Monday, May 13, 2013
'Triple whammy' for Shore residents, Menendez says on U.S. Senate floor
U.S. Senator Bob Menendez threw Shore residents a virtual lifeline Thursday, delivering an address on the Senate floor where he urged colleagues to support an amendment to federal legislation that would stop flood insurance rate hikes, at least in the short term. Menendez (D-N.J.) spoke in favor of an amendment to the Water Resources Development Act which would stop flood insurance premiums from rising until FEMA completes its study on the affordability of premiums of the National Flood Insurance Program. Shore homeowners face annual flood insurance premiums of up to $31,000 a year if they do not raise their homes at a significant cost. Many homeowners who were never previously located in flood zones now find themselves being listed as …
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Boardwalk to be done by Memorial Day weekend
Shortly after Point Beach announced it had not received a dime of FEMA money, FEMA announced it's sending the oceanfront town $2.1 million to help pay for the rebuilding of its Sandy-ravaged boardwalk. Eight days after Point Beach officials at a council meeting bemoaned the lack of cash flowing from FEMA, FEMA made its announcement. On Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Senators Frank R. Lautenberg and Robert Menendez (both D-NJ) today announced that Point Pleasant Beach will receive more than $2.1 million to reimburse the town for the cost of repairing and rebuilding the boardwalk. The allocation reimburses the town for 75 percent of its written request to FEMA for the cost of the boardwalk repairs and rebuilding, said Point Beach Business …
Friday, April 26, 2013
FEMA video shows that Seaside Heights plans to be open for summer
- GOVERNMENT
-
Friday, April 26
Seaside Heights and its boardwalk will be open for business this summer, and a new video from FEMA highlights the restoration efforts making that possible. In the video, Mayor William Akers recalls the days after Superstorm Sandy. "One of the first questions I got asked was, 'are you going to be open for the summer?'" he said. The answer is, yes. Michael Graichen, special events spokesperson for Seaside Heights, has said the boardwalk rebuilding process continues, with May 10 set as the target date for its reopening.
Homeowners are faced with a choice of elevating a home at a high cost or paying thousands more for flood insurance
Elevate, pay thousands more in flood insurance premiums or simply walk away from homes? That is the question on the minds of some Hurricane Sandy victims. The first floor of Craig Verran’s Manasquan home was totaled. A home that never took on water in its nine years is now being refurbished prior to Verran making his decision. “It’s a tough decision,” Verran said. “You either elevate or else. It’s an 'or else' situation. You’re going to face premiums that are unbearable.” In addition to $150,000 toward the damage to his home and car, Verran will be facing at least $75,000 to elevate his home or a $7,500 increase in his insurance, he said. Before Sandy, Verran’s home was 1 foot above the required elevation and not in a flood zone. Now, with…
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Employees who suffered losses during Hurricane Sandy have one week to register with FEMA for assistance.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is encouraging business owners to remind their Hurricane Sandy-impacted employees to register for disaster assistance before the application deadline expires in just one week. In terms of individual assistance, FEMA is and has provided grants to cover rental assistance, home repairs and replacement of essential household items not covered by insurance. Assistance grants may also be available to help replace personal property destroyed during the storm and to help meet medical, dental, funeral, transportation, and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance or other funding sources. But Sandy victims need to apply with FEMA by May 1 if they hope to qualify. The push to see Sandy …
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Are you an area business that is Jersey Strong and open for business? Tell us in the comments below the article!
The Jersey Shore is open for business. So promises a video produced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) featuring several local businesses that have reopened following Hurricane Sandy. In brief vignettes spliced with images and slogans of the shore's recovery, business owners and employees from Sandy-impacted towns invite customers back to their businesses by letting them know that not only are they open, but that in spite of the late-October storm they remain "Jersey Strong." The Beachcomber in Seaside Heights, Bain's Hardware in Sea Bright, and Used to Be's in Mantoloking are just some of the businesses featured in the video, which ends with a clip of a recent Gov. Chris Christie speech praising New Jersey's residents for …
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Deadline extension applies for homeowner, renter and business registration with SBA
Residents impacted by Superstorm Sandy now have until May 1 to register for individual disaster assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), according to a prepared statement from the governor's office. The deadline extension also applies for homeowner, renter, and business registration with the Small Business Administration (SBA) for Disaster Loan Assistance. Businesses applying for SBA Economic Injury loans still have until July 31 to apply. The loans are for businesses that did not suffer any physical damage, but lost revenue in Sandy's aftermath. State and federal offiicials have urged all residents and businesses affected by the storm, whether it was through flooding, wind damage or loss of business revenue, …
Friday, March 29, 2013
During a Friday conference call discussing the National Flood Insurance Program, talk shifted to FEMA's flood maps and the potential for change in New Jersey.
The impetus behind releasing its advisory flood maps soon after Hurricane Sandy was simply to aid in the state's disaster recovery, a Federal Emergency Management Agency risk analyst said Friday, noting that they still remain subject to change prior to their official adoption into the National Flood Insurance Program. Discussion about the NFIP as well as the Advisory Base Flood Elevation maps was made during a FEMA conference call late Friday morning and seemed to conflict with Gov. Chris Christie's hurried effort to see the maps adopted as New Jersey's new standard. Doug Bellomo, director of FEMA's Risk Analysis Division, said the agency used the best available scientific data to develop the maps, and while he's confident that they're …
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
New flood maps put portions of Wall Township in flood zones
This home on Belmar Boulevard may be on the vanguard of a partially changing Wall Township landscape, post-Hurricane Sandy. Several homes in portions of Wall Township will be unable to receive flood insurance, or be unable to afford the premiums, unless they raise their homes above flood levels, according to newly adopted flood maps drawn by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The maps were adopted by the state of New Jersey in January. But Gov. Chris Christie at a town hall meeting in Manasquan recently said that he believes FEMA will scale back the flood zones in the maps, which were released in December, saying the designations were “too aggressive.’’ Maybe, but the Christie administration on Monday appeared to warm to the new …
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Residents need to submit their applications to the agency by April 1.
Applications for federal disaster assistance are due in just two weeks, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced recently, giving Hurricane Sandy victims who suffered storm-related damages a deadline of April 1 to apply. The disaster aid application deadline has been extended several times already following the late October storm, though the extensions require a request from the governor's office and are not guaranteed. Because of this FEMA encourages those seeking assistance not to wait to register with FEMA and apply for aid. April 1 is also the deadline to return applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration for low-interest disaster loans, which is the primary source of federal funds for long-term rebuilding, …
anthony esposito
3:41 pm on Sunday, May 19, 2013
If anyone gets a chance read this article. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/nyregion/rebuilding-the-coastline-but-at-what-cost.html?ref=nyregion more ›