Activists Conduct Bus Tour Along Jersey Shore Of Areas Still Suffering From Hurricane Sandy
By David Madden
LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, NJ (CBS) -- Thirty-one months after Hurricane Sandy hammered the Jersey shore, thousands are still out of their homes and many are pointing a finger of blame squarely at Governor Chris Christie.
Activists took part in a four hour bus tour to showcase how much work still needs to be done.
Some homes look good from the outside, but are still uninhabitable. Others are abandoned. Still more are having work done.
Lisa Stevens moves out of her damaged home next week and will live in a trailer for up to 10 months while the home is rebuilt.
"We're a mess down here." said Stevens. "Seaside Heights, the boardwalk looks great. Five million dollars of Sandy money went back into that boardwalk. Five million dollars could have helped a lot of homeowners down here."
Members of the New Jersey Organizing Project, who conducted the four hour tour, concede one-thousand homeowners are back and made whole. Seven thousand more aren't.
Among them is Kelly Masi. She believes Christie has pretty much turned his back on common folk like her.
"The Governor raced out and gave businesses all the money he could give them and he forgot we're human beings here." said Masi. "We're working class people."
Her home is being lifted above flood level at a cost of over two-hundred grand.
The biggest complaints? Paperwork and constantly changing regulations. There's a push in Trenton to streamline the process, a push many here feel Christie will veto.