First Round of Blue Acres Buyouts Nets 89 Woodbridge Homes

Eighty nine of 190 flood-damaged homes in Woodbridge Township have been accepted into a federal buyout program, but the mayor says a second round of buyouts is on its way with the start of the new year. 

The 89 homes accepted into the program are all located in Woodbridge proper, and all in the vicinity of the Woodbridge River

Mayor's office spokesman John Hagerty said the first round of buyouts primarily included homes in the neighborhood of Crampton Avenue, Watson Avenue, Heidleberg Avenue and Vesper Avenue. 

At the end of Tuesday night's township council meeting, Mayor John McCormac walked in fresh from a meeting at Woodbridge High School for the first round of homeowners accepted to the program, and said that officials discussed the phases of the buyout program.

"They did assure me this is only round one, round two will follow," he said. 

Hagety said he was "not in a position" to say how many homes would be included in the second round.

Applications submitted earlier this fall are still active and do not need to be re-submitted, he said. 

The Blue Acres program is offering $300 million in federal money to allow for the purchase of as many as 1,300 flood-ravaged homes in New Jersey, including those in Woodbridge. 

Blue Acres is looking to purchase clusters of homes in flood areas, rather than cherry-picking them from spots around the township, according to township business administrator Robert Landolfi. 

At Tuesday's meeting, residents who had not heard back about the status of their applications, mostly from Sewaren and Port Reading, came before the council to inquire about how the first round houses were chosen. Some discussed damage that has left their houses nearly uninhabitable and the high flood insurance costs they now face. 

Council president Kyle Anderson said township did not have any say as to where the buyouts would start. Local officials are paying attention to the needs of affected homeowners and releasing all the information they can. 

"This is the first time we've gone through something like this," he said.

To view a map of homes accepted into the Blue Acres program, click here. 

For more information on Woodbridge's involvement in Blue Acres, click here.