SOUTH RIVER — The Nov. 18 demolition of a borough home in the post-Sandy Blue Acres buyout program marked a milestone in the effort to move homeowners out of flood-prone areas.
The latest home demolition occurred at 16 Water St.
“The Christie administration remains committed to moving willing sellers out of flood-prone neighborhoods, an effort that is also creating permanent open space that will provide buffers to protect communities,” state Department of Environmental Protection
Commissioner Bob Martin said. “We are making significant progress toward our goal of moving many of our state’s most atrisk people to safer areas, away from the constant fear of flooding.”
The Blue Acres program has identified more than 900 properties for potential buyouts in 11 municipalities, with offers made to 502 homeowners, 342 accepting buyouts and 219 closings completed.
To date, demolitions have occurred in Sayreville, where 76 homes have come down, and South River, where 24 homes have been razed.
The Blue Acres program has thus far purchased Sandy-damaged homes in Sayreville, South River, Woodbridge and East Brunswick. The program is now moving toward the first home purchases in Old Bridge, Newark, Lawrence, Manville, Pompton Lakes and Linden.
“In South River, we’ve been pleased with the Blue Acres program,” Mayor John Krenzel said. “In the part of town where homes have been sold to the program, we won’t have to worry about getting people out of the way of flooding in the future.”
Launched by the Christie administration in spring 2013, the Sandy Blue Acres program aims to purchase some 1,300 damaged homes at pre-Sandy market values, providing residents with financial resources needed to relocate. The federal government is providing the bulk of the estimated $300 million cost of the program through Sandy recovery funds.
So far, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program has approved $158 million, which has been processed through the state Office of Emergency Management, toward the purchase of homes.
An additional $100 million in federal funding to purchase other properties impacted by Sandy will be provided through the $1.46 billion second round of federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds allocated to New Jersey by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
State Blue Acres dollars and federal Natural Resource Conservation Service funding also will be used to buy homes in Newark, East Brunswick and Lawrence.
Homeowners interested in selling their homes through this process may contact the Blue Acres program at 609-984-0500.
For more information, visit www.state.nj.us/dep/greenacres/blue_ flood _ac.html.