By Lauren Wanko
Correspondent
“I completely understand that this has been a frustrating, frustrating time over the course of the last two years for people, frustrating for me too at times,” said Gov. Chris Christie.
Less than a week before the two year anniversary of Sandy, Christie told storm victims and local leaders that his administration made good strides and steady progress over the past several months by refining the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation or RREM program in several substantial ways.
“The REMM program is a mess,” said Stop FEMA Now Founder George Kasimos.
Not everyone agrees. More than 4,400 Sandy-impacted homeowners in the RREM program signed a grant award agreement. Of those nearly 3,600 are in the construction process. $1.1 billion in disaster recovery funds has been allocated to the RREM program. Christie this morning said the administration streamlined the process so program participants can mail in documents and work remotely with housing advisers and among other things reduced the number of site inspections.
“And now when a RREM homeowner submits their selected contractor, the state pays 50 percent of the grant awarded to the homeowner to quickly pay for necessary expenses,” said Christie.
“Christie discussed over $1 billion over all. The challenge is that the things have been in the pipeline for a very long time,” said Adam Gordon of Fair Share Housing Center.
Christie, this morning, said many of the changes made within the RREM program came from suggestions the administration got from homeowners but still some storm victims say their concerns are not being heard.
“We want to help with the process, but he’s not listening to the largest group of people with problems,” Kasimos.
“Somewhere the communication isn’t getting to him that every time you walk into the office your getting three different people , giving you three different information,” said Toms River resident and storm victim Carol Davis. “This is all the paperwork just having to do with RREM.”
Davis carries a bag full of files, all pertaining to the RREM program. She says the process has been streamlined but doesn’t know if she has been approved for the grant.
“It’s a limbo I don’t want to be in,” said Davis.
“It’s gotten easier for many, the hold up seems to be coming from building permits and engineering,” said The People’s Pantry Relief Center’s Patricia Donaghue.
Kasimos says it’s not getting any easier for storm victims.
“There is so much indecision. People are still living out of garbage bags,” said Kasimos.
Fair Share Housing says they’ll continue to work to ensure much needed and long-overdue RREM grant money gets to storm victims. Meantime the administration says all remaining eligible Sandy-impacted homeowners on the RREM wait-list will be funded through the third allocation of disaster recovery funds, expected to be provided next spring.