FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Christie Administration Announces Sandy Housing Recovery Center Workshop

All Nine Centers Open on Saturday, March 15, to Answer RREM Grant Awardees’ Questions



Trenton, NJ – The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) will host a Housing Recovery Center Workshop on Saturday, March 15, 2014, to provide personal assistance for applicants approved for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) Program grant awards.

Housing Advisors will staff each of the nine Housing Recovery Centers located in the nine most Sandy-impacted counties from 12 noon to 5 p.m. to assist RREM grant awardees with program questions and to provide additional assistance navigating the RREM Program’s process.

“RREM grant awardees do not have to wait until the Saturday workshop session to get assistance,” explained DCA Commissioner Richard E. Constable, III. “They can contact their program-assigned Housing Advisor during normal business hours to get a quick response to their questions and concerns. But for those RREM grant awardees who have unanswered questions, our staff will be there for you at each of the nine Housing Recovery Centers during the workshop.”

The Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) grant program is the largest of the housing recovery programs launched by the DCA in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. The program provides grants to Sandy-impacted homeowners to cover rebuilding costs up to $150,000 that are not funded by insurance, FEMA, U.S. Small Business Administration loans, or other sources.

The Housing Recovery Center Workshop is not for applicants on the RREM Program waitlist, those deemed ineligible for the program, or those appealing their ineligibility determination. Applicants on the RREM waitlist can call the Housing Recovery Hotline at 1-855-SANDYHM to learn where they are on the waitlist.

Because of privacy concerns and confidentiality requirements, actual workshop sessions are not open to the media. However, photo spray opportunities are available at designated Housing Recovery Centers and must be coordinated with the DCA Communications Office in advance.

The nine Housing Recovery Centers (HRC) are located at:

  • Atlantic County, 500 Scarborough Drive, Suite 101, Egg Harbor Twp., NJ
  • Bergen County, 104 E. Ridgewood Avenue, 1st Floor, South Tower, Paramus, NJ            
  • Cape May County, 3860 Bayshore Road, Suite 5, North Cape May, NJ   
  • Essex County, 283-299 Market Street, Gateway Center Plaza 2, 9th Floor, Newark, NJ
  • Hudson County, 438 Summit Avenue, 6th Floor, Jersey City, NJ  
  • Middlesex County, 1 Metroplex Drive, Edison, NJ                      
  • Monmouth County, 3 Paragon Way, Suite 150, Freehold, NJ
  • Ocean County, 750 Vassar Avenue, Suite 1, Lakewood, NJ        
  • Union County, 150 Morris Avenue, Suite 101, Springfield, NJ

For directions to the Housing Recovery Centers, please visit www.renewjerseystronger.org/contact/ or www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/sandyrecovery/centers/.

CONTACT:
Lisa Ryan
Sean Conner
(609) 292-6055