PLEASE STAND WITH SANDY SURVIVORS

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/01/gov_christie_pushing_congress.html
By MaryAnn Spoto/The Star-Ledger The Star-Ledger
on January 14, 2013 at 2:05 PM, updated January 14, 2013 at 5:54 PM Print

BRADLEY BEACH — Gov. Chris Christie is putting the hard sell on members of Congress to support the $51 billion federal hurricane aid package due up for a vote on Tuesday.

At a tour of recovery efforts in Bradley Beach, Christie said he made phone calls to congressional representatives over the weekend and will continuing making more today because he’s concerned the bill won’t garner enough votes.

“I’ll be concerned until it passes,” he said. “That’s why I’m working to get the votes and why our delegation is looking to get the votes.”

The measure was scheduled to be voted on two weeks ago until House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), citing concerns of some members about unnecessary spending in the package, abruptly pulled it.
A day before Congress is likely take up a Hurricane Sandy aid package that has already been delayed two weeks, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie implored lawmakers to pass the bill, saying the Garden State deserves the same treatment other states have received following disasters. Christie spoke at a press conference following a tour of a dune rebuilding project in Bradley Beach, New Jersey.
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Congress last week passed a bill authorizing $9 billion to replenish the National Flood Insurance Program, which was slated to run out of money if no action had been taken then.

But now the package has been split into two pieces, the second of which will be offered as an amendment by Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11th Dist.).

Christie said all potentially objectionable spending has been stripped from the bill to make it amenable, although he said it will take votes from Republicans and Democrats to get the measure passed.

In his tour of Bradley Beach where crews are using Christmas trees to rebuild the mile of destroyed dunes, Christie said he wants to spotlight New Jersey’s recovery efforts.

“No one is conceding the summer of 2013 to Sandy,” he said.
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“When you see the work that’s being done right here in Bradley Beach, it emphasizes again the importance of the dune systems across the state.

Christie also used the tour to highlight post-Sandy labor programs including a $15.6 million national emergency grant that has put 428 unemployed residents to work on storm cleanup in 11 counties. An additional 650 unemployed residents from another five counties are set to be hired soon.

Beginning today, a pot of $500,000 in grants is available to employers to help them identify obstacles and needs as they try to rebuild.

http://www.nj.com/monmouth/index.ssf/2013/01/hundreds_of_hurricane_sandy_victims...

By Rob Spahr / NJ.com The Star-Ledger
on January 13, 2013 at 10:08 AM Print
HIGHLANDS – Hurricane Sandy flooded Darlene Gauthier’s home with five feet of water. Not only is she still displaced, but she is also having a difficult time replacing the necessities that she lost in the storm.

Gauthier’s 89-year-old mother, Florence, had her Highlands home knocked off its foundation. Still unable to return home, she now spends 90 percent of her fixed income on rent.

“We lost everything, all of our clothes and belongings… everything,” Gauthier said. “But it’s hard to replace those things, when you’re spending your money on the other things you need to do just to get back to a sense of normalcy, let along get back in your home.”

But on Saturday morning, both mother and daughter were among the approximately 500 Hurricane Sandy survivors who stood in line in the parking lot of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church to receive down jackets and heat-generating innerwear courtesy of global clothing retailer UNIQLO.

The donation drop was the sixth week of a 10-week initiative during which the company plans to donate roughly $2.3 million worth of products to help keep Hurricane Sandy victims warm.

“After the Hurricane Sandy devastation, we wanted to do something to give back to the communities where we operate – not just with our product, but also with our time,” said Alex Spritzer, a public relations manager for UNIQLO, adding the company partnered with the state of New Jersey and the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund for Saturday’s event.

“Whatever we are unable to distribute, we will leave here in the hands of these (local) organizations to get them to the people who need them,” she said.

Spritzer said that Gov. Chris Christie’s wife, Mary Pat, recommended at an event in Newark that UNIQLO officials contact Chris Wood, the owner of Woody’s Ocean Grille in Sea Bright, to get their products in the hands of more people in need.

As work to restore his storm-damaged restaurant has been under way, Wood has helped to spearhead the Sea Bright Rising campaign, which connects Hurricane Sandy victims with funding for things like contractors, rental assistance and the necessities they need to return to a sense of normalcy.

“Right now only about 20 percent of our displaced residents are back in their homes, and that could even be an aggressive number. And of our 30 businesses in town, only four have reopened so far,” Wood said. “Unfortunately people lost everything and anything you can do to help, however small it may be, in my mind is a great assistance. So I think this is an awesome outpouring of generosity of UNIQLO’s part.”

But instead of keeping UNIQLO’s charity for themselves, Wood and Sea Bright Rising recommended the company reach out to Hope for Highlands, so the thousands of storm victims in that neighboring community could also benefit. The two organizations then helped spread the word to storm victims.

“I think this is fantastic. We have 1,500 homes in town and 1,200 of them were devastated in the storm, 700 of which are still unoccupied or they’re occupying homes that the probably shouldn’t be,” said Rosemary Ryan, of Hope for Highlands. “These people need help, they don’t have anything. Some of them are waiting for insurance checks before they can even begin to think about doing things to their house, and I think the whole process has been overwhelming.”

Ryan called Saturday’s event both “fantastic” and “sad.”

“They’re here looking for some sense of normalcy and I don’t think they’re going to see it for a long time,” Ryan said looking at the hundreds of people lined up for clothing to keep themselves and their families warm. “But having people come out here and do this means more than anything. It means they’re not a lost cause.”