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New Bern resident tells aldermen Rebuild NC failures left historic‑district homeowners waiting years
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Summary
At the Oct. 14 New Bern Board of Aldermen meeting David French said Rebuild NC and state officials failed to follow historic‑district guidelines and stopped his program payments; he asked the city and county to represent affected flood survivors.
David French, a New Bern resident, used the public‑comment period at the Oct. 14 Board of Aldermen meeting to lay out a prolonged dispute with Rebuild NC and state recovery officials over reconstruction in New Bern's historic district.
"It is over 7 very long years since Hurricane Florence hit our beloved Newbern ... Myself as well as thousands of other ENC folks are still not back home due to the failure of rebuild NC under Roy Cooper and Josh Stein," French said, citing program delays and denials he described as "illegal and fraudulent." He told the board Rebuild NC stopped stipend and storage payments, removed his project from the program in February 2025 and did not respond to an appeal that he said is required under program rules.
French said New Bern Historic Preservation Commission hearings had proposed paths for his project to meet local guidelines but that Rebuild NC and the contractor did not follow those recommendations; he told the board the disagreement had left him at risk of losing his uninhabitable home, temporary apartment and stored belongings. Audience members shouted "Shame" during his remarks.
The meeting record shows no Rebuild NC representative responded during the meeting and no staff motion to open a formal investigation was recorded. French asked the city and Craven County to "band together to represent the interest" of hurricane and flood survivors; board members publicly acknowledged the comments but did not record a formal referral to staff in the meeting minutes.
Context: French referenced an Aug. 21, 2024 New Bern Historic Preservation Commission hearing where staff and commissioners rejected a proposed house design tied to his project. He also referenced media reporting and subsequent state hurricane‑recovery committee attention. The claims are substantial and would require review of Rebuild NC records, the official HPC decision, and any written communications the city and Rebuild NC exchanged to verify contested assertions.
Next steps: The transcript does not record a direct response from Rebuild NC or a board motion to investigate; any city follow‑up would come through staff or a future meeting.
