By Lauren Wanko
NJ Today
It’s been 10 months since Union Beach resident Simone Dannecker lost the entire first floor of her home to Superstorm Sandy. Frustrated by mountains of paperwork, the ordeal brought her to tears today.
“It’s a very emotional thing to deal with this on a daily basis. It really takes away from your well-being,” Dannecker said.
She told her story at today’s joint legislative hearing in Atlantic City. The goal? To discuss what’s working, what isn’t and what’s still needed since Sandy ravaged the Garden State.
“We have gotten more help from non-profit organizations. They’re doing more for our little town than the state is. The state got us again wrapped up in so much paperwork, it consumes your life,” Dannacker said.
Shark River Hills resident Lee Ann Newland says her Monmouth County home is still uninhabitable. Faced with more than $220,000 in elevation and repair costs, she received half that from her flood insurance company. Now the house is on the market.
“To date we have paid our mortgage of $2,500 a month and storage costs of $300 a month and can no longer justify these large expenses,” Newland said.
Newland called out departments she said fell short of their responsibilities, including the DCA, the Department of Banking and Insurance and the governor’s office. And she took aim at New Jersey’s “Stronger Than The Storm” campaign.
“The recent TV ad campaign depicting life at the shore is back to normal is highly disturbing. Life is not normal,” said Newland.
Atlantic City resident Sonia Rankine-Daley has been displaced since Sandy. She’s been living in a hotel room with her family.
“The problem I’m in is when you call the Housing Authority, you are getting, ‘Go to this line, go to that line, go to that line,’ and nobody can give you an answer. No answer whatsoever,” Rankine-Daley said.
Experts from various organizations also spoke at today’s hearing. Former DEP Commissioner Mark Mauriello called for more open discussion on how the federal Sandy aid dollars are being spent.
“We’re a little bit drunk with all this money. This federal appropriation is massive and it’s unprecedented and it sort of makes you a little bit less concerned about what you do because there’s so much money, but we can’t lose sight of the fact of being smart in how we spend money.”
The chairs of both committees say they will work to craft legislation to help storm victims and reach out to other departments in the state. Sen. Bob Smith is expected to hold another hearing in Trenton in the coming months.