~$70 Million or ~$342 Thousand? (Hoboken)

[Motown_Johnny]

There seems to be one provable point here that is in conflict. I may be wrong, but it seems that knowing just how much Federal Relief money Hoboken has received should be an easy thing.

Is the Mayor correct in her statement that her city has received roughly $342,000 or is the Governor's office correct in it's statement that Hoboken has received roughly $70,000,000?



If only about $342,000 of Federal money has been received by Hoboken, then why so little? If relief money is not being held up as some type of ransom then some other reason, or reasons, must be presented.

If nearly $70,000,000 of Federal money has been received by Hoboken, then how can the Mayor make the claim that relief money is conditioned upon her approving a pet project?



I am not saying that this detail is the end all and be all of this issue. I am just saying that it should be an easy point to prove, one way or the other, and that one side must have some reason for their false statements.


Personally, I believe Mayor Zimmer, but I am clearly bias.

[Control-Z]

1. I heard that the $70,000,000

was paid through insurance policies that had been purchased by the residents.

[Tanuki]

3. Correct, this was not part of the funds that could be doled out by the governor.

Christie's team is throwing it out there to confuse people.

[Control-Z]

4. Exactly.

I 100% believe Mayor Zimmer.

[bluestate10]

6. The Mayor explained that on television. The 70 million that Christie people are pointing to

was PRIVATE benefit payments to homeowners who had insurance. Like Ed said tonight, "follow the money". The US Attorney for New Jersey surely isn't a moron, that person is almost surely is validating which money claim is correct. I believe Mayor Zimmer.

[Laxman]

7. The Christie People....

are being less than honest about that number. They are sitting on a $1.4 billion fund from the federal government with at least another $2 billion to come. Spending that money is governed by an approved "Action Plan" that allocates the money to various purposes but not the actual distribution. (This included a general $25 million allocation for Economic Development that was used for the Stronger Than The Storm Christie Commercials) This fund includes the Hazard Mitigation (HMGP) grants Mayor Zimmer referred to. Spending is controlled by the GORR. They are tightly controlled by the Governor's Office. The Christie Administration has only directed around $43,000 of the huge CDBG funds to Hoboken.

[pnwmom]

13. I have seen that $1.4 number before and I believe it. But do you have a link for it?

Because I never see it reported lately. Christie's claiming that Hoboken wanted 100 million out of a fund with 300 million, which obviously wouldn't be fair to the rest of the state.

[Laxman]

14. Sorry, My Apologies-It's $1.8 billion

here is the summary of the spending plan. http://www.state.nj.us/dca/announcements/pdf/CDBG-DisasterRecoveryActionPlan.pdf

[pnwmom]

15. THANK YOU!!!

[Laxman]

2. The Real Number....

is about $14 million so far. You can find it here: http://nj.gov/comptroller/sandytransparency/

That money consists almost entirely of FEMA grants that came straight from the federal government. Only about $43,000 of the $1.4 billion CDBG funds have been distributed to Hoboken. The state (ie., Christie) controls those CDBG funds through the GORR (Governor's Office of Rebuilding and Recovery).

[DURHAM D]

5. Thank you.

[bluestate10]

8. FEMA grants normally come during the early days or months after a disaster. So Zimmer

was justified in not viewing that money as part of the $60 Billion that was approved for Sandy relief. Looks like Ed's advice to follow the money is buttressing the Mayor and putting another nail in Christie's coffin.

[Laxman]

9. That's Correct...

do not let them confuse the Emergency Assistance Grants that flow directly to impacted individuals and municipalities immediately after the event with the much larger pot of money designed for recovery and resilience. The Christie Administration is sitting on a pile of money that is meant for recovery that they are doling out for political advantage and on their terms, not the terms of necessity.

[Motown_Johnny]

10. So they are caught in a lie?

It would seem that the claim about the $70.000.000 is simply a lie.




I am looking at the numbers on this page: http://nj.gov/comptroller/sandytransparency/funds/


I don't see that $43,000 number. Should I be looking elsewhere?



P.S. Thanks for the link.

[Laxman]

11. It's $46,277.88 in CDBG funds...

Look Under Community Development Block Grants. All other monies are FEMA monies that had no relation to the Governor's office.

[Tx4obama]

12. There are TWO separate 70 million dollar amounts - see below

The 70 million that the residents got was not the money Christie has control of - it was federal flood insurance money, etc.

Of the 100 million Mayor Zimmer requested from Christie: 70 million has been 'approved', but only a bit over 347,000 has been given to the city of Hoboken from Christie.

-------------------------

Christie’s storm czar Mark Ferzan, in a rare phone chat with reporters, said Monday that Zimmer’s claim that Hoboken got just $342,000 of the $127 million they requested was “a mischaracterization.”

“I'm scratching my head a little bit about any community that’s getting the short end of the stick,” said Ferzan, who said Hoboken actually got $70 million in recovery aid.

But of that aid money, Christie’s storm czar confirmed what Zimmer said earlier — that $43 million of the aid Hoboken got was from flood insurance money and some $15 million more came from the feds.

-snip-

Here: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/n-lt-governor-slams-false-illogical-claims-article-1.1585322

So, this money was NOT from the Sandy aid Christie has to hand out.
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And more details in a three page article here: http://www.app.com/article/20140120/NJNEWS2001/301200065/Chris-Christie-Hoboken?nclick_check=1