Christie Gets Angry Reception In Seaside Heights Over Superstorm Sandy Remarks

If Gov. Chris Christie was expecting an amiable reception when he came to Seaside Heights on the afternoon before the fourth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, he didn't get one.

Christie had to briefly leave his place at a lectern when he claimed that only 1,700 homes were still uninhabitable out of the 365,000 damaged in the monster storm, according to app.com.

"Governor, that's not true," called out Amanda Devecka-Rinear of the New Jersey Organizing Project, who was seated near the media in the back of the bar.

"I call bull----!" shouted George Kasimos, founder of Stop FEMA Now, who was standing nearby, and who continued to repeat the line again and again. "That is a "bull---- number, sir!"

Christie made his remarks at Jimbo’s Bar and Grilll on the Boardwalk in Seaside Heights when he was interrupted.

Devecka-Rinear said later that the number of homes in New Jersey that deemed uninhabitable four years ago was actually closer to 40,500 — data she said came from the state Department of Community Affairs in a report to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The situation began to become chaotic when a Seaside Heights police officer tried to calm Kasimos, who was the loudest of several shouting protesters — some who had raised homemade signs over their heads critical of the recovery effort.

"If you want to arrest me, you can arrest me, but I'm going to talk," Kasimos said, as another man repeatedly shouted: "Finish the job!"

"This is what happens when you don't work for the people, sir!" Kasimos said. "Four years of frustration!"

"That's simply not true," a calm Christie replied.

Eventually, he left the lectern and asked the protesters to join him at the front of the room to them to write down their contact information so his staff could contact each of them on Saturday.

The protestors calmed down and Christie was able to continue.

When the governor returned to the podium, he insisted the number of homes "damaged or destroyed" was 365,000 and there were 1,700 families left that were still waiting to return to their homes.

"The fact that all but 1,700 of those homes are back and restored is something I'm enormously proud of no matter how many people yell and scream," Christie said. "And that doesn't mean that those who have valid complaints shouldn't be heard and shouldn't try to be helped. Our office has been trying to help everyone and has helped tens of thousands of people who have been put in that circumstance."

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Image: Patricia A. Miller