A meeting by a grassroots organization dedicated to opposing the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) flood maps was shut down by Toms River police Saturday after being overwhelmed by large crowds. The group, Stop FEMA Now, is hoping its unified voice will reach elected officials and encourage them to speak out against FEMA's Advisory Base Flood Elevation maps, which were recently adopted by the State. If the maps aren't changed, thousands of residents along New Jersey's coasts will be required to elevate their homes or face potentially financially-crippling flood insurance premiums …

Sometimes, a hot meal can mean everything. No one knows this better than the volunteers of Everybody's Kitchen, a kitchen on wheels that travels around the country providing hot meals to those who need it most. Recently, the loosely-organized group has been providing meals to Hurricane Sandy victims. According to volunteer Anne Mackell, the bus made stops in Sandy-ravaged towns soon after the storm hit and has come back again three months later to address a persistent need.  The completely volunteer-sustained Everybody's Kitchen, developed in the early 1990's, has spend the last two decades …

The towing company once accused of wrongfully removing cars from private property in Seaside Heights following Superstorm Sandy is seeking to win a license to tow for Toms River.  APK Towing and Auto Repair, based in Toms River, was accused of taking cars from private property in Seaside Heights and price gouging following the October 2012 storm. While not held at fault, a settlement reached in January with the state Division of Consumer affairs ordered those who had their vehicles towed by APK to be reimbursed.  In addition to APK, Accurate Towing, Priced-Rite Towing, Freedom Towing and …

Gov. Chris Christie took a stand this week against public officials and community leaders calling on residents to wait for potential changes to Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps before elevating or rebuilding their homes in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. Christie, speaking in Lavallette Tuesday, said the state's adoption of FEMA's advisory base flood elevation maps last month will ensure residents build smarter and stronger, and avoid the consequences that came in Sandy's storm surge. "Fight away, I'm fighting too, but don't tell people not to rebuild their homes if they want to…

The same complaints George Kasimos has shared with his neighbors across the street he’s seen posted online, questions and concerns futilely written in emails and posted on message boards and social media sites, left unanswered. Residents are angry, they’re frustrated, and they want to know what’s next. There’s a movement brewing, but what it lacks is direction. Like many residents of the Jersey Shore, Kasimos is facing an uncertain future following Hurricane Sandy, one that’s especially clouded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s new flood elevation maps. He wants to fight the maps, …

Perhaps they'll call it the Snooki Seawall.  Seaside Heights is moving forward with its plan to construct a seawall the entire length of its boardwalk and is hoping to fund the entire project with money raised by MTV's Restore the Shore telethon, according to borough Mayor Bill Akers. Though a bid has not yet been awarded for construction - Akers said the borough would like to award a bid as soon as its next council meeting - it's estimated the seawall would cost about $1 million, the same amount promised to the Hurricane Sandy-battered borough by MTV. The money was raised during a November …

Governor Christie announced Tuesday that Route 35, from Point Pleasant Beach to South Seaside Park in Berkeley, will be completely rebuilt. The $215 million project, which will include installing a new and improved drainage system, is expected to be completed by the summer of 2015. Funding will come from federal sources, Christie said. The governor announced the project at a press conference held with Ocean County officials at the Lavallette Fire Company building, a block away from the state highway that is the focus of the reconstruction project. The new highway will be 24 inches thick, …

When David Scott Ruddy was arrested for allegedly flimflamming Hurricane Sandy victims out of $50,000 in FEMA funds, there was one person who not only knew who he was, but had been calling and warning officials about him for months. That was Kathleen Marchitto, who met Ruddy first at a shelter put up for Jersey Shore and other victims, and then later when she and other hurricane victims were moved to a Red Cross shelter set up at Livingston College of Rutgers University in Piscataway. Marchitto, whose apartment was flooded during the October hurricane, was at the Livingston College shelter …

Construction of Seaside Heights' new boardwalk is underway. Crews are currently installing 25-foot long wooden pilings to help support the new boards. In all, more than 1,500 pilings are expected to be installed. The actually process of installing pilings is relatively simple - following the planning, measuring and surveying, that is. A large drill bores deep into the beach while a second heavy machine lowers the pilings into place while its pile driver attachment hammers it into the ground. About 64 pilings are expected to be installed each day. Seaside's boardwalk is expected to be rebuilt …

Construction crews were out in Seaside Heights Friday morning for the first day of work rebuilding the shore town's popular boardwalk. The first step of the process is drilling deep into the beach and inserting 25-foot long wooden pilings that will support the boardwalk. Officials hope the pilings, which are drilled 10 feet below sea level, will help keep the boardwalk intact during future storms. Much of the boardwalk was destroyed during Hurricane Sandy. What was left was removed and hauled away, a necessary process prior to reconstruction of nearly the entire length of the boardwalk. The …

