Sunday, March 24, 2013

Opinion: N.J. houses of worship damaged in Hurricane Sandy should be eligible for FEMA aid

From New Jersey-

Superstorm Sandy caused close to $37 billion in damages in New Jersey. For days and weeks afterward, churches, synagogues, mosques and temples in New Jersey that were spared serious damage opened their doors to those left homeless by the storm. Their congregations did not ask those who were stranded about their religious affiliation.

They did not deny people food and shelter because they were not among their congregants.

Now, more than a dozen New Jersey houses of worship are facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs and rebuilding costs. The extensive damage ranges from flooded sanctuaries to stripped rooftops and toppled steeples. Some suffered a total loss, such as the Episcopal St. Elisabeth’s Chapel-by-the-Sea, in Ortley Beach, that was swept into the ocean.

FEMA has approved more than $780 million in disaster assistance to individuals, households, businesses, communities and nonprofit organizations in New Jersey since Sandy, but nothing for houses of worship.


More here-

http://www.nj.com/times-opinion/index.ssf/2013/03/opinion_nj_houses_of_worship_d.html

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