Friday, May 17, 2013
Home buyouts in areas prone to flooding expected to start soon, though participation remains voluntary.
Buyouts of properties in flood prone areas are expected to begin within a matter of weeks, beginning in Middlesex County and working south into the summer months as residents and their respective town officials make the difficult decision to abandon entire neighborhoods for good. Though buyout specifics have been limited, Bob Martin, commissioner of New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection, said between eight and 10 towns along the coast have inquired about participating in the State’s Blue Acres program, which purchases severe repetitive loss homes in flood areas and converts the land into open space. Martin said he wanted to be cautious about naming the municipalities that have inquired about the property buyouts as many have …
Monday, April 29, 2013
Highlands Council president hopes funding will get residents back in homes and businesses open
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 …
Friday, February 8, 2013
The order directs the State comptroller to conduct independent review of contracts and provides transparency measures over expenditures.
An executive order signed by Gov. Chris Christie Friday aims to put key review and reporting initiatives in place to ensure that distribution of Hurricane Sandy relief funds is done in an accountable and transparent matter. The order, No. 125, directs the Office of the State Comptroller to conduct an independent, legal review of the procurement process for state contracts using federal reconstruction aid, according to a release. Each of the state's departments dealing with the distribution of federal aid will designate an "Accountability Officer" to work with the Comptroller's Office and the Governor's Office of Recovery and Rebuilding. The order also requires that contracts approved with the state be made accessible to the public through …
Gov. Christie said home buyouts are a possibility, but that he's leaving the decision to individual towns to make.
State-funded buyouts of homes in flood-prone neighborhoods ravaged by Hurricane Sandy is a possibility, Gov. Christie said this week. However, when it comes to a final decision, it’s one he hopes the residents will make. In Sea Bright, Christie was joined Thursday afternoon by U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan to discuss the allocation of $1.8 billion that will be used to fund Community Development Block grants, or CDBGs. Though that money will be focused on rebuilding homes and small businesses, future HUD allocations could be used for residential buyouts. It’s not something he’d like to see, Christie said, but if a community finds that it’s the best option for their future, it will have to be considered. “I …
Thursday, February 7, 2013
The governor was joined by Shaun Donovan in Sea Bright Thursday afternoon.
The $1.8 billion recently allocated for use in Community Development Block Grants, or CDBGs, will be used primarily to help residents and small businesses affected by Hurricane Sandy recover, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan said Thursday afternoon. Joined by Gov. Chris Christie in Sea Bright, Donovan said the funding is the first chunk of approximately $16 billion that will help homeowners along the East Coast rebuild, filling the gaps between aid provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and loans issued by the Small Business Administration (SBA). The grant funding is part of the more than $50 billion aid package approved by Congress less than a month ago. With storms like Sandy, known, …
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Christie decision to adopt FEMA's advisory flood maps will have a dramatic impact on coastal towns, but he's not backing down.
Gov. Chris Christie is adamant about his decision to adopt the Federal Emergency Management’s (FEMA) advisory flood maps. And while that decision will have a significant, and costly, impact on many of New Jersey’s shore towns, it’s a necessary step to ensure their survival, he said. Speaking at a mobile cabinet meeting in Union Beach nearly two weeks after announcing his decision to rebuild using the advisory flood maps as a guide, Christie said it was a difficult choice, but one he had to make. Even amidst opposition as shore towns and residents voice their objections to the maps and their expanded flood-prone A and V Zones, Christie’s not backing down. Whether towns and residents rebuild smarter and higher, or face the risk and high cost…
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Gov. Chris Christie delivered his third State of the State address Tuesday in Trenton.
It’s been a consistent refrain from Gov. Chris Christie’s office following Hurricane Sandy’s landing on New Jersey’s shores. Make no mistake about it, he told the assembled crowd of lawmakers at the Statehouse Tuesday afternoon, New Jersey will be back. As expected, much of Christie’s State of the State address focused on Sandy’s impact on New Jersey and the ongoing effort to restore the areas most devastated by the storm as quickly as possible. During the approximately 45-minute speech—one marked by several standing ovations for both Christie and for residents who performed heroically during and after Sandy—the governor appealed for bipartisanship in politics at both the state and national levels as New Jersey works toward restoration. …
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
New Jersey's governor delivers harsh words for Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives
Gov. Chris Christie is placing blame for the lengthy delay in approval of a Hurricane Sandy Relief bill squarely on the shoulders of combative U.S. House of Representative Republicans, specifically Speaker John Boehner. Christie offered a scathing rebuke of Boehner and waffling Republicans during a press conference in Trenton Wednesday afternoon, saying Congress has failed in its primary purpose, to protect its own citizens. Residents of New York and New Jersey are being used as pawns in a game of politics, he said, and that's why this country's citizens "hate" Washington D.C. "Last night, politics was placed before help for our citizens," Christie said. "For me, it was disappointing and disgusting to watch." Christie said he and New York …
Vote on a $60.4 billion aid package delayed in Congress.
Gov. Chris Christie and President Barack Obama each released statements Wednesday expressing disappointment over the failure of the House of Representatives to vote on the $60.4 billion Hurricane Sandy Aid Package and urged Congress to make the bill a priority when it reconvenes Thursday. Though the U.S. Senate approved the bill Friday, Congress failed to act on the bill, at different times criticizing the allocation of some of its funding, considering splitting the aid package into separate bills, and putting it off until a deal was reached on the impending "fiscal cliff." Eventually, the decision was made to table it until the New Year. Christie issued a joint statement with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo late Wednesday morning chastising …
Thursday, December 20, 2012
At Chris Christie's first town hall meeting since Hurricane Sandy, the New Jersey governor promises to put politics aside.
Beyond New Jersey’s borders, Gov. Chris Christie’s post-Hurricane Sandy motives have been a topic of debate. His embrace of President Barack Obama following his arrival in New Jersey after the storm drew jeers from hardline Republicans concerned with the image it would present so close to the election. Some on the left have even intimated that the handshake, delivered soon after New Jersey was hit by the most devastating storm in its history, and as millions of residents remained without power, was a calculated move on Christie’s part that could lead to him throwing his hat in the ring for the Democratic nomination in the 2016 Presidential election. None of it matters, Christie said to a standing room only audience at Belmar’s municipal …
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10:13 am on Saturday, May 18, 2013
@ Mrs. G. I hope you are being facetous and don't really believe that Christie could never mislead you. If you do believe that, I really feel sorry for you and have a bridge to sell you also. Don't choke on that breath of fresh air! more ›