The Miracle of Route 35

The Miracle of Route 35 from Arora and Associates, P.C. on Vimeo.

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Monmouth Sheriff’s Office, OEM, Seeks $1 Billion In Hazard Mitigation Funding

The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is awaiting response from the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management (NJOEM) Hazard Mitigation Unit after it submitted numerous requests totaling more than 1 billion dollars in funding as a result of Superstorm Sandy. On March 31, 2013, OEM delivered 185 letters of intent to the NJOEM Hazard Mitigation Unit for various mitigation projects, which include home elevations, property acquisitions and flood control measures, as well as various infrastructure improvements and emergency generators for critical infrastructure.

The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) provides grants to states and local governments to implement long-term hazard mitigation measures after a major disaster declaration. The purpose of the program is to reduce the loss of life and property due to natural disasters and to have mitigation measures in place which can be implemented during the immediate recovery from a disaster. “Monmouth County was severely impacted by Superstorm Sandy, and, the projects submitted by  Monmouth County and each municipality will provide the necessary protection of life and property,  should another disaster occur,” said Sheriff Shaun Golden.

Monmouth County OEM has been collecting the letters of intent from each municipality since mid-December. “These letters are the first step in notifying the state as to the projects for which the municipalities wish to seek funding to mitigate, and, the priorities in which they fall within the respective jurisdictions,” said Michael Oppegaard, Coordinator of the Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management. “We now must wait to hear from the state mitigation office as to how they intend to prioritize and fund these projects.”

Under the Robert T. Stafford Act, HMGP is authorized to direct and govern mitigation projects as long as a community has an approved Hazard Mitigation Plan. Monmouth County’s Plan was completed and approved in 2009 and includes all 53 municipalities within the county. “Hopefully the state will look favorably upon Monmouth County when selecting and prioritizing the projects under this program,” said Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone. “This will allow the residents and communities to rebuild stronger, safer and smarter.”

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Jackebob’s Opens Union Beach’s Doors

A tribute to  resiliency and community.

Gigi Dorr has reopened Jakebob’s…off the bay…five months after the Union Beach landmark was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy.  The new restaurant is decorated with the doors of homes that were destroyed by the storm.

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Quality Used Furniture

To donate quality used furniture contact Furnished With Love at 732-222-1923.  All donations are tax deductible.

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Christie will chaperone Prince Harry at Jersey Shore

Governor Chris Christie told his NJ 101.5 listening audience that the Prince of Wales will keep his clothes on when he visits the Jersey Shore in May.

“I am going to be spending the entire day with Prince Harry,” the governor said, “believe me, no one is going to be getting naked if i am spending the entire day with them.  I think I can assure the people of New Jersey that, much to their relief.”

Prince Harry will be visiting the United States May 9-15 to visit survivors of Superstorm Sandy and to promote charities he supports that help injured service men and women in the United States and the UK.  In addition to New Jersey, the Prince will visit New York City, Connecticut, Colorado and Washington, DC.

When Harry visited Las Vegas last August, he lost a game of strip billiards.  Nude photos of him were leaked to TMZ.

If you missed Christie on Ask the Governor, you can view the show here.  The remarks about Harry start at about the 56 minute mark.

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Christie’s Town Hall in Manasquan

This is a turning point for our state:

It’s time to put our game faces on

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Union Beach Video: The Destruction of Sandy

This video footage was shot by Captain Vincent Solomeno, NJ National Guard, on October 31, 2013 as he flew in a helicopter over his hometown of Union Beach.

Solomeno said that it took him months to watch the video, after the shock of witnessing the destruction first hand.  We are grateful that he shared it with us.

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Christie on Restoring the Shore: We have to do it together

Halloween Inflatable

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Support Chilango’s Rebuilding

photo credit: MireyPosada.blogspot.com

When the waters of Superstorm Sandy receded from Highlands, Leo Cervantes and his staff at Chilango’s recovered the non-spoiled inventory from their destroyed Bay Avenue restaurant and invited the entire town to a free dinner that they prepared and served at Henry Hudson Regional High School which was serving as a shelter for hundreds of residents displaced by the storm.

His business was destroyed, but his home was spared by Sandy. Yet, for weeks after the storm, Cervantes continued to prepare meals for his friends and neighbors in the Henry Hudson shelter.

Leo left the poverty of Neza, a tough town outside of Mexico City in 1989, settling first in Asbury Park with his brother who had come a few years before.  He got a job washing dishes at the Cypress Inn in Wanamassa.  Before long he was working days for a landscaper and nights at the restaurant.

When the Cypress Inn closed, Leo went to work at The Shadowbrook.  Owner Richard Zweben sponsored Leo for his green card.

With $1000 and a note held by the seller, Leo opened Chilango’s Long Branch in 1999.  The four table restaurant thrived on take-out sold mostly to fellow hispanics who appreciated the authentic Mexican cuisine…the way real Mexican food should taste.

Three years later, Leo bought a building on Bay Ave in Highlands and open Chilango’s as an authentic Mexican restaurant and Tequila bar.  Quickly, Chilango’s became a local and regional favorite.  As his business grew, Leo became an important contributing member of the community with his constant support of civic organizations, the Highlands Businss Partnership and he served a term on the Zoning Board.

Leo became a natualized U.S. Citizen in 2008.

Chilango’s was written up in The New York Times in 2011.

Now, four months after Sandy hit, Leo’s bank account is about back to where it was when he opened in Long Branch in 1999. He is caught in the red tape of the SBA and his insurance company, both of whom are asking him to resubmit information he’s already submitted multiple times.   Windnsea and Shadowbrook have both hosted Chilango’s Nights since the storm which were a help in holding over and raising some money for rebuidling, but not enough.  Leo’s spent almost all of his savings on rebuilding, but he’s coming up short.

But he doesn’t want a handout.  Leo’s goal is to raise $50,000 by selling gift certificates redeemable for Mexican food the way it should taste when Chilango’s reopens.  He can be open in a matter of weeks.

Certificates can be purchased through the link below, and/or stop by the tent Leo will have set up in his parking lot to serve Irish Burritos  next Saturday at the Highlands St. Patrick’s Parade.

Your emailed receipt for your “donation” will be your gift certificate.  Bring it with you to apply to your check when you dine at the re-opened Chilango’s.

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Smith Testifies Before Appropriations Subcommittee on Army Corps Projects for NJ

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), who represents areas of Ocean and Monmouth counties hard-hit by Superstorm Sandy, today testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee Energy and Water Development on the impact of Superstorm Sandy disaster relief legislation.

The hearing was held by New Jersey Congressman, Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen, author of the “Frelinghuysen amendment” which provided the necessary funding to rebuild New Jersey and keep our recovery on track.  The legislation “is making—and will continue to make—a real difference in the lives of our constituents and communities throughout the Northeast,” Smith told the Committee members.

The legislation brought the total federal appropriations to help Sandy impacted states to $60.4 billion including assistance to back up the National Flood Insurance Program, programs to help the residents whose homes were destroyed or damaged, and help for communities to make a robust and sustainable recovery.

The hearing focused on the Army Corps of Engineers—who received $5.35 billion from the supplemental appropriation—and their plans for Sandy recovery, including the critical beach replenishment projects along the Jersey Shore that helped mitigate the damage in certain areas.

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