By Philip Sean Curran
TRENTON – New Jersey will make $50 million available to homeowners still trying to rebuild nearly seven years after Super Storm Sandy hit the state, the Murphy administration announced last week.
The state said the federal government allowed New Jersey to reallocate federal Housing and Urban Development money toward two financial grant programs the state had created to help victims of the 2012 storm. Participants in the programs can now receive more than the original $150,000 cap, the state said.
“For the families who have yet to complete their rebuilding efforts, we recognize the difficulties you’ve endured,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in a news release. “But we hope the actions we’ve taken over the last year eliminate the challenges that remain and demonstrate our commitment to helping all who were so devastated by Superstorm Sandy.”
Lisa Ryan, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Community Affairs, said homeowners would have to apply for the funds. She said the money is only for homeowners who are participating in the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation Program (RREM) and the Low to Moderate Income Homeowner Rebuilding Program (LMI) who already received the $150,000 maximum from those two programs but who haven’t been able to complete construction.
She said there are fewer than 1,000 homeowners who fit that category statewide.
The Murphy administration intends to make applications available for funding this summer, and will alert eligible homeowners that they can apply.
“Just by simply applying, there’s no guarantee that they would get additional supplemental funds,” Ryan said.
Among other criteria, the state will look to see if homeowners have received the maximum funding available but still have not finished rebuilding. She said the state is inspecting homeowners’ properties to see what work has been done and “what still needs to be done.”
“And that will certainly be taken into consideration, too,” she said.
Accepting money from the supplemental fund carries a five-year residency requirement from the time work on their homes is finished. But if they move before that time, homeowners have a financial obligation to the state.
“Now if they accept the funds and they decide to sell their property at some point between when they get them and the five-year residency requirement, the amount is prorated,” Ryan said. “So they would have to pay back the prorated amount back to the program from their sale proceeds.”
Highlands business administrator Kim Gonzales said her town had posted details on the borough web site about recent information sessions the state was having this year on the supplemental funding program. She said she was aware of three homeowners in her community who are in the RREM program.
In addition, the state said participants in RREM and the LMI programs would be eligible for monthly rental assistance of up to $1,300 during the time work is being done on their homes.
This October will mark the seven-year anniversary of Sandy’s devastation, particularly in communities along the Jersey Shore. Monmouth Beach Mayor Sue Howard this week recalled how 30 percent of the houses in her community had been underwater. She said the town is “almost completely recovered” from the effects of the storm.
