Plainfield Recieves $1.13 Million From FEMA

City one of first four municipalities in state to get Sandy funds

Nearly a month after Hurricane Sandy devastated communities across the state, the Federal Emergency Management Administration has begun cutting checks to local agencies.

Four municipalities in Monmouth and Union counties became the first on Wednesday to receive the money, totaling $8.3 million, for debris-removal costs.

Plainfield received $1.13 million, Manalapan received $3.94 million, Little Silver received $1.67 million, and Keansburg received $1.58 million.

The state on Wednesday also received $31.1 million in federal grants to reimburse costs for feeding and housing 8,000 utility workers, 725 survivors and 500 support personnel after the storm. Of that total, $20.4 million came FEMA’s Public Assistance fund, which was established to reimburse local governments in federally declared disaster areas.

As of Tuesday, nearly 900 municipalities, school boards, fire districts and nonprofit agencies, including the state’s public colleges and universities, had applied for public assistance, FEMA spokesman Scott Sanders said.

Even more money has been awarded to individuals that lost their homes or had to relocate.
As of Tuesday, more than 234,000 people had registered for the Individual & Housing Assistance program, which had awarded $260.4 million.

Reimbursements for local governments include overtime paid to workers and repairs to damage buildings, roads and bridges. FEMA pays for 75 percent of the costs.

Old Bridge Mayor Owen Henry said his Middlesex County township’s storm costs could amount to $1 million, including worker overtime and repairs to municipal buildings. The township’s school board, fire districts and Municipal Utilities Authority submitted separate applications through the state Office of Emergency Management for FEMA money.

“Our biggest concern is the embankment along the Raritan Bay, that we stabilize that so it doesn’t erode any further,” Henry said, noting it would take time to estimate how much that project would cost.

Written By

Sergio Bichao