PATERSON, N.J. (PIX11) -- People whose homes flooded after the torrential rains of mid-December are now eligible for a new and somewhat unorthodox financial assistance program that the City of Paterson is helping to oversee. However, even as it was publicly rolled out on Wednesday, potential recipients of the aid, as well as the administrators of the funding, had their eye on a forecast that could raise river levels yet again.
The program is funded by private donors, administered by The United Way of Passaic County, and coordinated by the City of Paterson.
Mayor Andre Sayegh formally announced the new measure late Wednesday morning. Among the people in attendance was Angeles Rosario, whose home suffered badly in the pre-Christmas floods.
"I don't have water, I don't have [a] heater," Rosario told PIX11 News in an interview outside of her home, about 100 yards from the Passaic River. "I need to stay here because my baby needs to go to school."
Hers was among the nearly three dozen families displaced by the mid-December storm's floods. The floodwaters also stranded thousands of other Paterson residents in their homes on more than 30 closed streets. The city's schools were shut down for two weeks.
The various hardships led to the new program, according to the mayor.
"Paterson is here to help," Sayegh said at the announcement at Paterson City Hall.
Sayegh was flanked by a variety of people at the podium, including Mary Celis, the president and CEO of The United Way of Passaic County. It received a $10,000 check at the ceremony toward the new flood assistance program.
Also joining the mayor was another flooding victim, Michelle Ortega.
She said that the floodwaters inundated her car, totaling it. It also resulted in her having to evacuate her home.
"I never once [before] have ever went on a fire department boat in my life. I never had to swim out of dirty water to get out of my house," she said, describing her evacuation experience.
With so much gone from her life now, in the wake of the flood, she said that the new funding can help, no matter how much she qualifies for.
"[Even] something goes a long way," she said in an interview.
For its part, the City of Paterson founded the partnership program, Sayegh said, to make sure there was little to no bureaucracy involved. He said that that's why a nonprofit -- instead of the city itself -- is administering the funds.
The city's main role, said the mayor, is to connect flood victims with the new resources.
"If you are in need," Sayegh said in an interview after the announcement, "contact our office, and we'll make sure we will connect you with the individuals who are orchestrating the fund."
Sayegh added that he's also doing the same thing as many of the residents of his city who were impacted by December's floods -- they're watching the water levels in the Passaic River, as well as this weekend's forecast. It calls for rain, or fast-melting snow that could raise still-swollen rivers again.
Rosario, who moved back into her home this week after being flooded out for much of the last two weeks of December, expressed her concerns.
"I don't know what [will happen on] Saturday," Rosario said about the weekend's forecast, "but I'm nervous for this."
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