Joint hearings throughout the state continue as members of the Senate and Assembly Environment Committees gather feedback from New Jersey residents still struggling to recover and rebuild almost a year after Superstorm Sandy devastated the state.

Superstorm Sandy
Superstorm Sandy (Mario Tama, Getty Images)
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Earlier this week, they heard testimony in Jersey City.

“This is a hearing to hear from the community about how the monies allocated for Superstorm Sandy are working in our communities,” says Assembly Environment panel chair Grace Spencer. “We hope to take information back to the departments and agencies that are responsible for overseeing the disbursement of money and we need to make sure that they’re doing their job and that they’re hearing from the people.”

Other legislators are concerned that there’s s till a lot of frustration as homeowners battle their way through a maze of paperwork when it comes to insurance and federal aid. They say every day that displaced Jerseyans are pushing paper and being stonewalled is another day they’re not back in their homes.

“That part is extremely concerning, where people are still out of their homes and I think someone being out of their home for a year now is a little unfathomable,” says Assemblyman Ruben Ramos. “The fact that they don’t know how much money they have to repair their homes is more concerning than the fact that they’re out of their homes.”

A schedule hasn’t been etched in stone yet, but at least one more hearing is expected and possibly two.

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