$145 Million in Sandy Funds Reallocated to Help Homeowners

Published January 14, 2014
By Julie Daurio

More Sandy relief funds will be going toward helping homeowners rebuild. But the distribution of federal money is slow going.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has approved the Christie administration’s appeal to reroute $145 million of Sandy aid to help homeowners instead of the small businesses it was initially set aside for.

1,000 homeowners waiting to begin reconstruction will soon be approved for grants. But that means 7,000 will still be on a waiting list. Staci Berger with the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey says despite the slow rollout, there are still some things to be hopeful about.

“It’s good to hear that people will be told what their status is in relation to the waitlist so they can make a plan. Obviously being number one on the waitlist is very different than being number 6,999.”

It’s still not known when the rest of the $1.8 billion in federal aid will be allocated.