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Weekend hotel evictions continuing for displaced Sandy victims

Status OF Transition Sheltering Assistance Extension Is Uncertain. Refugees Left To Fend For Themselves With No Notice

By Art Gallagher

Evicitions from FEMA sponsored hotel accommodations are continuing this weekend for New Jersey residents whose homes were destroyed by Superstorm Sandy.  MoreMonmouthMusings  reported on Wednesday that some residents have been left to sleep in their cars on weekends.

NJ.com is reporting that the Ocean Place Resort in Long Branch is evicting refugees to accomodate a pre-booked scrapbooking retreat.

Highlands residents Angus Mcdougland and Leia Sims have been living at Ocean Place since Sandy destoyed their home.  This morning they received a notice from the hotel that they needed to check out today or pay $260 per night to stay.  Mcdougland told MMM that there is a college basketball team filling the hotel, in addition to the scrapbookers.

Lois Pongo, also of Highlands, was locked out the room where she’s been staying this week at the Holiday Inn in Hazlet this morning.  Hotel employees told her that she was no longer eligible for transitional housing assistance.  Pongo paid for her room for tonight and is scrambling to get her contractors to finish the repairs on her home this weekend.

Pongo visited the FEMA Recovery Center in Leonardo on Thursday to verify that her temporary housing was to be extended. She was left with the impression that her temporary housing was in place.  The Leonardo FEMA office which had been so helpful earlier this week said they could not help her today.

Governor Christie announced on Thursday that FEMA’s transitional housing program had been extended for two weeks until January 25th.  Evidently someone at FEMA gave Christie bad or incomplete information.

Posted: January 12th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Chris Christie, FEMA, Hurricane Sandy | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »