Commissioner Constable Highlights Available Services at ‘Renew Jersey Stronger’ Housing Recovery Center in Monmouth County

Trained Housing Counselors Now Available to Help Sandy-Impacted Homeowners Apply In-Person for Housing Assistance Grants

FREEHOLD, NJ – June 12, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Richard E. Constable, III today met with Sandy-impacted residents at the reNew Jersey Stronger Housing Recovery Center serving Monmouth County and encouraged eligible homeowners whose primary residences were damaged or destroyed by Superstorm Sandy to apply for two grants designed to encourage them to resettle in their homes and help them repair, elevate or rebuild their residences.

Sandy-impacted homeowners can apply for grant assistance at www.renewjerseystronger.org, by calling 1-855-SANDYHM (1-855-726-3946), or by visiting one of the Housing Recovery Centers that are now open in each of the nine counties most impacted by the storm. The Housing Recovery Center serving Monmouth County is located at 3 Paragon Way, Suite 150 in Freehold.

“Trained housing counselors at the Housing Recovery Center in Freehold and the eight additional locations in the state are available to help residents navigate the grant application process and provide support as they continue to recovery from Superstorm Sandy,” said Commissioner Constable. “While we strongly encourage residents to continue to apply online and through our call center, I m pleased that we are able to now provide in-person assistance for those individuals who need it.”

Commissioner Constable was joined by state Senator Jennifer Beck, Freehold Township Mayor Barbara J. McMorrow, and representatives from Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande s offices.

The reNew Jersey Stronger Housing Recovery Centers opened June 8. Sandy-impacted homeowners do not need to come to the Housing Recovery Centers if they previously applied to the reNew Jersey Stronger grant programs online or over the phone. In the next few weeks, applicants will be contacted directly about the status of their application and any necessary steps that they must take.

Under the reNew Jersey Stronger housing initiative, homeowners whose primary residences were damaged by the storm in the nine most-impacted counties (Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Union) are urged to apply for both of the following grant programs:

Homeowner Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) Program: This $600 million program provides eligible homeowners up to $150,000 grants to help repair, elevate or rebuild their primary residences.

Homeowner Resettlement Program: This $180 million program is aimed at encouraging eligible homeowners to remain in the nine counties that were most seriously affected by the storm by providing $10,000 grants to encourage them to resettle in their existing primary home or resettle in the same county.

Funding for the reNew Jersey Stronger grants comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program. To date, HUD has approved $1,829,520,000 in CDBG Disaster Recovery funds for New Jersey. The reNew Jersey Stronger housing initiative will utilize $780 million of the allocation.

Eligible homeowners are strongly encouraged to submit an application on or before June 30, 2013. Applications that are received on or before this date will be processed electronically and subsequently prioritized focusing on factors such as degree of damage, income levels and communities that suffered the greatest impact from Superstorm Sandy. Residents can apply after June 30, but applications received after this date will be processed on a first-received, first-processed basis. Notwithstanding, priority will continue to be given to those homes with the most damage and to homeowners who are most in financial need.

For more information on the reNew Jersey Stronger initiative, including details about the application process, determination of eligibility, and award calculation, visit www.renewjerseystronger.org, call the hotline number 1-855-SANDYHM (1-855-726-3946), or visit one of the Housing Recovery Centers.

Locations of the eight additional Housing Recovery Centers are as follows:

ATLANTIC: 500 Scarborough Dr., Suite 101, Egg Harbor Twp

BERGEN: 140 E. Ridgewood Ave., 1st Floor, South Tower, Paramus

CAPE MAY: 3860 Bayshore Rd., Suite 5, North Cape May

ESSEX: 153 Halsey Street, 2nd Floor, Newark

HUDSON: 438 Summit Ave., 6th Floor, Jersey City

MIDDLESEX: 1 Metroplex Dr., Edison

OCEAN: 750 Vassar Ave., Suite 1, Lakewood Twp

UNION: 150 Morris Ave., Suite 101, Springfield