by Patricia A. Miller
Every time Stop FEMA Now founder George Kasimos looks out his window, he sees his next door neighbor Jack's empty, Sandy-battered house.
"He hasn't slept in his bed in a year," an emotional Kasimos told the Berkeley Township Council at the Jan. 27 meeting. "His home is growing mold."
Kasimos pleaded and sometimes choked up during his time at the microphone during the public portion of the meeting.
He asked Berkeley officials to keep the pressure on the state, Gov. Chris Christie and FEMA to repeal the Biggert-Waters Act and include Island Beach State Park in the Army Corps of Engineers' dune restoration plan.
"Somebody at the top has got to start screaming," Kasimos said. "They only listen to screaming. They only understand political pressure."
There were 5,000 homes in Toms River that met the definition of "substantially damaged," he said.
"That's just in Toms River alone," he told the council.
Berkeley Township had roughly 1,000 substantially damaged homes from the storm, Township Council President James J. Byrnes said.
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