Politics & Government

Governor's Cabinet Session Trying To Make The Best Of A Bad Situation

Catherine Kelleher’s Lake Avenue home was badly damaged in Superstorm Sandy, and a year later, she’s still rebuilding -- living with family members and hoping to, some day, put this all behind her.

Unlike some others affected by the storm, her insurance company has been cooperative, mainly, Kelleher says.

But it won’t pay to have the house raised in accordance with the new Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps, which put her home squarely in a flood zone.

Find out what's happening in Wallwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

So like dozens of others Wednesday, Kelleher went to Borough Hall during the four-hour window that state and federal representatives would be on hand to answer questions about Sandy-affected properties during the Governor’s Mobile Cabinet session.

The session was the second this year held in Manasquan, a seaside town hit hard by the storm. Scads of homeowners are still in the process of rebuilding, while the Army Corps of Engineers just blocks away from Borough Hall is adding million of pounds of sand to the borough’s beaches that were ravaged by the storm.

Find out what's happening in Wallwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Representatives from the Department of Community Affairs, from FEMA, from the Department of Banking and Insurance and other state cabinet-level departments were on hand to assist those with questions and otherwise shepherd homeowners through the labyrinthine process to receive rebuilding assistance.

Kelleher wanted assistance to help cover the cost of raising her house. She was told to apply through the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

She did. And she waits.

“You don’t realize how long some of this can take,’’ Kelleher said. “If you think about it – you would never have thought that you’d be out of your house for this long.’’

Meanwhile, all the money she had stuffed away is now gone, eaten up by the ever-rising cost of rebuilding.

Still, she considers herself lucky. Her sister, Kelleher said, has lost her Main Street house permanently. She had no insurance, and has no viable safety net to rebuild, Kelleher said.

Her sister may hold onto the land, Kelleher said. Maybe one of her grandchildren will be able to build on it.

Kelleher didn’t come away with the golden parachute she was hoping for. No one waived a magic wand and made it all better for her.

But what the state officials did do, Keller appreciated.

“They really are trying to help you, which is good,’’ she said. “And I have hope.’’


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here