Nearly 100 People Denied Superstorm Sandy Aid

Homeowners along the shoreline are trying to figure out what's next after being denied help from the state.

Some like Lori Jackson of Old Greenwich had applied for aid to raise their homes after Hurricane Sandy but the state says it has other plans for the money.

"When you're promised something. When it looks like it's worth the time then that's when it's really disappointing," Jackson said, adding that she felt a full host of emotions when she got a letter from the state telling her she'd been denied money under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.

"You make your application and you wait another 6-8 months with contractors…with a promise to get a job done and again now maybe but wait so it's very frustrating."

A frustrated Jackson was one of 28 applications the state rejected in Greenwich. There were nearly 100 families all the way to East Haven.

"The architects that had to draw up plans, the engineers that had to be drawn upon and assembled it was probably about a 2 inch preparation," Jackson said.

It was preparation the town submitted and something Greenwich officials say took days to do

"The state needs to readdress the issue, reevaluate their decision and look clearly at what the initial intent was which was to support residents," said Peter Tesei, Greenwich First Selectman

State officials say the put together a committee to judge what areas were most important with limited funding. Infrastructure came out on top

"The real issue is the fact that they really feel they were led down a path and the carpet was pulled out from underneath them," added Stephen Walko, a state representative from the area.

"I'm from Greenwich and I constantly hear oh you can afford to take care of this yourself," Jackson said. "I pay taxes and I don't begrudge them their seawall or their safety or the projects they're doing. I'm just not really happy with the way the system is run."

Some of the money the homeowners didn't get went to a seawall project in Bridgeport and improvements to a sewage plant in Milford

Families are still encouraged to apply for other aid but fear it could mean even more months of waiting.
 

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