I called the local pd (millburn) again Thursday. She told me that they have a stack of FID and pistol permits awaiting mental health check. Good news to hear that there is at least some movement at the county level.
I got in touch with the county adjuster this am and she told me their records were at the bottom of the Passaic river and it would be "a couple of months" until anything could be processed. Essex is a huge county so I assume this is going to affect a lot of people.
Great... When I called to check on the progress of my FID application today, the local PD said they were still waiting for the Mental Health check to come back. She told me others were also awaiting for the checks to come back.