Kane In Your Corner: Viewers say New Jersey squandered Sandy recovery money

Many New Jersey residents say that they feel that the state did not responsibly spend Superstorm Sandy recovery money, after a Kane In Your Corner investigation into how the money was spent. Kane In

News 12 Staff

Nov 4, 2016, 4:40 AM

Updated 2,743 days ago

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Kane In Your Corner: Viewers say New Jersey squandered Sandy recovery money
Many New Jersey residents say that they feel that the state did not responsibly spend Superstorm Sandy recovery money, after a Kane In Your Corner investigation into how the money was spent.
Kane In Your Corner found that the state hired two companies to manage its Sandy grants at the cost of $130 million. Homeowners who dealt with the companies say that when problems arose, those expensive project managers weren't much help.
The investigation found that just over half of the homes in the state Rehabilitation, Reconstruction, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) Program have been rebuilt in the four years since the storm. 
Sandy survivor Jill Belloff says that her grant money was given to a contractor who promised to build a modular home.
"Our builder took our money and never delivered a house," she says.
Steve Fritts, another survivor, says he has been homeless for two years. He fired his first contractor after he realized that his home wasn't bolted down.
After the investigation, Kane in Your Corner posed the question: Was the recovery money well spent?
One viewer responded, "The government was involved...of course the money was not well spent."
Another viewer believes "it wouldn't go any better if our inept state had managed the projects themselves."
Overall, viewers say that they were frustrated that no one seemed to be in charge of the grants and everything was done very slowly.


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