Shore residents, victims of recent storm, seek state help
SEA ISLE CITY, N.J. - For Angelo Camano, the destruction caused by the blizzard nearly two weeks ago was a grim repeat of the flooding that occurred in his Shore home and pizzeria during Hurricane Sandy.
SEA ISLE CITY, N.J. - For Angelo Camano, the destruction caused by the blizzard nearly two weeks ago was a grim repeat of the flooding that occurred in his Shore home and pizzeria during Hurricane Sandy.
And so is the apparent lack of assistance so far, Camano said, from state and federal officials in figuring out how to handle his losses from the damage to his Sea Isle properties. The state hasn't yet made a formal disaster declaration that could trigger federal funding assistance for the region.
Camano said he had about $30,000 in damage from flooding to equipment and provisions at Angelo's Ristorante & Pizzeria, and about $10,000 in damage to the first floor of his home a few blocks away.
So Camano found himself among two dozen people Thursday at a storm-assistance workshop sponsored by the Christie administration at the Sea Isle City public library. A similar workshop - attended by about the same number of people - was held simultaneously in North Wildwood.
Both of the Cape May County beach towns were among the hardest hit during the Jan. 23 storm, which covered the southern section of the Shore with snow and record flood tides. Officials said that so far, about $67 million in public and private damage has been reported in Cape May County, and $2.5 million in losses has been reported in neighboring Atlantic County.
"There really isn't any assistance for them to give me at this point," said Camano, 58. "Basically, they just want us to tell them what our losses are . . . but they aren't really telling us what they can do for us as victims. I feel like the response has been lame."
But officials - including Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who made an appearance at both workshops - said data are still being collected to determine whether the storm's damage meets the stringent criteria for obtaining the federal money. Residents and businesses adversely affected by the storm could be eligible for grants and low-interest loans if the declaration is made.
"What you have to do is capture all the losses, and doing a workshop like this is what helps us capture and document all of that loss," Guadagno said. "At this point, we don't know what resources are available to these storm victims, but this workshop helps put the victims in touch with the proper agencies. This gathering is really like a [state] cabinet that can hear what their concerns are and help them sort out their needs and questions."
At the five-hour workshops, storm victims had access to representatives from the state Departments of Banking and Insurance, Community Affairs, Human Services, and Environmental Protection, as well as the Economic Development Authority and Business Action Center.
The Red Cross acted in a triage capacity, assisting residents and business owners as they arrived by directing them to tables where representatives from the agencies waited to speak with them, said Tara Maffei, chief external relations officer for the American Red Cross.
Maffei said the needs expressed at the workshops ranged from questions about finding funding to help pay for cleanup and recovery to queries about where damaged items and material could be disposed of when municipalities refuse to pick up the debris during regular trash pickups.
"Some of these are people who were also impacted by Sandy, so they have already been through a lot," Maffei said. "Our function today is to collect as much data as possible so that it can be determined what kind of help may be available for these victims."
Lisa Vallaster, 56, of Winslow, said she and her husband, Robert, 57, came to the workshop to find out if there will be any funding available for raising their Sea Isle vacation home onto pilings to avoid future flooding. The couple didn't own the property when Sandy hit and caused substantial damage to it.
"We had just signed on buying the property the week before Sandy hit, so we weren't eligible for any Sandy funding to raise the house," Vallaster said. "It was flooded in this storm by three feet of water, so we want to find out what we can do to avoid this problem in the future."
The Vallasters said the workshop provided them with few answers but allowed them to register their concerns with several agencies.
Guadagno said it was unclear when a disaster declaration could come.
"It's a process that takes time," Guadagno said. "But we really are doing our best to get it done as quickly as possible and address these needs. The good news is that as a state, we have been through this before . . . and the bad news is that we have been through this all before."
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