Individual Assistance Extended to Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Middlesex and Salem Counties; Individual and Public Assistance Approved for Camden, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Monmouth, Sussex and Warren Counties; Public Assistance Approved for Mercer County
Trenton, NJ – Governor Chris Christie today announced that the federal government has approved disaster assistance for New Jerseyans impacted by Hurricane Irene in additional counties, providing direct assistance to individuals and households in the aftermath of the historic hurricane. Individuals in a total of 16 New Jersey counties are now eligible for federal disaster relief. Governor Christie previously requested assistance for all 21 New Jersey counties, but damage assessments need to be concluded before individual assistance can be granted to the remaining counties of Burlington, Hudson, Mercer, Ocean and Union.
New Jersey residents and small businesses in the following 16 counties are now eligible for Individual Assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): Atlantic, Bergen, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Salem, Somerset, Sussex, and Warren.
Eligibility allows New Jerseyans to apply for different types of assistance, including temporary housing, repair, replacement or other needs such as Disaster Unemployment Assistance, and Small Business Administration disaster loans.
All 16 of the counties have also been approved by the federal government as eligible for public assistance, which includes federal funding. Additionally, Mercer County was also approved for public assistance. Funding also is available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by Hurricane Irene. Survivors of Hurricane Irene who suffered damage should apply for disaster assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency – even if they have insurance or aren’t sure they are eligible.
Residents of the five counties that have yet to be declared eligible for individual assistance by the federal government are being encouraged to begin the process of registering with FEMA for relief.
Register by phone at 800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 800-462-7585 for those with hearing or speech impairments. Specialists are standing by at the toll-free numbers seven days a week, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time, until further notice. Help in other languages is available. Or you can register online atwww.DisasterAssistance.gov.You can also apply through a web-enabled mobile device or smartphone by visiting m.fema.gov and following the link to “apply online for federal assistance.”
House Minority Leader Eric Cantor has indicated that he wants the government to pay for FEMA disaster relief by cutting spending elsewhere. Governor Chris Christie said that our people are suffering now and that relief should not be subject to political games.
Cantor and Christie are both right.
Republicans who want to stop the run away spending on Washington that is leading us to economic ruin only control one house of Congress. They only have leverage over the Senate and the President in the event of an emergency, like when the debt ceiling must be extended or when disaster relief must be provided.
Those in the liberal media, like the Neptune Nudniks, who are critical of Cantor and the Tea Party Republicans in the House have no interest in reforming Washington’s ways. They are part of the problem.
As a result of the debt ceiling agreement, the Democrats in the Senate and the President have already agreed to trillions in spending cuts to be identified by the end of the year by congressional super commission or huge cuts to the military budget and entitlements will be triggered.
Democrats in the Senate can avoid the “political games” and provide disaster relief by going along with Cantor and identifying cuts sufficient enough to cover the cost of relief now.
Anna Little spent Hurricane Irene in Texas singing her own praises to Governor Rick Perry.
Upon her return, Little proceeded to inform supporters that she will be the number 2 person in Perry’s 2012 presidential campaign in the Garden State and that her “ass will be the one to kiss” in the NJ GOP. Little wouldn’t disclose to her supporters who Perry’s number 1 will be.
Multiple published reports have indicated that Governor Christie has asked NJ Republican donors and operatives not to commit to a presidential candidate. I guess Little will no longer have front row seats at the Governor’s town hall meetings.
It was nice to wake up in air conditioning and not have to head off to Starbucks or McDonalds for power and Wifi.
I spent more time inside McDonalds this week since, well since ever. I would have had to work at a McDonalds to have spent more time inside one than I did this week. Perhaps it is an indication of the state of the economy. Perhaps it is a indication of McDonalds’ recruitment and training. Perhaps it is an indication of my prejudices. Perhaps all of the above. It seems to me that the people working at the McDonalds on Route 35 in Middletown and the one on Route 36 in Leonardo are decidedly more middle class than I expected. They are friendly, articulate, accommodating and industrious. No one asked me, “Would you like fries with that?” I learned what a McFlurry is.
Governor’s Conference Call
Last night I was invited to listen into a conference call Governor Christie held with his cabinet and elected officials throughout the State. Christie has been holding these calls at least daily since the days before Irene hit.
Despite the mixed reviews I had heard about these calls from several elected officials who had been on them during the week, I was impressed.
I am impressed with the quality of the team that Governor Christie has assembled to manage our State government. Over the course of my career I have participated in or been privy too several executive level conferences in both the private and public sector. In very large enterprises and small. Christie’s team stands out. They are extraordinarily competent and focused on getting the job done.
There was quite a bit of conversation about JCP&L. Monmouth County is not the only place suffering with JCP&L’s inadequate and disingenuous response to the storm. Mayor Timothy McDonough of Warren County’s Hope Township reported frustrations with JCP&L that are very similar to what we’ve experienced in Monmouth County.
BPU President Lee Solomon recounted a conversation with JCP&L executives who asked him what more he thought they should be doing. “Tell your people to tell the truth,” Soloman said, “if your people are talking to a mayor or councilman, tell them the truth. Don’t tell them what you think they want to hear or what you think will make them go away.” Imagine that.
Christie and Solomon said they’d be talking further about JCP&L after the call last night. Solomon said BPU was focused on getting all the power up and that JCP&L was on his radar for further work after the crisis has past.
Christie said that since Sunday the utilities have been restoring power at a rate of 8900 customers per hour. JCP&L has obviously been dragging down that average. Overnight last night they restored power at a rate of little over 1000 customers per hour just in Monmouth County.
