$1.83 Billion Allocated to Rebuilding NJ Communities

New Jersey’s disaster recovery plan calls for $1.83 billion to support a variety of housing, infrastructure and business programs, Gov. Christie and U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced Monday, six months after Hurricane Sandy devasted areas of the state's coast.

Before a crowd of more than 50 at Moby’s Restaurant in Highlands, Donovan announced HUD’s approval of the disaster recovery plan to help homeowners’ and businesses following Hurricane Sandy. The $1.83 billion will be funded through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program.

“Today we take another important step toward recovery and healing for hard-hit communities in New Jersey,” said Donovan, who chairs President Barack Obama’s Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force.

Today’s announcement will allow New Jersey to begin the process of rebuilding damaged housing, restoring infrastructure and stimulating business activity and job growth, he said.

In addition to designing “effective programs” to help families get back in their homes and businesses reopen, internal controls and accountability measures will be imposed by working with the Inspector General to ensure that all funds are used as intended, he said.

“Today’s news sends a very powerful message that New Jersey is moving forward and that the Jersey Shore will be open for business this summer,” said Christie. “These funds will provide critical resources to our Sandy-impacted homeowners and businesses to reconstruct, rehabilitate and continue down the road of recovery.”

New Jersey has come a long way since Sandy struck six months ago but the federal funding will help continue the recovery process, ensuring the state is better prepared for storms, Christie said.

“We worked hard to get this funding flowing into New Jersey, and we will continue working with the State to ensure we receive the assistance necessary to fully recover from Superstorm Sandy,” said Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), who worked closely with Christie, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), HUD and Congressional Delegation throughout this process.

In January, Obama signed the Disaster Relief Appropriation Act of 2013 into law, providing for $16 billion in CDBG Disaster Recovery funding. HUD allocated $5.4 billion to five states, including New Jersey. New Jersey submitted the action plan describing how the funds would be utilized on March 27.

The state’s plan offers various programs to provide relief to homeowners of damaged or destroyed properties as well as grants and low-cost loans to eligible small businesses. These programs provide more than $1 billion in various housing programs, $200 million for economic revitalization and $225 million for infrastructure and public service programs.

“It’s great to hear the money has come through,” said Jackie Moran, whose sister’s Highlands home was destroyed by Sandy.

“It was just a bungalow but we turned it into a home,” she said. The house had to be demolished because it could not sustain being elevated.

Many homeowners, including her sister, are “frustrated” that funding and the overall process is taking so long, she said.

“It’s about time,” she said, calling the $1.83 billion in funding “wonderful.”

“It’s a tedious process to make sure it’s going to be distributed correctly,” she said.

Highlands Councilwoman Tara Ryan was “pleased” Christie came to borough and “happy” for residents and eligible business owners to receive help, she said.

“I’m concerned everyone won’t sign up in time,” she said, adding that she’s looking forward to getting residents back in their homes and business owners up and running. “I hope there will be enough money available to help everyone lift their homes.”

There were 1,200 homes in downtown Highlands that were declared more than 50 percent damaged, Council President Rebecca Kane said, and there is a total of 2,500 homes in the borough.

“We had unprecedented amounts of water,” she said. The main road took on approximately 12 feet of water while her parents had 5 feet in their home and 7 feet in her brother's.

People were able to return to their homes but they’re un-repairable, she said.

Approximately 45 percent of the downtown housing is rentals, which is a cause for concern, she said.

The Boro Hall, Community Hall and first aid building were devastated, Sandy-related costs have risen to $2 million for the borough, and the tax base is unknown.

“I’m hoping [the funding] helps,” she said. “I think it’s much needed. Six months is great. Two months would have been so much better, but we’ll take it.”