A meeting by a grassroots organization dedicated to opposing the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) flood maps was shut down by Toms River police Saturday after being overwhelmed by large crowds. The group, Stop FEMA Now, is hoping its unified voice will reach elected officials and encourage them to speak out against FEMA's Advisory Base Flood Elevation maps, which were recently adopted by the State. If the maps aren't changed, thousands of residents along New Jersey's coasts will be required to elevate their homes or face potentially financially-crippling flood insurance premiums …

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 …

Gov. Chris Christie took a stand this week against public officials and community leaders calling on residents to wait for potential changes to Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps before elevating or rebuilding their homes in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. Christie, speaking in Lavallette Tuesday, said the state's adoption of FEMA's advisory base flood elevation maps last month will ensure residents build smarter and stronger, and avoid the consequences that came in Sandy's storm surge. "Fight away, I'm fighting too, but don't tell people not to rebuild their homes if they want to…

The same complaints George Kasimos has shared with his neighbors across the street he’s seen posted online, questions and concerns futilely written in emails and posted on message boards and social media sites, left unanswered. Residents are angry, they’re frustrated, and they want to know what’s next. There’s a movement brewing, but what it lacks is direction. Like many residents of the Jersey Shore, Kasimos is facing an uncertain future following Hurricane Sandy, one that’s especially clouded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s new flood elevation maps. He wants to fight the maps, …

When David Scott Ruddy was arrested for allegedly flimflamming Hurricane Sandy victims out of $50,000 in FEMA funds, there was one person who not only knew who he was, but had been calling and warning officials about him for months. That was Kathleen Marchitto, who met Ruddy first at a shelter put up for Jersey Shore and other victims, and then later when she and other hurricane victims were moved to a Red Cross shelter set up at Livingston College of Rutgers University in Piscataway. Marchitto, whose apartment was flooded during the October hurricane, was at the Livingston College shelter …

Construction of Seaside Heights' new boardwalk is underway. Crews are currently installing 25-foot long wooden pilings to help support the new boards. In all, more than 1,500 pilings are expected to be installed. The actually process of installing pilings is relatively simple - following the planning, measuring and surveying, that is. A large drill bores deep into the beach while a second heavy machine lowers the pilings into place while its pile driver attachment hammers it into the ground. About 64 pilings are expected to be installed each day. Seaside's boardwalk is expected to be rebuilt …

Construction crews were out in Seaside Heights Friday morning for the first day of work rebuilding the shore town's popular boardwalk. The first step of the process is drilling deep into the beach and inserting 25-foot long wooden pilings that will support the boardwalk. Officials hope the pilings, which are drilled 10 feet below sea level, will help keep the boardwalk intact during future storms. Much of the boardwalk was destroyed during Hurricane Sandy. What was left was removed and hauled away, a necessary process prior to reconstruction of nearly the entire length of the boardwalk. The …

Disaster Recovery Centers in New Jersey will be closed for Presidents' Day this upcoming Monday, Feb. 18, according to a release from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loan outreach and business recovery centers will also be closed.  The centers, opened to assist victims of Hurricane Sandy, will re-open and return to normal business hours the next day, Tuesday, Feb. 19.  While residents won't be able to find answers in person Monday, help and information are still available online or by phone. Sandy victims can check on the status of…

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…

Ocean County residents and business owners cannot wait months for FEMA to release amendments to the agency's controversial advisory base flood elevation maps, Freeholder Director John P. Kelly said. Kelly, county and municipal officials went to Trenton on Wednesday to meet with state and FEMA representatives to try and get some answers. Other than assurances there would be amendments to the maps, they got few answers, only that possible amendments would be released in "...June, July, August..." Ocean County Administrator Carl W. Block said at a board caucus meeting today. "In the meantime, …

The Federal Housing Administration will speed the approval of applications made by owners of multi-family apartments in New York and New Jersey looking to refinance mortgages, substantially rehabilitate their properties, or construct new developments in Hurricane Sandy-impacted areas, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said in a release.  According to a release, the order is effective immediately. The streamlined approval process, by design, is intended to accelerate access to mortgage financing for apartment owners and to facilitate recovery in the multi-family …

