Published March 20, 2013
By Shawn Boburg

A coalition of more than 70 groups urged the Christie administration on Wednesday to dedicate more money from the first wave of federal Sandy aid to renters, minorities and those with special needs.

The groups said the state’s plan is skewed toward homeowners instead of renters due to a flawed analysis. It also said the state should be more transparent about the finer details in its plan to spend $1.8 billion, released last week.

The spending blueprint still needs approval from the federal government. The state accepted public feedback on the plan through Tuesday evening. The groups, which include housing advocates, as well as civil rights and religious organizations, asked that the plan be revised before it is sent to federal officials. A Christie spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Under Christie’s plan, the largest portion of the Sandy aid, $825 million, would go to owners of primary homes. It would assist 26,000 primary homeowners and 5,000 renters. But, according to the groups, it is based on damage reports made to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Many of the homeowners who filed reports with FEMA have all of their damage covered by insurance and don’t necessarily need additional aid, the groups contend in a letter. Meanwhile, a study by Enterprise Community Partners found that 43 percent of the state’s households registering for FEMA aid as a result of Sandy were renters, and about 80 percent of those earning less than $30,000 were renters, who are more likely to be poor and minorities.

The letter also requests that the plan be altered to address impediments to fair housing, identify money for regional and local planning, include housing counseling for lower-income people and guarantees that they will not be displaced. Among the groups that signed the letter are the Fair Share Housing Center, the Housing & Community Development Network, the New Jersey NAACP and the Latino Action Network.

The release of the letter came on the same day that New Jersey’s two senators asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency for an expedited study of how federal flood control projects would affect newly-released preliminary flood maps. The flood maps are a hot-button issue because when they become official, they will help determine flood insurance rates. And they have already imposed elevation requirements for structures being rebuilt after Sandy.

Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, both D-N.J., said in a joint letter that preliminary maps released by FEMA did not take into account “hundreds of millions of dollars [that] have been allocated to complete Army Corps projects,” and concluded there was “no question” that investment would help determine the scope of flood risk to properties behind those protections.

Washington Correspondent Herb Jackson contributed to this article. Email: [email protected]