Some Sandy relief applicants shut out, N.J. housing group claims

Housing advocates say documents obtained from the Christie Administration show officials excluded certain applicants from getting help from Sandy relief funds.

Adam Gordon, an attorney with the Fair Share Housing Center, claims New Jersey refused to give resettlement funds to several thousand low and middle-income people, even though the administration has claimed it couldn’t find qualified applicants.

Documents show call-center employees were directed to get people through the process quickly, and not give them updates on the status of their applications, Gordon said.

“They explicitly instructed their employees and contractors to not give out information about this process to people who were displaced from their homes from Sandy,” Gordon said. “We just think government should be run transparently and especially when you’re dealing with a disaster people deserve to know how the process is working and where they stand.”

Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Richard Constable said the housing center’s claims are alarmist and misleading. Every low and middle-income family that met the resettlement program’s eligibility requirements has been approved for grants, he said.