State officials, however, say they are making considerable progress with recovery programs, addressing concerns and making changes where needed to speed up the delivery of aid. But advocates claim a botched rollout of major housing recovery programs has taken its toll on distributing funding more quickly.
More than $1.3 billion of federal aid is "in the pipeline or out the door," according to the state’s most recent quarterly performance report to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The federal agency allocated more than $1.8 billion to New Jersey in February 2013 and approved the state’s plan for spending the money that April.
More than $416 million of that funding had been distributed by March 31, according to the state’s report.
Adam Gordon, staff attorney for the Cherry Hill-based Fair Share Housing Center, acknowledged the overall challenges in distributing these funds.
But, he said, particularly for the state’s major housing recovery program, "there should be more in the hands of residents at this point."
