WASHINGTON — The New Jersey congressional delegation is asking the Federal Emergency Management Agency to extend until Dec. 15 its deadline for receiving requests from Hurricane Sandy homeowners to reconsider their damage claims. The lawmakers, in a letter to FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, sought another three months to give all homeowners enough time to contact the… Read the rest of this entry »
TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie on Monday signed a bill that requires the state to provide residents participating in major Hurricane Sandy recovery grant programs with personalized timelines outlining when they will receive help. The legislation ( S2825) also mandates that the state Department of Community Affairs establish quarterly goals for how much recovery aid it… Read the rest of this entry »
The unfinished front stairs to Joseph Ready’s elevated house in Union Beach look like something out of the game “Mousetrap.” Skinny, rickety, with bare-bones framing, the stairs lead to a shaky, rail-less landing 20 feet in the air. Ready worries some kid will climb up on a dare and bring the whole thing down. “It’s an… Read the rest of this entry »
Brad J. Kieserman, the federal official assigned to reform the National Flood Insurance Plan and to re-open thousands of Superstorm Sandy related claims amid allegations that thousands of homeowners were short changed, has resigned his post in order to take a job at the Red Cross, according to a report on Newsday.
A 28 year employee of the federal government, Kieserman took on the reform of NFIP only 3 months ago in February. FEMA annouced four months ago that it would settle every disputed case but only about a dozen checks have been issued.
Appearing in Hoboken last week with U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker, as well as Highlands residents Kerry and Jamie Gowan who where representing the 70,000 New Jersey residents with claims to be reviewed by FEMA, Kieserman pledged that the government would do better in the tasks of “people caring for people.”
Posted: June 2nd, 2015 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: FEMA, Hurricane Sandy, Monmouth County News, New Jersey, RREM, Superstorm Sandy | Tags: Brad J. Kieserman, Brad Kieserman, FEMA, FEMA's fraud, HUD, Jamie Gowan, Kerry Gowan, National Flood Insurance Plan, NFIP, Senator Bob Menendez, Senator Cory Booker, Shaun Donovan, Superstorm Sandy | 1 Comment »
STAFFORD — If Joe Karcz had gone with his gut, he’d be home by now, instead of staring at his empty lagoon-front lot in Stafford Township. A disabled construction worker, Karcz, whose home was badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy’s storm surge, first thought he’d rehab it on his own, but then decided to get the funding… Read the rest of this entry »
A bill that aims to address ongoing problems raised by homeowners and advocates about New Jersey’s handling of Hurricane Sandy relief aid cleared the state Senate on Monday. The bill ( S2825), which was introduced by Senate President Stephen Sweeney in March, requires the state to give applicants in certain grant programs personalized timelines showing when… Read the rest of this entry »
In her last job, Amanda Devecka-Rinear’s office was in an historic brick Georgian mansion on DuPont Circle in Washington D.C., with rooftop views of Embassy Row. Her office now is in a fishing shack on Cedar Bonnet Island, with back porch views of Barnegat Bay and kitchen views of a boarded-up house across the sand-packed street.… Read the rest of this entry »
TOMS RIVER — The state plans to spend most of the half billion dollars in Hurricane Sandy recovery funding allocated to New Jersey in the final round of aid from the federal government on affordable rental housing programs and grants for people who want to rebuild. But residents who spoke at a public hearing today in… 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.
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 »
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…
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