By many accounts, the perception is that federal, state and local relief funds in the wake of Superstorm Sandy have been much too slow to trickle down to the people and projects that need them. To be sure, there are signs of significant progress in New York and New Jersey—the states hardest hit by the October 2012 storm. Huge debris piles are gone; major infrastructure was repaired; many devastated homes torn down, repaired and/or elevated; and innovative ideas realized to prevent or withstand the next storm's damage But for thousands of storm victims and many projects, government reimbursement checks are held up or still await approval 19 months after Congress passed relief funding legislation.
The process has been a nightmare for many. "Originally, you couldn't apply for some of the grants unless you applied for a loan and were rejected first," says Phyllis Salowe-Kaye, executive director of New Jersey Citizen Action, the state's largest citizen watchdog group, which works with individuals and small businesses. "There've been so many problems … and a total lack of transparency in this administration in who applied for the loans, what the resolutions were—and lost paperwork."