WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) today applauded the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) upcoming release of updates to the Advisory Base Flood Elevation (ABFE) maps. The updated "work maps" are scheduled to be released on Monday to communities in four New Jersey counties: Atlantic, Ocean, Monmouth and Hudson.

"For residents in many of the areas affected by Superstorm Sandy, the release of these updated flood maps could be the deciding factor in whether they are able to stay in their homes or are forced to relocate," said Senator Menendez, who helped lead the New Jersey delegation's fight for federal Sandy relief. "For the past month I've been pushing FEMA to complete and release these maps, because I believed the ABFE maps were fundamentally flawed and incorrectly included far too many homes in high-risk or "V" zones. The new working maps being released confirm this belief as they remove large areas from the V-zone designation. Also important, they finally provide some sense of certainty to homeowners struggling to rebuild. I want to thank the residents who worked with us in making our case to the administration that updated maps were urgently needed. Whether it's for federal resources or for better informed federal policy, I will continue to fight for New Jersey's long term recovery from Superstorm Sandy."

Ron Jampel, who founded the Save Our Communities 2013 grassroots organization, and George Kasimos, founder of the property-owners advocacy group, Stop FEMA Now, welcomed the news of the updated maps' release.

"As I said all along, the ABFE maps released in December erroneously included far too many properties into the zones that required drastic alterations to homes including elevations. That put unnecessary stress and delays on homeowners struggling to rebuild after Superstorm Sandy," said Jampel. I'm pleased the working maps released today by FEMA fixed many of these inaccuracies, and I want to thank Senator Menendez for listening to us and pressing our case with FEMA. I look forward to continue working with Senator Menendez's office to get the information from FEMA that homeowners and towns need to understand this new data, challenge the maps when appropriate and achieve our mutual goals of avoiding the crisis of homelessness, mortgage default, property tax increases and community collapse."

"This is great news for the hundreds if not thousands of people who were incorrectly included in high-risk, high-cost V zones. I want to thank Senator Menendez for hearing us out and acting as our megaphone down in Washington and pushing FEMA to correct their errors," said Kasimos. "I look forward to continue working with Senator Menendez to ensure communities and homeowners have the resources they need to understand these new maps and challenge any inaccuracies."

At a May 13 news conference in a Hoboken neighborhood that had significant flooding following Superstorm Sandy, Senator Menendez said that the previous ABFE maps FEMA released were "significantly flawed" because they did not incorporate wave analysis when they were created. It was then that Senator Menendez called upon FEMA to expedite the release of new "working maps" that would use wave analysis, correcting potential errors that have created worry for residents about the affordability of staying in their homes.

CLICK HERE for a video of Senator Menendez's remarks in Hoboken.

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