MANVILLE, NJ – Three years after Hurricane Ida devastated New Jersey communities, many survivors say they are still struggling financially.
Gov. Phil Murphy just signed a bill that gives Ida victims 12 months of mortgage relief, a temporary reduction or pause in payments and protection from foreclosure, but many victims in Manville say more needs to be done.
“It’s a lifeline”
Hurricane Ida pushed Bob Simpson and his family from their home in Manville. The 77-year-old has since lived in a hotel, where his wife died of a massive brain haemorrhage. He faces emotional pain and financial loss after spending his retirement on raising his house, but stopped, he says, because the insurance and federal money didn’t come through.
‘I’m currently considering returning it to the bank. So much was spent on a hotel, and here,” Simpson said.
The new law gives Ida survivors like Simpson hope. He said the new law is “so crucial.”
Leanna Jones, an Ida survivor with the New Jersey Organizing Project, fought for the law.
“It’s a lifeline, and it literally makes me know that I can keep a roof over me and my kids’ heads, so I’ll take it,” Jones said.
Jones and other victims say their debts are mounting.
“What we really need here is the ability to raise our homes,” Manville resident Eric Vaughn said.
Vaughn isn’t sure if he’ll take up the postponement offer. He said the state would not give him money to move up, and that his other choice is a buyout under New Jersey’s Blue Acres program.
‘We have an interest rate of 7%, so they expect me to find that house. You know, they’re basically throwing me pennies,” Vaughn said.
Some say the new law doesn’t go far enough
There are many other people suffering in Manville, and they also say this won’t help them. Many bought their homes after Ida.
Manville resident Briana Lohr and her husband do not qualify for forbearance. Their house flooded last year, and they put it up for sale but simply took it off the market.
“Ultimately we’re going to lose money,” Lohr said. “During that process, they technically told us that previous buyers had told us that the house had sustained significant damage and that the house would need to be fixed up at some point.”
FEMA officials say they provide grants, but the state manages the money.
The New Jersey Office of Emergency Management sent CBS News New York directly to the Department of Environmental Protection’s website, which deemed certain sections in Manville as high risk for heights, leaving the buyout as the only option.
Christine Sloan