The contrast between PSEG’s response to Irene and JCP&L’s response is like comparing the Yankees to the Mets. Sorry Governor.
PSEG vs. JCPL
As of early this morning, PSEG has 15,000 customerswithout power in their entire service area. There service area includes Bergen, Hudson, Essex, Union, Passaic, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset Counties.
JCP&Lhas 19,314 customers without power just in Monmouth County. They have 13,834 customers without power in Morris County, 9934 in Sussex County, 5941 in Hunterdon County, 6732 in Somerset County, 3643 in Union County, 3324 in Essex, and 3124 in Warren. If I missed any…so did JCP&L.
A loyal MMM reader provided an antedotal contrast between PSEG and JCP&L:
My father was a construction super for PSE&G for 40 years. I am literally first person in my family who came to this country who not to work for PSE&G— great grandfather when it was a trolly car company, my grandfather, my father and uncles, etc. all worked for PSE&G. Every time there were events like this my father would be living in portable trailers at job sites for months at a time. He always said JCPL sucked and never invested in infrastructure since they were bought by First Energy out of Ohio. PSE&G would have to bail them out all the time. PSE&G is a New Jersey company with more than 100 year history here. Most of its employees all live here too. Note where First Energy’s executive’s live: https://www.firstenergycorp.com/about/leadership_team.html.
That story is consistent with the graphic that greets visitors to PSEG’s website:
Contrast that to the lunatic who says he’s a JCP&L lineman that has been harassing me and Mike Halfacre in the comments here and on facebook. I hope that rectum crater is not really a JCP&L lineman blogging during this crisis, but given the JCP&L response and the info he has given me to contact his union office, I wonder. I’ll be contacting his union and continuing to delete is his comments here.
Estimated Customers Out For
MONMOUTH County
As of Sep 1, 2011 6:29 AM
Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno will be on the radio with NJ 101.5’s Jim Gearhart tomorrow morning at 7:35 AM and again with John Gambling on 710 AM at 8:05 AM.
Trenton, NJ – To support the recovery of New Jersey’s businesses and protect the overall economic interests of our state in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, Governor Chris Christie and Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno have announced a series of business assistance services for those affected by the storm. Among these vital services are those related to financial support, information on temporary space, and technical assistance for impacted businesses. Information for all services may be easily accessed through New Jersey’s Business Action Center (BAC), by calling 1-866-534-7789 or through the state’s business portal at www. nj.gov/njbusiness/, the “one-stop” shop for business resources.
“In response to this natural disaster, New Jersey has coordinated a range of multi-agency resources to assist impacted businesses and ensure they are operational quickly,” said Governor Christie. “We have worked hard to grow our state’s economy by working to meet the needs of our business community. Providing a thorough and inter-departmental business recovery assistance program is another demonstration of our support for our business community and their workers.”
“Through the collective efforts of the Partnership for Action, which includes the Business Action Center, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and Choose New Jersey, in addition to the Departments of Banking and Insurance, Community Affairs and Labor and Workforce Development, we will work to protect the assets of our state’s businesses, provide the necessary temporary support to our workforce and sustain our economic vibrancy,” said Lt. Governor Guadagno.
The business recovery assistance services are designed to support businesses and workers who may be temporarily unable to perform their jobs due to the storm. These services include:
·Access to lines of credit of up to $500,000 for businesses that need access to cash to improve their damaged property while awaiting insurance proceeds;
·Grant awards for businesses to assist with on-the-job training costs for new workers hired specifically to assist in disaster-related activities, such as landscaping and tree removal, construction, insurance claims, building supplies sales, materials transport, utility work, call and claims centers staffing, and infrastructure clearing and repair.
·Availability of the Business Resource Centers at any of the 17 local One-Stop Career Centers across the state as temporary hubs for businesses to access telephone and internet services as well as for job seekers and displaced workers seeking workforce development and unemployment assistance.
·The availability of Disaster Unemployment Benefits to provide income security for those displaced workers suffering temporary storm-related job loss.
·Dispatch of Rapid Response team members to identified Disaster Recovery Centers to assist displaced workers
·Availability of services through New Jersey Youth Corps to assist non-profit, public and governmental entities in a variety of ways for disaster relief and clean-up.
In addition, BAC’s Business Call Center is also the one-stop resource for more information on how to get businesses back up and running. The Call Center staff can assist with the following services:
·Arranging business facility inspections for buildings suffering major flood damage, as such conditions require structural integrity inspections before utility service can be restored. These inspections are handled in local code enforcement offices and by local code enforcement officials. Anticipating an enormous increase in such work, the Department of Community Affairs has mobilized all qualified personnel to assist local governments in this effort.
·Advocate for businesses seeking assistance from local utilities to restore electric, phone, gas and water services.
·Advocate with insurance carriers to file and expedite claims.
·Provide information on how to qualify for federal recovery assistance, and
·Connect businesses to the other county and local business services and to the services offered by the Small Business Administration and Small Business Development Centers that include assistance with insurance claims, as well as loans and business plan revisions.
For further information about best practices in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, please visit www.ready.nj.gov for continual updates.
Governor Chris Christie will deliver the Perspectives on Leadership Forum at the Reagan Presidential Library on Tuesday, September 27, 2011, 6PM-7PM PDT.
Tickets are $75, which include a buffet dinner following the lecture, can be purchased here.
Anna Little spent Hurricane Irene in Texas singing her own praises to Governor Rick Perry.