Thank you for this blog Mr Mangino. I find your posts very informative. I could not help but notice that you toned this one down quite a bit and this is the 2nd version to be posted. It is OK for you to relay your frustrations to the readers. It is good to vent.
There is plenty of disappointment to go around. The "we don't know" is getting very old indeed. It is OK for people not to know the answers, even if they are in positions of power. What is not OK is that they are not making people available to the public who DO know the answers. I find it very hard to believe that they cannot get someone from FEMA into a town hall meeting to provide answers to residents such as yourself. Directing people to go to Home Depot to ask FEMA is just bad policy. That is completely unacceptable and an easy problem to fix. It seems they are more interested in passing the buck than "the buck stops here".
I agree with you that telling people "everything will be OK" while expressing frustration and speaking doom and gloom sends mixed messages and does not inspire any confidence. I would not expect any less from this mayor. His entire life is built on a foundation of lies. I know you like him because he helped you out, but just remember than even a broken clock is right twice a day.

I don't understand the purpose of this post. Everyone in the area should be trying to get the word out to as many people as we can that we are here, we are open, and we are restoring. I understand that frustrations are running high with everyone. Working in the Insurance and Real Estate industry, I completely understand this frustration. But just because things are not progressing fast enough (which they are NOT) and people are frustrated does NOT mean that everything will not be ok, and does NOT mean there will be no homes left to house anyone once the bridge is open. Eventually things WILL be ok, and there most certainly WILL be homes to house people. We all know the media prefers stories of sadness and despair to stories of hope and restoration. For a local person to not only feed into this, but to contribute to is, is appalling. As I said earlier, everyone needs to work together to change the perception that our area was completely destroyed. It was not! Peoples homes and livelihoods are at stake, and to put out that "we all know things will not be ok" and that "there will be no homes left to house people" is simply trying to scare people away. In a time when we should be reassuring the public that the area is still here, is open, and is restoring, the last thing that we, as locals, should be doing is scaring people with doom and gloom opinions and worse case scenarios.

I highly suggest the Citizens of Stafford NJ, either attend these meetings, view them via the public access channel on TV or watch them via the link on the township website.

I watched the meeting last night in a hope some one good thing could be relayed .
Sadly that didst happen , Why there hasn't been one Fema official to answer a Question at these meetings is a Discrace . Go to Fema they say ask the Town go to Town they say there waiting on Fema which is the bigger truth of the two.

Now One Day Later Christie is touting Block Grants yet there no info where to get these . There is some 32 million set up for support groups yet we can get the simplest Question answered and what even more discouraging no one seems to be Standing up to Washington . This entire house raising flood map deal is far beyond what anyone should have to endure . Telling people if you dont like it more is the most arrogant thing Ive heard . The Government is Displacing more than the Storm ever did or would of . Why someone that lives five miles from the beach has to pay the same amount of insurance that a ocean front does is beyond me . And if you are paying for 225,000 in flood you dont see even half on payout , So where is all this Money going to go .... Further why are all these inconsistency's ok . And really its not the flood maps its this 500percent insurance gouging that is being let to go un challenged ......

That a Very Good Question . Ive learned recently Fema is out Condemning homes making the Hit List as we speak .Ive sent numeros pre meeting recommendations
The Fact is we need a Town Hall meeting dealing with subject alone with informative people . I or We dont know just does not cut it after some 100 days ,
If your not going to subitize the Flood insurance Then there will need to be Tax Subsidies for towns that by why of sheer attrition will loss half there tax base.
And in Stafford that has been on the progress train will have built disney world but have no visitors . Now Is this all the homeowners faults because years ago some idiot let houses be built on slabs If the Federal Government is going now clean all of BHW lagoons then I say go after Shapiro estate for every dime taxes he hasn't paid on them . Answer to why there not at the meetings is really simple we have adopted a plan that has yet to be put on paper other than the part where we have to pay for the Mistakes made in all other past Fema Botched storm partys . Someone making a lot of money off this I know its not me . I also believe any grant moneys asked for against homeowners and local business first should go to public vote We wont need a community center in beach haven west it gona be empty and the folks who would truly benefit from it long gone. Think about it people who spend 250.000 on homes to build dont use community centers . The go to beach .

The towns are being held hostage . the insurance surcharges are unreasonable ..
We will never know the real number because people will be afraid to register there homes in fear of lossing them .
The Mayor past is no concern now and i wish you would stay on target . if thye dont adopt the maps they get no money . Simple . thou we have seen none yet . I wonder exactly how much we have billed or if we have? But your correct this circus has to end real answer from trained personal who can be held accountable is needed and Town hall meetings are not the place for them . A agenda has to be set up for these issues only and other town business can be dealt with at regulars meetings .lest stay on point here shaking our hands at Mayors and Administers as you know will ge us no where .
That said the unrealistic raising of all these homes and the insurance surcharges are criminal and not the town fault But what is dopting these maps that are just advisories . And adopting a SIx month get it done or get out CO policy is the towns not Femas .No disaster in history has a one sate been asked to pick up the Tab like ours ...Media isnt covering it the president doesnt even want here about it and our governor just keeps shacking a money bag at us that we have yet to see whats going to fall out ..This will go down as Christies demise Obamas demise And make Katrina look like a fish bowl .

I made many phone call this morning. Each one gave me another number to call. I heard from the last one that there is not enough employees to answer phones and submit the HMGP. Changing the zone code needs the government/ state supports immediatly. Raising a house will cost much more than fixing walls, flooring. Another point the compensation should depend on the shape of the house before the storm. Some people never renovate their houses, some partial renovation, others complete renovation..and each of these depend on when ( time frame). 5 bears ago, I did a big renovation structure wise on addition every thing was new..name it kitchen, bath rooms, all the floors, doors, windows, painting. On addition of the outside, bulk heads, decks, ..extra.