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Right now... Millions of Dollars in Federal Aid is being denied to thousands of residents by local City Officals.

In an unprecedented act of city powers, the Egg Harbor City Zoning Board is trying to deny the Atlantic City Rescue Mission from keeping the Community Outreach office open.

The Mission opened this administrative office earlier in the year with verbal approval from the city, after it had been tasked by the Federal Government to distributed federal money specifically earmarked to help middle income New Jersey homeowners who are endanger of foreclosure.

These federal dollars were targeted as part of a national recovery plan, to help support middle-income Americans particularly affected by recent layoffs with mortgage assistance, utility and rent payments. Right now, that aid is in limbo because of Egg Harbor City actions.

Next, the Mission followed and completed additional city zoning requests after the city recanted verbal approvals.

Additionally, the building the Mission is trying to occupy already had administrative offices and the property had been zoned commercial for years.  Any description other than – this is a Mission administrative office – is a miss-characterization and purely short-sighted local politics.

Right now millions of federal dollars are available to help people stay in homes but by denying the Mission this office to meet with eligible recipients and distribute the funds, the City is denying their own tax payers and other Atlantic County resident homeowners from getting help.

This space in question was only intended to be used as an office and not for sleeping people as some city officials fear. Furthermore, this office has been zoned commercial for years, and the Mission would use it to set appointments and then meet with individual homeowners in a confidential manner to help them with the assistance they desperately need.

Individual appointments keep traffic to the building at a minimum, as there are only so many appointments we can schedule in one day. The Mission has continually been mischaracterized as trying to house people in an office building, which is absolutely absurd.

Unfortunately, the City’s actions have even forced the Mission to spend thousands of dollars to hire attorneys to defend itself – money that would have been better spent helping others. This upcoming zoning board meeting could decide the fate of the Community Outreach Office and the support we are trying to give the residents living in the community.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

• We desperately need your support that that the Egg Harbor City zoning board will listen and rule fairly in this matter.

• Attend this Zoning Board Meeting on May 25th at 6:30 p.m. (500 London Ave. Egg Harbor City, NJ 08215 ) if you can. Listen to the facts and let your voice be heard.

• If you can not attend the Zoning Board Meeting, let them know how you feel. Contact, Robert Guerrieri, Zoning Board Chairman at  609-965-1616, Thomas Henshaw, City Administrator 609-965-5264 and Mayor  Joseph Kuehner at 609-965-0081 or FAX the city at: 609- 965-0715

We are all called to help our neighbor. Don’t deny the Mission a chance to help yours.

Any support your office can lend us to help us execute the government emergency housing assistance program in Egg Harbor City, overcome unfair zoning bias, and allow us to continue to have our Administrative office there would be greatly appreciated.

Join the fight to keep our Community Outreach Egg Harbor City office open.