Huh What!? Was this due to the lack of Sandy Recovery funds?
Hardly. NJ State Senators ALSO want to find out why ONLY 25% of these available Recovery funds -- have EVER been distributed, by the state's Department of Community Affairs?
What's the hold up?
NJ Senate panel holds hearing on Sandy housing funds
by Jacqueline L. Urgo, Inquirer Staff Writer, philly.com -- Feb 13, 2014
[...]
On Tuesday, State Senator Robert M. Gordon (D-Fair Lawn), chairman of the committee, said it is trying to determine why only an estimated one quarter of the $800 million has been distributed in funding designated by the federal government for housing recovery in the wake of the disaster that pummeled the New Jersey Shore on October 29, 2012.
The two-hour session, held at the State House Annex, was the first of two Sandy-related public hearings Tuesday.
Members of the committee openly criticized the Christie Administration of its handling of the recovery effort, saying there has been a lack of transparency and mismanagement, ultimately deciding to draft a letter to state Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Richard Constable III, asking him precisely why so many applications for funding had been rejected.
[...]
Which Applications? How Many Applications?
Who decided, who was deserving?
Well here's is what rejection looks like in 3-Card Monte state of New Jersey:
New Jersey residents wrongly denied Sandy funds, report finds
by Steve Kastenbaum, cnn.com -- Feb 6, 2014
(CNN) -- Nearly 2,000 homeowners in New Jersey who had their lives turned upside down by Superstorm Sandy were wrongfully denied recovery funds, according to a new report released Thursday.
Four of every five homeowners who appealed denials from the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation, and Mitigation (RREM) program and the Resettlement programs in New Jersey had their rejections overturned, according to the Fair Share Housing Center, an organization that advocates for the rights of poor homeowners.
[...]
Of the 1,033 who appealed the denial, 788, or 79 percent, were told they were in fact eligible for recovery funds. A similar percentage of residents who were denied up to $10,000 to cover non-rebuilding costs also had their rejections overturned in the appeal process, for a total of 1,090 households.
[...]
Maybe the Christie Administration were just too busy? Maybe they didn't know the rules?
Maybe they just outsourced the whole thing to HGI (now fired), so they could remain 'once-removed' from the NJ people -- NOT getting their Relief Funds? (once someone figured it out.)
Well they should have known the rules, since they spelled out the detailed steps, to implement them ... supposedly:
New Jersey Department of Community Affairs [DCA]
Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery {12 MB pdf}
ACTION PLAN -- www.nj.gov
Chris Christie, Governor
Kim Guadago, Lt. Governor
Richard E. Constable, III, Commissioner
[pg 6]
Executive Summary
[...]
The breadth of Sandy’s impact across New Jersey emphasizes the need for a thoughtful and comprehensive long-term recovery process. This Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Action Plan (Action Plan) is part of that process. It quantifies the level of damage known thus far based on current data and describes New Jersey’s plan for spending the $1,829,520,000 Community Disaster Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds, which HUD allocated to New Jersey as part of its initial $5,400,000,000 fund allocation. CDBG-DR funds must be used to satisfy “unmet needs,” that is, financial needs not satisfied by other public or private funding sources like FEMA Individual Assistance funds, Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loans or private insurance. HUD also requires that CDBG-DR programs focus predominantly, but not exclusively, on the State’s most impacted counties and on the State’s low and moderate income (LMI) populations.
[...]
Well maybe Chris Christie and company were too busy running for re-election, on "how well the Recovery was going," to make sure these US Taxpayers hard-fought Recovery Funds
were actually going to where they needed to be --
the actual victims of Hurricane Sandy.
... With a fair and equitable portion of these Relief Fund actually going to the NJ Homeowners who most needed and deserved the help. Never mind that the Christie Administration's own Disaster Recovery Action Plan -- required just this kind of thoroughness and FAIRNESS of them.
No matter who might have been corralling these US Taxpayers funds ... for them.