More than six months after Superstorm Sandy caused unprecedented damage to the Jersey Shore region, the beaches will be open for Memorial Day Weekend and the summer. While certain access points and facilities might be closed as municipalities continue to work on restoration, for the most part, the beaches will be operational. The only beach that remains off limits to the public is Mantoloking. The borough was home to a breach that split Ocean County's northern barrier island in half and was one of the hardest hit communities in New Jersey during the storm. So as you prepare to stick your toes…

There are two weeks left for survivors of Superstorm Sandy who suffered damage to their homes to register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The deadline is midnight, May 1, according to FEMA officials. This is also the deadline for residents to return applications to the Small Business Administration (SBA) for low-interest disaster loans. Residents can register for FEMA assistance online at DisasterAssistance.gov, or via smart phone or tablet at m.fema.gov. They also can call 800-621-3362 or TTY 800-462-7585, and those who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services can call 800-…

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 …

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 …

An action plan that outlines how New Jersey will spend $1.8 billion in Hurricane Sandy relief aid was submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for review Thursday. The aid will be used for Community Development Block Grants, which are designed to help homeowners, renters, business owners and communities still rebuilding following the late October storm. According to a release, the Action Plan focuses primarily on the nine counties most affected by the storm, including Monmouth, Ocean, Cape May, and Atlantic Counties. The grant funding is expected to assist …

The Christie administration has taken another step toward supporting new statewide elevation standards based on Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps. On Monday, the administration filed with the Office of Administrative Law an adoption package supporting the standards. The action comes nearly a week after Christie predicted FEMA will scale back tough new flood maps it issued last December.   Those maps place a large amount of properties in flood zones, and require many structures to be elevated if their owners don't want to see flood insurance rates spike. The initial FEMA flood …

Gov. Chris Christie predicted the Federal Emergency Management Agency will scale back tough new flood maps it issued last December, according to news reports. Those maps place many more properties in flood zones, requiring many of them to be elevated if their owners don't want to see flood insurance rates soar, according to reports. The initial FEMA flood maps, which could create thousands more in insurance premiums and have residents raising their houses feet off the ground, are "too aggressive," said Gov. Christie at Thursday's town hall meeting. He was addressing a packed crowd of …

There's no question in Mayor Dina Long's mind. Sea Bright will come back.  Its downtown businesses, many of them still shuttered, their signs hanging on buildings some of which will have to be torn down, will open again, someday, somewhere. The beach clubs, crushed by the surging flood waters during Hurricane Sandy, will welcome visitors back to their new cabanas and beaches eventually. In the meantime, residents should brace themselves. It's not going to be pretty. Long assured residents during a public post-Sandy information session Wednesday that the recovery effort would not wait. But it …

Superstorm Sandy inflicted damage on 1,028 homes and rental units in Sea Bright, according to an analysis of New Jersey Department of Community Affairs data by NJSpotlight.com.  Some 574 Sea Bright homeowners reported minor damages from the historic storm, while 32 suffered "major" damage, defined as between $8,000 and $28,800 in storm costs. Damage under $8,000 was considered "minor." Severe damage — defined as over $28,800 in costs — was reported for 63 homes.    At least 359 Sea Bright rental units took damage in the storm — 71 suffering minor damage, 139 incurring major damage and 149 …

It's spring break for many college students. It's time to enjoy some time off from the grind of studying. Hang out with a group of friends, head down to the shore, hit the beaches early and stay out all day. And fill up trash bags with debris.  As colleges clear out this time of year some students are eschewing typical spring break activities for volunteerism, heading to coastal communities devastated by Hurricane Sandy to lend a hand. Beach cleanups, house demolition, reconstruction, and even something as simple, and necessary, as helping residents paint their homes are jobs being handled by…

Two weeks to the day after New Jersey Transit submitted an application for federal funds to help recovery in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, it received over $144 million in aid for the first steps of recovery, NJ Transit Executive Director James Weinstein said on Thursday night, March 14. “Rebuilding in the aftermath of Sandy has truly been a team approach,” Weinstein said in a statement issued Thursday night. “I am grateful for the efforts of Senators Lautenberg and Menendez, our Congressional delegation, Administrator Rogoff and the FTA, as well as the leaders and staff at FEMA and the …

