreements for Sandy affected counties
Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon will introduce new legislation tomorrow that reauthorizes regional contribution agreements (RCAs) between towns in the nine most Superstorm Sandy-impacted counties. These agreements will permit the transfer of housing units to count towards a recipient municipality’s fair share obligation. These types of agreements were originally permitted under the Coalition On Affordable Housing where one town could transfer a portion of its affordable housing obligation to another. RCAs were banned in 2008.
“I’ve always said that the law banning RCAs was shortsighted,” explained O’Scanlon. “I want to go on record saying I disagree with this far reaching court-mandated housing scheme. But if we have to have it, there should be a mix of options for municipalities to deal with it. “Mayor John Hornik of Marlboro recently revived the discussion of RCAs in relation to those areas affected by Sandy. We have seized on that common ground and developed legislation reauthorizing RCAs to help facilitate the construction, reconstruction or rehabilitation of housing in areas hardest hit by Sandy. We can finally put these funds to work creating affordable housing and helping towns recover from the storm at the same time. I look forward to working with Mayor Hornik on this as we work to persuade the legislative leadership to join the effort.”
Posted: May 14th, 2014 | Author: admin | Filed under: COAH, Declan O'Scanlon, Housing, Hurricane Sandy, Superstorm Sandy | Tags: Affordable Housing, Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon, COAH, Hurricane Sandy, Mayor Jon Hornik, Middletown Township Committee, RCAs, Regional Contributions Agreements, Superstorm Sandy, Tony Fiore | 2 Comments »
How Superstorm Sandy Created a New Breed of NJ Online Citizen Journalists on Facebook (via NJ Tech Weekly)
During Sandy, Bob “Weatherman” Burger kept people informed. | Courtesy Bob Burger October 29, 2012 — call it “the night the lights went out in Jersey,” literally. That’s when Superstorm Sandy roared up the East Coast as a hurricane, made…
Christie conditionally vetoes Sandy ‘Bill of Rights’ (via NJ.com)
TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie today stripped down a bill drafted in response to concerns about how well the state has distributed federal Hurricane Sandy relief aid, saying it included mandates that would be impossible to implement and featured “partisan…
By Art Gallagher, [email protected]
The Obama Administration is considering holding a contest for areas impacted by disasters other than Superstorm Sandy. The “winners” would get between $1 billion and $2 billion of the remaining $3.6 billion is Sandy relief dollars being doled out by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), according to a story first reported by the Wall Street Journal
The Record reports that New Jersey Congressmen Bill Pascrell Jr., D-Paterson; Albio Sires, D-West New York; and Frank Pallone, D-Long Branch, and Sen. Bob Menendez are urging HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan not to divert federal aid to projects in other parts of the country. Members of the New York Congressional Delegation are making similar pleas.
Bookerism of the Day
Where’s Senator Cory Booker? He’s proselytizing on twitter.
Sires told The Record that the entire New Jersey delegation could join together in opposition to a nationwide contest for the money. That would be great! Sires should lead the Democrats in the delegation in ending the partisanship that has been dominating the discourse over Sandy recovery and sign the letter to Donovan and Michael Boots, the Acting Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality that Congressman Chris Smith invited him, and all members of the delegation to sign requesting a meeting to hash out the multitude of issues New Jersey residents are having with the HUD relief process.
Posted: April 24th, 2014 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Chris Smith, Cory Booker, Hurricane Sandy, Superstorm Sandy | Tags: Bookerism of the day, Chris Smith, Congressman Albio Sires, Congressman Chris Smith, Cory Booker, Frank Pallone, HUD, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, Michael Boots, Obama Administration, Superstorm Sandy, White House | 1 Comment »Citing the shortage of federal and state funds available to assist Superstorm Sandy impacted homeowners in rebuilding their homes, the Middletown Township Committtee this week joined Marlboro Mayor Jonathan Hornik and Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon in calling on the state legislature and Governor Chris Christie to put the more than $100 million in Affordable Housing Funds that are sitting dormant to work.
With a unanimous 5-0 vote, the committee passed a resolution on Monday, April 21, calling for legislation that would reinstate Regional Contribution Agreements (RCAs) “for the limited purpose of getting victims of Superstorm Sandy back in their homes during this time of need.”
RCAs were created in the original 1985 Fair Housing Act whereby towns with funds raised from developer fees or through bonding could transfer up to half of those funds to another community for the purpose of building affordable housing as required by the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Mt. Laurel decision.
Posted: April 23rd, 2014 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: COAH, Declan O'Scanlon, Hurricane Sandy, Jersey Shore, Marlboro, Middletown, Monmouth County, National Flood Insurance Plan, NJ State Legislature, Tony Fiore | Tags: Affordable Housing, Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon, Chris Christie, COAH, Declan O'Scanlon, Jon Corzine, Jon Hornik, Jonathan Hornik, Middletown, RCA, RCAs, Regional Contribution Agreements, Steve Sweeney, Superstorm Sandy, Tony Fiore | Comments Off on Middletown Calls On Christie, Legislature To Allow Affordable Housing Funds To Assist Sandy Impacted HomeownersBy Art Gallagher, [email protected]
When disaster hits, natural or man made, Americans put aside their differences and come together to handle the emergency.
We saw it with 9-11. Most recently in New Jersey we saw it with Superstorm Sandy.
Once the emergency is over and the federal money is flowing, the politics…partisanship and patronage starts. We saw it with 9-11. We’re living it with Sandy.
Posted: April 13th, 2014 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: 2014 Congressional Races, 2014 Elections, 2014 U.S. Senate race, 2016 Presidential Politics, 2017 NJ Gubernatorial Politics, Bob Menendez, Chris Christie, Chris Smith, Christie Administration, Congress, Cory Booker, Democrats, Department of Community Affairs, Department of Homland Security, Frank Pallone, George W Bush, Housing, Hurricane Sandy, Jennifer Beck, Jersey Shore, NJ Democrats, NJ State Legislature, RREM, Superstorm Sandy | Tags: Congressman Chris Smith, Congressman Frank Pallone, Disaster Recovery, Disaster Relief, HUD, New Jersey Congressional Delegation, RREM, Senate President Steve Sweeney, Senator Jennifer Beck, Shaun Donovan, Superstorm Sandy | Comments Off on The Politics Of Disaster Relief
Hurricane Sandy victims make do in trailers as they wait to rebuild (via NJ.com)
Tina Napalo lived in a bungalow-style house on Fourth Street in Union Beach for more than 20 years. “I didn’t have everything,” said the 40-year-old mother of four, but, “it took me a long time to get what I had.” Then Hurricane Sandy hit.…
State reopens appeals period for 2 Sandy relief programs (via NJ.com)
By Richard Khavkine and Erin O’Neill New Jersey officials are reopening the appeals period for residents whose initial applications for two Hurricane Sandy relief programs were denied, according to the state Department of Community Affairs, the agency…
NJ’s Awash in Federal Sandy Aid, But Funds Just Trickle Out of DCA’s Spigot (via NJSpotlight)
More than 15 months after Superstorm Sandy, New Jersey has approved awarding little more than a quarter of the money available from the largest housing assistance program it established to help those most affected by the hurricane, and has actually…
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