Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding slowly beginning through NJ’s RREM Program
December 10, 2013 10:14 amIt has been a very long journey for many New Jersey residents that were affected by Hurricane Sandy. Now, over a year later, homes are finally starting to be rebuilt. The RREM Program (Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation Program) and its contractors are now beginning to move past the initial inspection phase where they tested for things like lead paint and asbestos into the rebuilding stage. Once pre-approved contractors receive their completed plans and work orders to move forward they have 90 days to rebuild each home. Hopefully, this will result in many families returning to their homes in the near future. However many estimates suggest this construction period could last many years. The RREM Program received $600 million dollars in federal funding through The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Community Development Block Grant Program or CDBG. Once an applicant has been approved, they can receive up to $150,000 to rebuild their single family, residential home, through this program.