Federal relief is available for Bayonne residents who suffered losses from Tropical Depression Ida on September 1, 2021. This assistance is sorely needed by numerous Bayonne residents. Dozens of local streets suffered damage from flooding on that first night of September. In order for our residents to take advantage of this opportunity for federal aid, they need to register their property damage directly with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) via either the disasterassistance.gov portal or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY service, the telephone number is 1-800-462-7585. Please be patient if you call those numbers, because numerous other people are calling for help, too.
In-person registration is also available with the help of FEMA personnel in Bayonne.
Last week, our Bayonne Office of Emergency Management (OEM) team met with federal, state, and county officials to arrange for a FEMA canvass team to visit Bayonne. This team will be meeting with residents who have suffered storm damage. I directed our OEM team to have FEMA the initiate the canvassing at 1st Street. This team will be here in Bayonne for several weeks. I am also working on setting up a fixed FEMA site so residents can come in and meet with federal representatives and get the process going for the much-needed assistance.
If this fixed site gets approved, we will set it up at the 4th Street Senior Center (2nd Floor). There is an elevator in the building to make access easy. As soon as I get word on the approval of this fixed site, I will get this information out to you.
I urge all affected residents to take full advantage of this assistance. This funding will help everyone get back on our feet after suffering damage from this historic rainfall. Ida dropped more than nine inches of rain on Bayonne in a short period of time. As a result, numerous streets were covered by water from flash floods.
Before applying for assistance from FEMA, you should have the following information ready: Social Security numbers; insurance policy information; a description of damage; your household’s total annual pre-tax income; and contact information. You also have the option of providing FEMA with direct deposit information for your bank account.
FEMA provides financial assistance to the uninsured and the underinsured. FEMA also provides help that picks up where your insurance coverage leaves off.
We will continue to work with FEMA to help our residents in the weeks ahead.
