How’s the ongoing Sandy recovery proceeding? Not well, JSHN commenters say
Ortley Beach two years after Sandy on Oct. 29, 2014. (Photo: Justin Auciello/for NewsWorks)
This week, FEMA agreed to reopen more than 140,000 claims from people who say they were drastically underpaid by the federal flood insurance program for Sandy damage.
Lawmakers and nonprofits also launched the Superstorm Sandy Task Force in Washington as a way of pressuring the government to provide more assistance to storm victims, while also looking at ways to reform the nation’s flood insurance program.
And NJ Spotlight reported that just 10 percent of homeowners receiving state-funded grants are back at home.
The Sandy recovery is, of course, far from over.
On JSHN, the Jersey Shore’s two-way news outlet, the answers to a simple question asking for a one word assessment of the Sandy recovery are indicative of a struggling recovery.
The question, posted on Wednesday, has generated 353 responses as of mid-morning today. The overwhelming majority of the responses paint a grim picture of the progress since recovery programs began.
“Recovery?” wrote Paul Cusack, which generated the most “likes” out of the list. Richard T. Colarusso’s “corrupt” response received the second most likes.
Other top responses included “opportunistic,” “pathetic,” “disappointing,” “mismanaged,” “heartbreaking,” “disaster,” “non-existent,” “unacceptable,” and “embarrassing.”
Michael Parmigiano observed that “[m]any capitalized on the misfortune of others,” and Donna Sue Eccles expressed frustration relating to “[a]lways being told you can go elsewhere.”
“No, I can’t,” she wrote. “Family, friends, EMPLOYMENT, are here.”
As for a positive assessment of the recovery, out of over 350, there was only one response.
“I have a relative that lost their home and I found that she was made whole,” wrote Deborah L. Reed. “In fact she is in better shape than before the storm.”
Stay tuned as JSHN continues to follow the ongoing recovery.
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Justin Auciello, the author of this article, is the publisher of JSHN.
WHYY/NewsWorks’ Matt Laslo contributed to this report.
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