SAYREVILLE, N.J. - Nearly eight months to the day after Superstorm Sandy struck New Jersey, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) came to Weber Avenue at the former home of Elaine Konopka, where she lived for 47 years. Earlier in the week, $29.5 million in federal funding was made available for voluntary buyouts of 129 flood prone properties in Sayreville. Today, Senator Menendez called upon on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to release more accurate flood maps for the six New Jersey counties awaiting them to provide property owners with the best flood-risk information possible.

"This house, like so many in this neighborhood, could no longer be a home to anyone after Superstorm Sandy struck last October," said Sen. Menendez, after being led through Konopka's home where flood waters were 14 feet high and storm surges were strong enough to topple a freezer in her kitchen. "But once you call a place home for a few decades, you know that no amount of flooding can wash away the memories created there and no disaster can break the ties that bind families and neighbors together."

Also present were Sayreville Mayor Kennedy O'Brien, Administrator Dan Frankel, a representative of U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, local resident and community organizer Fran O'Connor, and Elaine Konopka's daughter, Joanne Martino, and grandchildren, Amanda and Matthew.

A total $29,455,545 was made available for the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection for the acquisition and demolition of 129 flood-prone properties in Sayreville. This aid comes from the federal Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, a funding line that Congress established long before Sandy struck and represents funding that is in addition to the $60.2 million in Sandy relief President Barack Obama signed into law in January.

"For many New Jersey families, recovery from Sandy is not only continuing, but it is a round-the-clock endeavor. This funding will play a critical role in New Jersey's long-term recovery and being better prepared to withstand severe weather events," Menendez added. "And while the use of this funding will be for the buying of people's properties, I see it as much more than that. This funding is a lifeline to get people out of harm's way and on their way to a better, safer place. That is, on a path to their new home."

Menendez also called upon FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate to release updated flood "working maps" for the counties of Bergen, Burlington, Cape May, Essex, Middlesex, and Union to ensure homeowners can accurately determine the flood risks they face.

A copy of Senator Menendez's letter to Administrator Fugate is attached.

Earlier this month, at the urging of Menendez - who criticized FEMA's original flood maps as significantly flawed because they did not incorporate wave analysis when they were created - FEMA released updated working maps for Atlantic, Hudson, Ocean and Monmouth counties. These new maps significantly reduced the number of properties included in high-flooding risk V-zones which had many residents concerned about the affordability of staying in their homes.

Senator Menendez also spoke to the need for many of New Jersey's Sandy-affected homeowners to get relief from their escalating flood insurance costs.

A flood insurance bill passed last year before Superstorm Sandy struck has put into effect deep cuts in the national flood insurance subsidy, 25 percent a year over four years. Senator Menendez's Saving Homeowners from Onerous Rate Escalation (SHORE) Act, which he introduced last month, will dramatically slow down the cuts to the federal flood insurance subsidy over 10 years - with only a 5 percent reduction for the first five years. Furthermore, it would apply to all properties, including secondary homes, in flood zones.

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