Hurricane Sandy was the second costliest storm in this country’s history and directly responsible for 147 deaths – 72 of them in the U.S. alone – according to a recent report released by the National Hurricane Center. The report, released by the organization Tuesday, provides details about the start of the storm, its evolution as it made its way through the Caribbean up through the east coast, and its impact on the region. Though the number is still tentative, owing to incomplete data, the report puts the total damage incurred by the storm at $50 billion, noting that the actual tally could be…

  Many people in Ocean County don't know much about O.C.E.A.N. Inc. And Executive Director Theodore Gooding wants to change that. "We do a lot of things for folks that are free if they are income eligible," Gooding said at a recent Superstorm Sandy informational session organized by Berkeley Township officials and held at the Berkeley Township Elementary School. He also wants residents to know that O.C.E.A.N. Inc. (Ocean Community Economic Action Now) can help storm victims who meet the income guidelines through the O.C.E.A.N., Inc. Community Partners Outreach and Relief Recovery Fund, along …

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 …

State-funded buyouts of homes in flood-prone neighborhoods ravaged by Hurricane Sandy is a possibility, Gov. Christie said this week. However, when it comes to a final decision, it’s one he hopes the residents will make. In Sea Bright, Christie was joined Thursday afternoon by U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan to discuss the allocation of $1.8 billion that will be used to fund Community Development Block grants, or CDBGs. Though that money will be focused on rebuilding homes and small businesses, future HUD allocations could be used for residential buyouts. It’s …

The State's Treasury Department's Division of Taxation has organized a number of tax assistance outreach events throughout February and March in towns affected by Hurricane Sandy, Gov. Chris Christie's office announced Thursday.  The events, scheduled during the height of tax season, are being held in towns that suffered heavy damage during Sandy as well as adjacent municipalities. The events will be located at libraries or other public buildings. The events are scattered throughout Monmouth, Ocean and Bergen Counties. The tax assistance events are free and residents can register online by …

The $1.8 billion recently allocated for use in Community Development Block Grants, or CDBGs, will be used primarily to help residents and small businesses affected by Hurricane Sandy recover, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan said Thursday afternoon. Joined by Gov. Chris Christie in Sea Bright, Donovan said the funding is the first chunk of approximately $16 billion that will help homeowners along the East Coast rebuild, filling the gaps between aid provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and loans issued by the Small Business Administration (SBA…

Ocean County officials had two ways to go after Superstorm Sandy - wait three months for the complex bid process for debris removal, or go with Florida-based Ashbritt and start immediately, Freeholder Director John P. Kelly said today. "We had two choices in Ocean County," Kelly said at the Board of Freeholders meeting Wednesday in Toms River. "It was the only action that made sense." Nearly all of the discussion at the meeting centered on the use of Ashbritt for debris removal, the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy and Ocean County's eventual recovery. Ocean County signed on with AshBritt in mid…

Gov. Chris Christie is adamant about his decision to adopt the Federal Emergency Management’s (FEMA) advisory flood maps. And while that decision will have a significant, and costly, impact on many of New Jersey’s shore towns, it’s a necessary step to ensure their survival, he said. Speaking at a mobile cabinet meeting in Union Beach nearly two weeks after announcing his decision to rebuild using the advisory flood maps as a guide, Christie said it was a difficult choice, but one he had to make. Even amidst opposition as shore towns and residents voice their objections to the maps and their …

It's hard to see the improvement at Casino Pier following its destruction at the hands of Hurricane Sandy. But, it's what you don't see that let's you know work is being done. The Seaside Heights attraction is nearly empty. All of the amusements and rides that remained on the pier following Sandy have been taken down, piece-by-piece, and carted away, some to storage, some to the scrap yard. The log flume, half of it having fallen into the ocean, is gone. The Wild Mouse rollercoaster has been taken down and hauled away. The buildings that housed concessions and games have been torn down. A few…