Bon Jovi donates $1 million to Sandy relief
SAYREVILLE, N.J. - The famous New Jersey rocker with liberal leanings put his arm around Republican Gov. Christie, walked down a Sandy-damaged street to greet giddy residents, then announced a $1 million donation for Sandy relief.
SAYREVILLE, N.J. - The famous New Jersey rocker with liberal leanings put his arm around Republican Gov. Christie, walked down a Sandy-damaged street to greet giddy residents, then announced a $1 million donation for Sandy relief.
No, not that famous New Jersey rocker.
While Christie and his far more liberal musical idol, Bruce Springsteen, publicly reconciled their differences in the aftermath of Sandy, the storm also brought Christie together with another New Jersey rock-and-roll name: Jon Bon Jovi.
Bon Jovi, a philanthropist whose foundation has been active in Philadelphia, returned Monday to his hometown of Sayreville, which was ravaged by the storm, to announce that he and his bandmates were donating $1 million to the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund.
To the perfectly fitting backdrop of the Bon Jovi song "Who Says You Can't Go Home," the governor and the rock star walked out of the front doors of the borough hall to a cheering crowd of more than 100 residents standing under a blazing sun.
Introduced by Mayor Kennedy O'Brien as the "favorite son of Sayreville who never, ever forgot where he came from," a sunglasses-clad Bon Jovi offered brief remarks before pulling a $1 million check out of his pocket.
"My being here is not political. It's emotional, because I grew up here, I went to school here, I met my wife here," he said, adding that he used to play block dances on the town's streets.
"I know $1 million sounds like a lot, but it's really just a drop in the bucket," Bon Jovi said. "And I know that there are people that are still suffering. But what I like to call the power of we - that means you, we, us - are taking a step today to save lives."
Christie's wife, Mary Pat, the chairwoman of the relief fund, collected the check and said she had so far raised $38 million from 29,000 people. About $11 million in grants to organizations has been distributed. Bon Jovi is an honorary advisory board member.
When Christie visited Sayreville in the storm's aftermath, residents pleaded with him to provide funds so their homes - hit by floods one too many times - could be bought out. Christie promised Monday that as many as 300 buyouts would start soon "so people can start their lives over and never have to go through it again."
Bon Jovi's money, though, would not go toward publicly funded buyouts but may help those on Patton Avenue, where residents told Christie and Bon Jovi about continued problems related to basement and first-floor flooding.
Christie and Bon Jovi spent more than a half-hour Monday walking past homes on Patton Avenue, taking pictures, shaking hands, and getting thanks from residents for visiting.
Bon Jovi said he had been to Sayreville "a couple of times" since Sandy. He grew up about four miles away from Patton Avenue, and in an interview expressed fond recollections of a town he described as "very blue collar."
"These aren't vacation homes; they aren't second homes," he said. "It's the kind of community where both parents worked full time. This is the kind of place that's middle-class America, a hardworking community."
Residents had various personal connections to Bon Jovi. One man said he ran a "battle of the bands" competition that Bon Jovi, then known as John Bongiovi Jr., won during high school. A woman told him he had gone to school with her aunt. He thought about the name for a moment and then said, "I knew her, sure. I actually did."
Bon Jovi did not linger in conversations with adults but warmed up with children, kneeling to ask a girl who had sought an autograph to draw a picture. He had an extended conversation about Pop Warner football with a boy who wore a Leprechauns jersey. (Bon Jovi said he was a Panther when young.)
Christie and Bon Jovi also appeared together in May, when the governor signed a bill that protects drug users from prosecution if they call 911 to report an overdose. Bon Jovi's daughter had an apparent heroin overdose last year.
The men appeared friendly Monday, hugging and then walking for a bit with arms around each other's shoulders.
To residents, the governor introduced himself as Chris. He heard stories about neighbors sleeping at each others' homes after houses were damaged in the storm, and about neighbors sharing just one generator.
"I'm going to continue to come back here," Christie said. "Don't worry, I won't forget."
Edward Meszaros, 44, said to Christie: "Get to be the president, that's what we want."
Later, after another resident asked him if he was going to run for president, Christie said: "Oh, we'll see. I've got to run for reelection in November first."
