Nov-29-11 COMMISSIONER WIRTHS AND ESSEX COUNTY RELEASE NATIONAL EMERGENCY GRANT FUNDS
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 -News Release- |
Five Essex County municipalities targeted for the funding include Fairfield, Caldwell, Bloomfield, Orange and Irvington. Essex County received $142,000 from the Federal Hurricane Irene National Emergency Grant that was solicited by and allocated through the LWD in the aftermath of the disaster.
Eight counties, including Bergen, Essex, Monmouth, Morris, Sussex, Warren, Passaic and Union, have been included in the National Emergency Grant.
“Before, during and after Hurricane Irene, Governor Chris Christie mobilized all of the state’s resources, including the deployment of rapid response teams from my department, to address the needs of counties and municipalities impacted by Irene,” said Wirths. “One of our priorities is to get people back to work, and through this collaborative effort we are making this possible. Throughout the state, we are investing $2 million into this program to create as many as 300 jobs.”
Commissioner Wirths and Anthony Ferrera, LWD’s Director of Workforce Portfolio and Contract Management, joined Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr., several Essex County officials and various municipal officials at a press conference to announce the release of the funding.
The federal grant may be utilized to provide temporary employment for individuals working on projects for the cleanup, demolition, repair, renovation and reconstruction of damaged public structures, facilities and lands. Temporary jobs may also be created for those working on projects that provide food, clothing, shelter and other humanitarian assistance for disaster victims.
