$6.2M solution for persistent flooding in Belmar on the way

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DCA Fires Another Sandy Contractor

Christie Should Come Clean About RREM Snafus At Town Hall Meeting

The Christie Administration has terminated a contract with a second company it hired to assist survivors of Superstorm Sandy rebuild their homes, according to a report on WNYC.

Governor Christie announcing a second round of RREM assistance, and that fact that federal assistance to rebuild from Sandy will be $17 billion or more short, in Keansburg last week.
Photo by Paul Scharff

URS, a global San Francisco based engineering and construction management firm had a $20 million contract to supervise the rebuilding of New Jersey homes under the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) program.  The contract has been terminated. Homeowners are being informed by state officials that one of two remaining contractors will now supervise the rebuilding of their homes.

RREM provides $150,000 Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) to New Jersey residents as “last resort” rebuilding assistance.  The federal money is supposed to assist residents who have insufficient funds after insurance, other government assistance and private monies are exhausted.  URS was one of three companies hired to supervise home rebuilding, according to the WNYC report.  Residents who were working with URS have been assigned to one of the two other contractors.  The amount of fees committed to the remaining two contractors has not been reported.

While the Christie Administration has received high marks for its administration of assistance to municipal governments and businesses impacted by Sandy, there is growing criticism and frustration over the repeated delays in getting assistance to homeowners.

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O’Scanlon: Keep Calm. Sandy Relief Grants Are Not First Come First Served

Rumors are rampant that grants under the $780 million program for home rebuilding that the Christie Administration announced this morning  are being awarded on a first come first served basis.  That is not so.

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon says Keep Calm and apply by June 30th.

“I want to be crystal clear on this, these grants and  loans are absolutely NOT first come – first serve,” O’Scanlon said in a prepared statement, “I have heard some folks  making this claim recently and the huge volume of calls to the call centers  confirm this belief, we need everyone to understand that this is just not so.  There are a number of criteria considered when determining eligibility: extent  and amount of damage, geographic location, areas most affected, and income.” 

Regional help centers will open in each county on June 8^th, the exact  locations are still being determined. Applications can be submitted until June  30^th. The best way to apply for the programs (the Homeowner  Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) Program and the  Homeowner Resettlement Program) is online at www.renewjerseystronger.org if you have problems with the online process you can  call 1-855-SANDYHM. But the online application process is definitely the  fastest.”

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