high-profile example was high-rise project Somerset Mews in New Brunswick received $4.8 million in Hurricane Sandy relief funds despite the fact the city was not badly hit by the storm. In Belleville, Sandy had caused some flooding, downed trees, and power disruptions, but Mayor Raymond Kimble said he was not aware of any reports of displaced residents. $6 million in state funds towards the new construction of the $18 million Frankin Manor low-income senior citizen housing complex was announced shortly before the Democratic mayor endorsed Christie's re-election. Christie personally promoted the funding for the project. State funding coming from community development block grants was later increased to $10.2 million. Statements by Christie and other officials, at the project's groundbreaking on May 29, 2013, stressed keeping Belleville seniors in town. Sandy was mentioned only by an Essex County official, and not in relationship to the senior housing. January 2014 news coverage traced the state block grants back to federal Sandy funds, and questioned the appropriateness of spending Sandy funds on this project, and the timing of the endorsement. Kimble said that the endorsement "had nothing to do with [Christie] releasing those funds." The Star-Ledger editorialized that Christie had used the Sandy funds as a "political slush fund" in "relatively unscathed" Belleville, in a case sounding like "Hoboken in reverse", and called for subpoenas. On January 27, Anthony Marchetta, executive director of the Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (established under the Department of Community Affairs), ruled out special priority for Sandy victims, saying, "there are prohibitions against creating a special class." However, on February 24, DCA Commissioner Richard Constable announced that the first three months of the application process would be reserved for Sandy-affected seniors. A DCA spokeswoman said that priority will be given to individuals who registered for FEMA assistance or who rented or owned a home made uninhabitable by Sandy. Sandy victims will get priority in all projects given the federal funds. Two contractors hired for New Jersey Department of Community Affairs's Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) program were prematurely terminated, amid criticism and unclear circumstances. One, a contract with Hammerman & Gainer Inc. (HGI) for $68 million, originally mean to run until 2016, was ended in a buyout deal December 2013. The contract was valid for 8 months and the company was paid $36 million. Another, with URS Corporation for $20 million was terminated in April 2014, 15