Congressman Chris Smith: FEMA OK’s 90% Reimbursements For Towns Hit By Superstorm Sandy

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, left, and Congressman Chris Smith, center, meet with their staff members in Smith’s office on June 6, 2013

FEMA will be reimbursing New Jersey towns impacted by Superstorm Sandy 90% of their cleanup and rebuilding costs, Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ4) announced on Tuesday evening.

The approval will provide an immediate and additional $262 million for already obligated funding and it will cover all additional local government approved funding.  Funds will cover: Public Assistance Grant emergency work and permanent work including debris removal; emergency protective measures; road systems and bridges; water control facilities; buildings; contents and equipment; utilities, and; parks.

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New Flood Maps Released

FEMA has updated its Base Flood Elevation maps for Atlantic, Hudson, Monmouth and Ocean counties.

Residents and businesses can enter the address of their properties and find their flood zone designation, the base flood elevation for the property and the estimated ground elevation of the location.

The interactive map site can be found here or by clicking on the picture.

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Report: New flood maps to be released on Monday

Middletown Patch is reporting that FEMA will release new flood maps for Atlantic, Hudson, Monmouth and Ocean Counties on Monday, June 17.

As expected, the new ‘preliminary’ maps will result in less homes being located in ‘V’ zones than were so rated in the maps released by FEMA in December following Superstorm Sandy.  V zones are areas along coasts that are subject to inundation by the 1-percent-annual-chance flood event with additional hazards associated with storm-induced waves.

Many of the properties located in V zones in the December flood maps will be in ‘A’ zones in the maps being released next week, according to a statement by U.S. Senator Bob Menendez as quoted by Patch.

A zones are also subject to the 1-percent annual-change flood event (100 year flood) but without the additional hazards from waves.

Homes in A zones will not have to be raised as high and homes in V zones and will have lower flood insurance premiums.

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Sea Bright Man Charged With Defrauding Storm Assistance Program

William Nagle of Sea Bright got a certificate of occupancy for his Center Street apartment on December 29th, yet continued to charge FEMA for 68 nights of hotel stays from January 14 through March 23, according to charges filed by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

Nagle was arrested and charged Wednesday with third degree Theft by Deception for defrauding FEMA of more than $12,000 in Transitional Aid Housing.

“Being a victim does not open the door to defraud the government in times of need. We can all pull together in times of crisis to help one another, but that combined effort to aid and assist comes with the understanding that no one will take advantage of the situation,” Acting Prosecutor Christopher J Gramiccioni said.

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Bennett: “We’re fighting this primary as if we’re down 25%”

Monmouth County GOP Chairman John Bennett sounded a rallying cry to about 125 Republican faithful on Saturday morning in Hazlet at a Armed Forces Day ‘friend raiser’ held at the Red Oak Diner for county candidates Sheriff Shaun Golden and Freeholders Tom Arnone and Serena DiMaso.

“We’ve had primaries before in Monmouth County that we did not take seriously,” Bennett said,”and bad things happened.  This time we’re running as if we are 25 points behind.”

State Senator Joe Kyrillos asked the assembled Republicans to make sure their friends and families come out and vote on June 4 for himself and Assembly members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon, in addition to Golden, Arnone and DiMaso.

Deputy Freeholder Director Serena DiMaso, former mayors Eddie Farve or Bay St. Louis, MS and Brett Warr of Gulfport, MS and former CNN correspondent Kathleen Koch

DiMaso introduced former CNN correspondent Kathleen Koch, former mayors Eddie Farve of Bay St. Louis, MS and Brett Warr of Gulfport, MS, as well as former Congressman Gene Taylor.  The group was visiting New Jersey to support the Bayshore Conference of Mayors, touring the destruction of Superstorm Sandy in Mantoloking and the rebuilding of the Seaside Heights boardwalk.

Golden used the presence of the guests from Mississippi to talk about his department’s response to Sandy. “We had no deaths or serious injuries in Monmouth County.  In Katrina, there were almost 2000 deaths,” he said.

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Christie: The Jersey Shore Is Open For Business

Governor Christie meeting with business owners at McLoone’s Pier House in Long Branch, April 18, 2013. Photo by Art Gallagher

After meeting with business owners in Long Branch yesterday, Governor Chris Christie told the press that the businesses’ biggest frustration is the amount of phone calls they get asking if they are open.  “They’re happy that at least the phone is ringing,” said Christie, emphasizing that the perception that the Shore is not open has to be impacted.

Christie said that there would be a multi-media ad campaign launch by the Economic Development Authority next month to promote Jersey Shore Tourism.  It has not been determined if Christie will appear in the aid. “I haven’t been asked. If I’m asked and I think it is appropriate I will consider it,” the governor said in response to a reporter who asked if he would appear in the state funded ad during the gubernatorial campaign season.

The governor said that EDA would be announcing a working capital grant program for businesses impacted by Superstorm Sandy in May and that the Department of Community Affairs will be administering a grant program for homeowners who can apply for up to $150,000 in federal money, over and above what they have already received from FEMA and their insurance companies to rebuild their homes.

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Christie At Manasquan Town Hall: FEMA will issue less severe elevation maps

Governor Chris Christie told a Manasquan Town Hall crowd of approximately 1200* that he expects FEMA will release an expedited set of flood elevation maps in “a few months” that will ease the height requirements from the Advisory Maps published in December, according to The Star Ledger.

Christie said he adopted the recommendations in FEMA’s advisory maps earlier this year for those who need guidelines now on how to rebuild. For those who can wait to rebuild, a new set of maps should be out “in a few more months” that he said will be less “aggressive” in placing homes in flood zones.

“I’m confident the maps are going to change,” he said to a crowd of more than 300 in the Manasquan High School gym. “The only thing I’m not confident about is when.”

* MMM has learned from someone at the Town Hall that the crowd was approximately 1200, not the 300 originally reported by The Star Ledger.

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AshBritt CEO Deflates Buono’s Hopes Of Making Clean Up A Campaign Issue

Trenton Democrats’ continuing quest to turn Governor Christie’s strongest issue against him suffered a set back yesterday when AshBritt CEO Randall Perkins won over Democratic members of a Joint Legislative Oversight Committee and flummoxed presumed gubernatorial nominee Barbara Buono by calling her on the political motivation of her questioning.

Facing four hours of questioning by the bi-partisan committee chaired by Senator Bob Gordon (D-Bergen), Perkins frequently praised the legislators for exercising their oversight duties, while combatively swatting back Democratic allegations of impropriety disguised as questions.

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Governor Christie Announces 30 Day Extension Of Deadline To Register For Sandy Assistance

New April 1 Deadline Allows Additional Time for Residents to Register for FEMA Assistance 

Trenton, NJ –The Christie Administration announced today that New Jersey residents impacted by Superstorm Sandy now have until April 1, 2013 to register for individual disaster assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The deadline extension applies for homeowner, renter, and business registration with the Small Business Administration (SBA) for Disaster Loan Assistance, another important step in the disaster relief process to ensure survivors obtain all relief they are eligible for.

“This 30-day extension will help us ensure that anyone who has been affected by Sandy gets the help they need and deserve,” said Governor Christie. “It’s vitally important for people to know that the process of receiving any type of federal disaster assistance – including future grant assistance for homeowners and businesses – begins with registering as a disaster survivor with FEMA and working with a coordinator to determine eligibility for relief. I encourage those who have not yet registered with FEMA and SBA to do so now to get the relief they are entitled to and to ensure their eligibility for any future relief we can offer.”

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Senator Jennifer Beck Calls for FEMA To Fund Ocean Grove Boardwalk Repairs

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