Three area Hurricane Sandy relief groups were awarded grants to help their causes at Wednesday night's Red Bank Borough Council meeting. Each was given a check for $3,863: Hope for Highlands, Sea Bright Rising and Red Bank-based Rebuild Recover. Sea Bright Rising, said founder Chris Wood, has raised more than $1.1 million and distributed roughly $600,000 to 200 families and eight businesses. "We're getting the money out to people as quickly as possible and in a judicious fashion," Wood said. Hope for Highlands has, to date, has given out $90,000 to residents, according to its representatives…

How does a government go from disaster, to emergency response, to long-term rebuild to normalcy, while seeking FEMA reimbursements along the way? A detailed briefing on the process appears on the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management's Disaster Public Assistance site, outlining the different classifications a town would use for projects after a disaster such as Hurricane Sandy. The briefing aims to break down the complicated process and provide an overview. The PowerPoint presentation answers questions such as: Which local officers would be coordinating the reimbursement effort depends on…

Inspiration came in the way of a message delivered by a 9-year-old girl from a small town in Mississippi. New Jersey's coastal communities remained devastated following Hurricane Sandy. Even then, more than a month after the storm hit, rebuilding seemed like an impossible task. In December, a gunman opened fire in a school in Newtown, Conn. killing 26 people, 20 of them children. Demoralized. That’s how Bill Lavin, president of the New Jersey Firefighter’s Mutual Benevolent Association, said he felt. It’s how many in the nation felt. Karli Coyne, from Waveland, Miss., a town destroyed by …

New Jersey’s recovery following Hurricane Sandy will come, officials and legislators at Tuesday’s budget introduction at the Statehouse in Trenton said, just don’t expect the state to pay for it. In Gov. Chris Christie’s proposed $32.9 billion budget, only about $40 million has been set aside for Sandy-related recovery, all of it coming in the form of supplemental aid. Its intended use will only be as a stopgap during the process of the state’s securing aid for various recovery efforts. The negligible sum will have little impact on the state’s budget, according to New Jersey Treasurer Andrew …

Sometimes, a hot meal can mean everything. No one knows this better than the volunteers of Everybody's Kitchen, a kitchen on wheels that travels around the country providing hot meals to those who need it most. Recently, the loosely-organized group has been providing meals to Hurricane Sandy victims. According to volunteer Anne Mackell, the bus made stops in Sandy-ravaged towns soon after the storm hit and has come back again three months later to address a persistent need.  The completely volunteer-sustained Everybody's Kitchen, developed in the early 1990's, has spend the last two decades …

Towns all along New Jersey's coast were devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Boardwalks were pulled back into the sea by surging waves, homes were knocked off of their foundations and residents left homeless. Despite the disaster, there's still hope. In Union Beach Saturday, and estimated crowd of about 1,000 people walked through the Sandy-ravaged town to show their support for recovery and each other. With little notice about the event other than a posting online, word of mouth spread throughout the week, resulting in a large and somewhat unexpected turnout. Many of those walking count themselves…

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is providing free advice on how to repair or rebuild your Hurricane Sandy-damaged home at several home improvement stores throughout the area. With an eye on rebuilding to mitigate future disaster damage, FEMA experts will be on hand to offer building techniques that can help protect homes, businesses and other properties.  Among the topics advice is being offered on are: •             Ridding a home of mold and mildew. •             Understanding flood- and wind-resistant building methods. •             Knowing the benefits of flood insurance…

Randall Kidd’s story isn’t unique. A Union Beach resident, he’s faithfully paid into the National Flood Insurance Program for years, insuring his home against the kind of flood damage caused by Hurricane Sandy with a $217,000 policy he hoped would make him whole. After his home was destroyed by the late October storm, Kidd set about filling out the appropriate paperwork, meeting with adjusters who came in from out of state and waiting for the check to arrive so he could start to work. Finally, the check did come, but for $89,000, less than half of what contractors have told him it will cost …

An executive order signed by Gov. Chris Christie Friday aims to put key review and reporting initiatives in place to ensure that distribution of Hurricane Sandy relief funds is done in an accountable and transparent matter. The order, No. 125, directs the Office of the State Comptroller to conduct an independent, legal review of the procurement process for state contracts using federal reconstruction aid, according to a release. Each of the state's departments dealing with the distribution of federal aid will designate an "Accountability Officer" to work with the Comptroller's Office and the …