Scott Gurian

A WNYC investigation shows the city was shortchanged in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, with towns less devastated awarded far more in emergency funds. Worst of all, Hoboken isn’t alone.

Scott Gurian looks at how certain cities are not scheduled to receive what some officials in those cities say is a sufficient amount of Sandy aid money.

FEMA has distributed $5.4 billion in the state in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

The Christie administration is coming under increased scrutiny on a number of fronts for how it’s been handling New Jersey’s recovery from Sandy.

Jersey City — the state’s second largest city — was awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars less than Newark and Elizabeth, cities of comparable size and storm damage.

The top official overseeing New Jersey’s Sandy recovery stepped into the media spotlight for the first time to deny Hoboken was shortchanged.

As Christie denies allegations that it pressured Hoboken's Mayor to approve a redevelopment deal in exchange for Sandy aid, a powerful law firm has surfaced as a player in the dispute.

A reversal by FEMA means a religious community may qualify for Sandy aid for a damaged boardwalk.

A New Jersey official who oversees the distribution of billions of dollars in federal Sandy aid acknowledged on Wednesday that the state has made some mistakes in how it's handled the recovery process, but he said that much of the criticism it’s received is unwarranted.

We've heard a lot about the boardwalk towns of the Jersey Shore — but which places are really in the worst shape?

Whenever disasters strike, day laborers are often among the first to report to the front lines of the recovery effort.  But disaster work for immigrants  can be fraught with danger, s...

Another $5-billion of aid money is on its way to New Jersey, New York and other Sandy-affected states. And environmental and housing advocacy groups are applauding federal provisions they feel will ensure more transparency and sustainability in how the money is spent.

The guy appointed by Gov. Chris Christie to direct New Jersey's recovery from Sandy doesn't make public appearances or take calls from the press.

The Obama administration's $60.4 billion emergency funding request to Congress last December stated that part of the money for recovery and rebuilding should be used "to help the region prepare for future challenges, including future severe storms and coastal flooding, as well as impacts associated with a changing climate."

It also instructed that government officials at all levels should work together "to develop mutually agreed upon assessments of future risks and vulnerabilities facing the region, including extreme weather, sea level rise and coastal flooding, and incorporate these into their recovery planning and implementation."

One year after Sandy, here’s a detailed look at where some of that money has gone, how it’s trickling down to New Jersey, and how portions of it are hopefully being used to make the state safer and more resilient to severe weather along its coast.

 

A year after Sandy, things remain difficult for many business owners along New Jersey’s coast. For Gigi Liaguno-Dorr, owner of Jakeabob’s Bay restaurant in Union Beach, New Jersey, it’s around 1 pm every day that she thinks about it the most. The lunchtime crowd disappeared after the storm and has yet to return.

Thousands of people's lives and daily routines have radically changed as a result of Sandy. Judy Hickerson lived with her husband in Waretown, New Jersey, and she had the maximum amount of flood insurance. But a year after Sandy, she’s still spending her Friday mornings dreaming of the day things will return to normal.

Coastal states throughout the region are coming up with strategies to prevent flooding from sea level rise in the next century. Except in New Jersey.  And that has planners and environmentalists alarmed.

After pressure from a number of lawmakers, FEMA announced on Tuesday that it will grant an additional six month extension for Sandy survivors to file Proof of Loss statements, which are the first step in appealing a flood insurance settlement.

Almost a year after the storm, Jersey shore residents and business owners are still fighting with their insurance companies over their Sandy damage claims.  They have just a few weeks left to file appeals of their flood insurance settlements, and many homeowners’ policies in New Jersey place a one year statute of limitations on filing lawsuits.

Most of the attention of the Sandy recovery efforts in New Jersey has been focused on hard-hit areas of the shore, but as state lawmakers heard last night, some northern parts of the state are also still suffering, and face unique challenges in preparing for future severe storms.