Disaster Recovery Centers in New Jersey will be closed for Presidents' Day this upcoming Monday, Feb. 18, according to a release from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loan outreach and business recovery centers will also be closed.  The centers, opened to assist victims of Hurricane Sandy, will re-open and return to normal business hours the next day, Tuesday, Feb. 19.  While residents won't be able to find answers in person Monday, help and information are still available online or by phone. Sandy victims can check on the status of…

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is providing free advice on how to repair or rebuild your Hurricane Sandy-damaged home at several home improvement stores throughout the area. With an eye on rebuilding to mitigate future disaster damage, FEMA experts will be on hand to offer building techniques that can help protect homes, businesses and other properties.  Among the topics advice is being offered on are: •             Ridding a home of mold and mildew. •             Understanding flood- and wind-resistant building methods. •             Knowing the benefits of flood insurance…

Ocean County residents and business owners cannot wait months for FEMA to release amendments to the agency's controversial advisory base flood elevation maps, Freeholder Director John P. Kelly said. Kelly, county and municipal officials went to Trenton on Wednesday to meet with state and FEMA representatives to try and get some answers. Other than assurances there would be amendments to the maps, they got few answers, only that possible amendments would be released in "...June, July, August..." Ocean County Administrator Carl W. Block said at a board caucus meeting today. "In the meantime, …

The Federal Housing Administration will speed the approval of applications made by owners of multi-family apartments in New York and New Jersey looking to refinance mortgages, substantially rehabilitate their properties, or construct new developments in Hurricane Sandy-impacted areas, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said in a release.  According to a release, the order is effective immediately. The streamlined approval process, by design, is intended to accelerate access to mortgage financing for apartment owners and to facilitate recovery in the multi-family …

Hurricane Sandy was the second costliest storm in this country’s history and directly responsible for 147 deaths – 72 of them in the U.S. alone – according to a recent report released by the National Hurricane Center. The report, released by the organization Tuesday, provides details about the start of the storm, its evolution as it made its way through the Caribbean up through the east coast, and its impact on the region. Though the number is still tentative, owing to incomplete data, the report puts the total damage incurred by the storm at $50 billion, noting that the actual tally could be…

Ocean Gate Mayor Paul J. Kennedy would like as many residents as possible to attend the Superstorm Sandy recovery seminar slated for Wednesday. So he switched the original location from the municipal building to the Ocean Gate Elementary School at 126 Arverne Avenue. The event gets underway at 7 p.m. "If you want to get back in your homes...95 percent of your questions will be answered," Kennedy said in an interview at Borough Hall on Tuesday. "You'll have the opportunity to have your questions answered by township professionals." The event is primarily for Ocean Gate residents, but people in…

  Many people in Ocean County don't know much about O.C.E.A.N. Inc. And Executive Director Theodore Gooding wants to change that. "We do a lot of things for folks that are free if they are income eligible," Gooding said at a recent Superstorm Sandy informational session organized by Berkeley Township officials and held at the Berkeley Township Elementary School. He also wants residents to know that O.C.E.A.N. Inc. (Ocean Community Economic Action Now) can help storm victims who meet the income guidelines through the O.C.E.A.N., Inc. Community Partners Outreach and Relief Recovery Fund, along …

Some flooding hit the streets, but Seaside Heights is open for public consumption this weekend - despite the nor'easter that dumped several inches of snow. News12 reported a storm surge that flooded streets near the shoreline. According to The Star-Ledger: At the corner of Ocean Terrace and DuPont Avenue, just 100 yards from where the ocean was roiling during high tide, the town's famous dueling cheese steak places were open for business, if you can call it that. The mustard-colored concrete bunker that is home to "The Original Steaks," which claims to be "Est. Since the Early 50's" was all …

An executive order signed by Gov. Chris Christie Friday aims to put key review and reporting initiatives in place to ensure that distribution of Hurricane Sandy relief funds is done in an accountable and transparent matter. The order, No. 125, directs the Office of the State Comptroller to conduct an independent, legal review of the procurement process for state contracts using federal reconstruction aid, according to a release. Each of the state's departments dealing with the distribution of federal aid will designate an "Accountability Officer" to work with the Comptroller's Office and the …

State-funded buyouts of homes in flood-prone neighborhoods ravaged by Hurricane Sandy is a possibility, Gov. Christie said this week. However, when it comes to a final decision, it’s one he hopes the residents will make. In Sea Bright, Christie was joined Thursday afternoon by U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan to discuss the allocation of $1.8 billion that will be used to fund Community Development Block grants, or CDBGs. Though that money will be focused on rebuilding homes and small businesses, future HUD allocations could be used for residential buyouts. It’s …