Sandy Damage, by the Letter

Published January 7, 2013
By Heather Haddon

A single piece of paper has become a hurdle for some New Jersey homeowners still seeking help after superstorm Sandy.

To be considered for New Jersey's main rebuilding program, each Sandy victim must obtain a letter from local government certifying that his or her house was substantially damaged in the storm. Without the document, an application for assistance won't move forward, according to rules set by the state Department of Community Affairs, the agency overseeing New Jersey's rebuilding efforts.

New York City and New York state haven't made such letters a requirement. And some New Jersey residents said they didn't know about the mandate and are now playing a game of bureaucratic catch-up to qualify for a piece of the more than $20 billion Congress approved for the state's Sandy recovery.

The letters have to be issued by a full-time floodplain manager, a position many towns said they don't have full time.

"That's causing an issue," said Dina Long, the mayor of the hard-hit Jersey Shore town of Sea Bright and a victim of the storm herself—she hasn't moved back into her Sandy-damaged house. "We didn't automatically go through town and make those determinations."

For New Jersey officials, the letter provides assurance that homeowners that sustained the worst damage from the 2012 storm are given priority for a grant program with limited funds and a waiting list with thousands of people.

But for some badly damaged towns, the letters represent more red tape in a program that has been difficult to navigate and subjected to shifting guidelines, critics say.

In New York City, officials haven't required that only substantially damaged properties receive rebuilding assistance. City inspectors assess a home's damage to make the process easier for homeowners and more uniform, said a spokesman for the Office of Housing Recovery.

"The idea was to try to make it as simple for homeowners and applicants as possible. We're dealing with the complicated parts," he said.

It isn't clear whether the certification letter has slowed the pace of Sandy aid distribution in New Jersey, where about 38,000 primary residences were damaged. The state has received more than 15,000 applications for money from its main rebuilding program, called Rehabilitation, Reconstruction, Elevation and Mitigation, which has $600 million to distribute in grants of up to $150,000. The state has initially approved 4,000 applicants since October and given final approval to more than 1,000, meaning homeowners can move forward picking a state-approved contractor. More than $90 million is being distributed so far.

"We are working very hard and have seen a lot of positive results as of late," said Richard Constable, DCA's commissioner. He said he and his agency won't be satisfied until every homeowner who needs help gets it.

New Jersey's distribution of Sandy aid has drawn scrutiny. Housing advocates and homeowners have faulted the state for being slow to provide grants, employing contractors that lacked training and not fairly distributing awards to minority and low-income homeowners. U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey has called for the federal government to reassess how New Jersey distributes Sandy aid, citing concerns from constituents who haven't received help. On Wednesday, the state Assembly will hold a hearing on New Jersey's handling of Sandy aid distribution, with government officials and housing groups slated to testify.

Housing advocates and others said the requirement for a letter wasn't clear. Online eligibility information about the program, for example, said an inspection by a program manager or a damage assessment by the Federal Emergency Management Agency could suffice to apply for the program.

"It's definitely a concern," said Staci Berger, executive director of the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, a housing advocacy group.

Mr. Constable said the state was clear from the beginning that the letters were required to best prioritize the applications.

In interviews, Sandy victims reported a mixed experience in knowing about the need for the letters and obtaining them. Some victims found out about them through word of mouth and got them promptly. Other towns only had part-time floodplain managers or hadn't regularly handled the requests, making the progress drag out.

Ana Dos Santos, whose Newark home was flooded by the Passaic River, said she first went to Newark City Hall to apply for a letter in July, but staffers weren't sure who should handle her request. She eventually received the letter in November. "We felt like they didn't care," said Ms. Dos Santos, a 50-year-old assistant at a law firm.

She hasn't received money to rebuild yet and is considering applying for a state program that purchases homes in flood-prone areas, an application process that she said seems more straightforward than the rebuilding grants. "I was really given the runaround," she said.

A Newark city spokesman said the city had a handful of requests for the letters certifying substantial damage and they were completed in a few weeks, on average.

Tom Largey helped his elderly parents apply for the program in May to help rebuild their destroyed home in Sea Bright. Mr. Largey said he was told in August that the application wasn't complete without the letter—the first time he'd heard of it.

"We didn't even know what it was," said Mr. Largey, a 57-year-old public defender from Middletown, N.J.

The state Department of Community Affairs gradually became aware that the letter had become an issue.

In July, Sandy call center staffers were directed to inform applicants about a website to find their floodplain manager, according to training materials obtained by Fair Share Housing Center, a public-interest law firm that has sued the state. In early August, the state helped conduct some of the assessments themselves.

Mr. Constable said in September that he personally called mayors to inform them of the importance of the letters. Applicants who hadn't yet submitted the letter received calls from the state in December, said a state community affairs spokeswoman.

Write to Heather Haddon at [email protected]