Video: HUD Secretary Joins Gov. Christie in Promise to Deliver Aid
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, misleadingly, as once-a-century storms, occuring more frequently, aid being distributed needs to be used to rebuild communities more resiliently, he said. For every single dollar spent on flood mitigation, Donovan said, $4 are saved in future recovery efforts.
Currently, Donovan said HUD is working with the governor's office in developing recovery plans and that funding will come shortly. He cautioned that recovery, in many cases, won't come quickly, and that for some residents, rebuilding could be a process that takes several years.
Donovan said he understands the plight of those impacted by Sandy's destruction. He promised to conitinue working with the governor's office until recovery is complete.
Christie, echoing a refrain used often since Sandy hit New Jersey's coast at the end of October, asked residents to be patient. With funding secured, he said, restoring the shore can now begin in earnest.
ed crowley
7:48 pm on Thursday, February 7, 2013
Another promise how about some action.
Chief Wahoo
9:44 pm on Thursday, February 7, 2013
Now there is a picture of two born liars.
foggyworld
1:16 pm on Friday, February 8, 2013
I need an hour to cool off before I respond to this one. Folks, we are being taken to the cleaners by our Governor - and yes, I voted for him - and now really regret it.
Chief Wahoo
1:27 pm on Friday, February 8, 2013
thats Ok foggy, i was asleep until 6 years ago........it doesnt feel good at first to realize the truth
There is no difference between either gang of thiefs and this storm should be proof to everyone out there that still has any brain cells still firing......
i keep trying to WAKE UP the sheep...........Time is running OUT !!!!!
Resident of Lacey
9:47 pm on Thursday, February 7, 2013
Where do we sign up for this?
.
12:13 am on Friday, February 8, 2013
Maybe after all of Christie's friends in Bay Head get their funding, there will be a few dollars left for those in real need.
proud
11:27 pm on Thursday, February 7, 2013
["Currently, Donovan said HUD is working with the governor's office in developing recovery plans and that funding will come shortly. He cautioned that recovery, in many cases, won't come quickly, and that for some residents, rebuilding could be a process that takes several years."]
Translated, this means that your average middle class victim won't get squat, but there will be whole lot of tax dollars spent on red tape that was never going to be .
Ocean Gate Crab
3:39 am on Friday, February 8, 2013
Great. Can we now get the storm drain at the end of Asbury Ave. in Ocean Gate fixed? Sandy broke the end off and it clogs with sand. It prevents rain water from emptying into the bay. Streets flood, too high to drive through. Some homes are only INCHES away from being flooded. Do we really need federal funding to get this fixed?
BTW, if my place floods again this time from raising rain water is there a new FEMA regulation that is going to make it my fault?
Mrgrumpass
11:36 pm on Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Where is Mayor Kennady on this matter?
George
9:03 am on Friday, February 8, 2013
Yes, FEMA needs you to pay $30,000 a year for flood insurance to fund next year's FEMA budget. They just hired more bureaucrats to change the next set of flood maps (2015). Be a good citizen and mail in your checks.
Susan
3:28 pm on Friday, February 8, 2013
Second homeowners need not apply. We're on our own, no FEMA, no charities, no nothin'. But, we can send our money overseas to help in other disasters and helping our enemies. Where does any of this make sense.
Mary Ann
3:28 pm on Monday, February 11, 2013
Sorry about your vacation home, Susan, but I still think primary homeowners should be taken care of first. We have nowhere else to go while we live on our second floor and the first flood sits gutted. We're not looking for or receiving charity or hand outs. We are stuck between NFIP and FEMA.
Mary Ann
3:17 pm on Monday, February 11, 2013
Filling the gaps? I just want to get the flood insurance that we've been paying for. How much will they give us and when we might actually see it? My patients are running out here in limbo.
proud
4:24 pm on Monday, February 11, 2013
Just prior to this video being shot, Governor Christie held a press conference announcing the impending arrival of Secretary Donovaqn from HUD. This video can be viewed by following this link: http://youtu.be/8CBkYEFfLjI
One particular issue that left me shaking my head as I viewed the conference, was the announcement that a sizable portion of "rellief" money was being allocated for an "aggressive advertising campaign" to lure tourists to the shore. I acknowledge how important a thriving business environment is to our region, but do not understand how such a campaign would be a priority with so many people displaced from their homes, and waiting and waiting, while mired in red tape. Of course, many businesses are getting a pass when it comes to elevating, while homeowners await the formation of a policy to know if Hazard Mitigation grants will even be available to them. It's as silly as the Biggert-Waters Act that was affects so many of us, being signed into law prior to the re mapping of the most densely populated region of the country. Let your legislators know it's time to take their hands out of the cookie jar, and get their priorities straight.
www.Facebook.com/StopFemaNow