Storm victims will rally May 14 on capitol steps

Hundreds of Superstorm Sandy victims plan to take time off from work and from working on their damaged properties to attend a public rally on the steps of the state capitol next Thursday at 8 a.m.

“Governor Christie, Keep Your Promises!” will be the theme of the gathering organized by the Ortley Beach Voters and Taxpayers Association (OBVTA) and Stop FEMA Now.

“Thousands of New Jersey homeowners are still waiting for the much-ballyhooed recovery – two and a half years after the storm,” declared George Kasimos of Toms River, founder of the grassroots citizens organization Stop FEMA Now. “It’s high time that the state government fixed its problems that have hindered the rebuilding efforts.

“Too many people are still suffering,” he said. “Many are angry and lost their patience long ago. Many are losing hope and losing their life savings.”

Paul Jeffrey, president of the Ortley Beach group, announced that the OBVTA chartered buses that will pick up rally-goers from three Toms River staging points: (1) Third Avenue near the beach on the barrier peninsula, “ground zero” of Sandy on October 29, 2012, (2) the Silverton First Aid Squad at 86 Maine Street, and (3) the Staples/ShopRite parking lot at Routes 37 and 166.

He invited Shore property owners to reserve no-cost bus seats by emailing MapPersi@aol.com or Kserra8452@gmail.com. Jeffrey also urged people to go to Trenton on their own. The rally will start at 8 a.m. In front of the statehouse.

“In four weeks we’re facing our third hurricane season without replenished sand dunes and beaches to protect our homes,” Jeffrey said. ““Homeowners have invested their retirement funds to rebuild their homes, yet have not received the promised replenishment of the dunes and beaches to protect our investment”.

Mel Persi, vice president of OBVTA who organized the May 14th rally, said, “Sadly, the majority of damaged houses haven’t been restored because of the man-made disaster after the storm – the state’s inadequate recovery program.”

Kasimos lives on the mainland, but his house was flooded when the ocean surge overfilled Barnegat Bay and inundated numerous bayfront neighborhoods.

Jeffrey and Kasimos will conduct the Trenton rally as a “town hall” meeting on what they see as the key issues the Christie administration must address: Rebuilding the dunes and beaches, rebuilding homes, fixing the state’s troubled Rehabilitation, Reconstruction, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) housing program, and streamlining the bureaucratic process of grants, loans, construction guidelines and permits.

“The governor seems to have other priorities more important to him than New Jerseyans who have financial hardships 28 months after Sandy,” Kasimos commented. “We’ll hold our own ‘town hall’ to show him we need action on these crucial issues.”

“Christie made promises that he hasn’t kept,” Jeffrey said. “He made mistakes that ‘added insult to injury’ for storm victims. His woefully inadequate Sandy response does not qualify him to be president. Governor Christie and the state legislature must finish the job and do so now.”

Issues that Sandy victims have with the State of New Jersey:

Dunes -
- Why is the NJ Attorney General not filing eminent domain proceedings against the easement holdouts?
- Why are there no plans to raise dunes in Island Beach State Park?
- We need sea gates on the 3 inlets on the Barnegat Bay to fully insulate us from future storms (Point Pleasant Inlet, Barnegat Light Inlet and Little Egg Harbor Inlet)
RREM –
- Why are NJ residents receiving $150,000 maximum and NY residents receiving $300,000?
- Why is RREM not paying to raise homes 4 feet above the Base Flood Elevation?
- Extensions should be for 1 year, not 3 months.
- What are VALID reasons for extensions with RREM?
- NY residents receive $25,000 UPFRONT for their for engineering, architect, survey, flood certificate and foundation plan so that they can obtain accurate estimates. Why not NJ?
- Why is the cost so high with Pathway C contractors vs. Pathway B?
- Why are Pathway C contractors given RREM pricing, but residents on Pathway B do not have access to the pricing?
- If you are litigating with RREM, then the money should be held in escrow until the case is settled.
- ECR and WIP documents are riddled with errors.
- All RREM answers to our questions need to BE IN WRITING.
- The RREM grant should stand as is. RREM needs to do their due diligence up front. NO RECOUPMENT because of RREM mismanagement or mistakes.
- The rules and regulations need to be reduced and made concrete. The program continually changes. The rules and regulations on the RREM program are 180 pages long and growing.
- Changing from Pathway C to B: Why so difficult and denials for some. If the engineering cost are to be borne by the resident, they should receive all the engineering reports.
- Requests to RREM – They need to be REQUIRED to answer our questions in WRITING in a TIMELY FASHION (3 working days)
- OMBUDSMAN – we need one with POWER who can get answers quickly.
- ECR needs to be correct before moving forward with construction.
- Homeowner should be given ECR pricing.
- $15,000 for “soft costs” - Why are some people receiving this as an addition to the $150K grant and others as a “contingency”.
- Pathway C residents must have itemized cost of project.
- Pathway C residents “banned” from their own homes?
- Pathway C residents should be able to move to Path B easily.
- Pathway C contractors are paid for engineering, but then if homeowner switches to Pathway B is not given the engineering work performed.
Utility Companies
- Why does it take so long to turn off and turn on the utilities?
- Why are homeowners required to pay $10,000 for telephone poles?

Permits -
- We need a streamlined process to approve permits in a timely fashion.
- Why is the cost of the permits not picked up by NJ government?
- Boards of Adjustment for each town need to meet every two weeks to expedite rebuilding.
- Even if homes are demolished, their status needs to be grandfathered.

Real Estate Taxes –
- Taxes should be reduced until our homes are REBUILT AND RAISED.
- After raising/rebuilding our homes, our taxes should not be raised because of renovations.
- Overpaid real estate taxes since Sandy should be repaid back to owners of damaged homes.
Water, Electric, Taxes and Sewer Bills -
- Should be credited to displaced victims during period of displacement.
Funding to raise homes -
- Low-interest loans should be made available by the state to all Sandy damaged properties (primary, second homes, rentals and commercial properties) regardless of credit rating or equity in home.
Rental Assistance
- Rental assistance should be granted until homeowners are back in their home AFTER the lift.
- Extend the rental assistance period and make it more than $825 a month.
Dredging
- Many lagoon systems are still filled with sand and need dredging
Flood insurance -
Why is the NJ Dept. of Banking not applying pressure to NFIP WYO insurance companies writing other insurance in NJ?

Finally -
Return the $25 million in Sandy funds for the “Stronger than the Storm” TV advertisements.