First NJ Marina Gets Sandy Rebuilding Grant

The Fish Finder Marine in Brigantine is the first marina approved for a $50,000 Stronger NJ Business Grant. That announcement came this morning from the Economic Development Authority (EDA).

Last month, the Christie Administration announced that the state had finalized a policy broadening eligibility criteria to support marinas impacted by Superstorm Sandy.

The state’s marina population suffered a total loss estimated to be $100 million in the storm according to the Marine Trades Association of New Jersey.  Fish Finder Marine was hit by over $150,000 worth of damage.

“We worked hard to ensure that New Jersey’s many small and family-owned marinas would be able to take advantage of the Stronger NJ Business Grant Program as they continue to recover and rebuild,” said Michele Brown, CEO of the EDA. “As a key segment of our economy, it is important that every impacted marina in the state knows that funding is available to them. Help is just a phone call away.”

The Stronger NJ Business Grant program offers grants of up to $50,000 to New Jersey businesses damaged by the storm. Gov. Chris Christie called on the EDA to administer $460 million of the state’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery allocation to support the recovery of impacted businesses. The Stronger NJ Business Grant Program is utilizing $260 million of the allocation. The EDA also is administering the $100 million Stronger NJ Business Loan Program and the $75 million Stronger NJ Neighborhood and Community Revitalization Program.

The EDA will host a Stronger NJ Business Grant Workshop for marinas on Sept. 24 at the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve in Tuckerton.  To schedule an appointment, please contact Patience Purdy at (609) 858-6924 or PPurdy@njeda.com.