On the first day of this month, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) set up its Hudson County disaster recovery center in Secaucus in order to assist local residents who were affected by the April 15 nor’easter and flooding.
But a little over one week later, the office closed and moved to Martin Luther King Drive in Jersey City.
It was previously located at the Secaucus Office of Emergency Management building, at 1377 Paterson Plank Road.
State and federal officials said that while 259 people have registered for FEMA assistance in Hudson County, only a dozen came into the Secaucus office for help.
Since the office was moved to Jersey City, more than 100 have come in.
“When FEMA originally came in looking to set up something, Secaucus was the only site we had available right away,” said Robert Kickey of the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management.
The office was not there specifically for residents to fill out claims anyway, he said, but to get information and guidance.
“If you filed a claim and you had any problems or questions you [could] go to the disaster recovery center for information,” he said.
Claims are first filed by calling the FEMA hotline, 1-800-621-FEMA.
Over $100,000 in grants for Hudson County
Of New Jersey’s nearly 9 million residents, more than 12,000 residents have sought reimbursement due to damage from the storm, said Elizabeth Childs, a spokeswoman for FEMA.
“In New Jersey we have approved more than $11.3 million in grant money for individuals and households,” Childs said.
She added that Hudson County residents have applied for a little over $126,000 in federal grants.
“The money can go toward rental assistance, home repairs or other needs,” she explained, adding that those may include medical care and business assistance.
Childs could not give a more detailed geographical breakdown of county claims, as it was not yet available.
Secaucus residents can still get help
Kickey added that initially, the federal agency was looking for a space that would be available for up to 60 days without any interruption.
“When some of the FEMA representatives who do the labor were showed the damage in the county, they suggested they move the site to Jersey City or Hoboken,” Director of Hudson County Office of Emergency Management Jack Burns said.
Secaucus residents can still come into the Jersey City center for assistance. They can also get information by calling the FEMA hotline, 1-800-621-FEMA.
Some Secaucus homeowners forced to get flood insurance
At least one Secaucus resident is a bit perturbed about a FEMA issue related to flooding.
Two years ago, FEMA made changes to its flood map, designating parts of Secaucus as a “Special Flood Hazard Area.”
Under the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 and the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994, residents across the country whose homes are located in flood areas are required to maintain flood insurance as part of the terms of their mortgage.
According to the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, about 350 homes were added to Secaucus’s Special Flood Hazard Area after FEMA revised the local Flood Insurance Rates Maps in September 2005.
Many of these homeowners claim that their homes have been mis-designated as being in risk areas, and are fighting mandates from their banks to purchase insurance.
“I’ve lived in this house since 1976 and I saw all kinds of weather,” said Leo Rossano, who lives on Koelle Boulevard. “I never saw water in the house.”
Rossano said that even with the nor’easter, his property did not flood.
Rossano has been engaged in a battle against his mortgager, Sovereign Bank, since December 2006, when the bank first advised him that he would be required him to purchase flood insurance.
Rossano has original documentation from the Meadowlands Commission in 1992 saying that his property was NOT located on a Special Flood Hazard Area. Insisting that nothing has changed since then, Rossano even paid $600 out of his own pocket to hire an engineer to survey his property.
Rossano said he will continue to fight his bank, which he said has already gone ahead and deducted the first insurance premium from his account while he awaits the 30-60 days that FEMA said it needs to review the results of his survey.
“I’m not looking to FEMA for money,” Rossano said.
“All I want them to say is that my property is not in a flooded area.”
Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell is asking residents that have been informed that they must carry flood insurance to contact his office, as the new FEMA mapping may have included homes that are not located in flood-prone areas.
Madeline Friedman can be reached at mfriedman@hudsonreporter.com