More than half of hardest hit Sandy survivors say they’ve been ‘largely forgotten,’ survey finds
In this Nov. 2
Most New Jersey residents hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy remain dissatisfied with the state’s recovery effort, according to a Monmouth University survey.
But the poll found that residents say significant progress has been made in the state’s signature recovery program.
From the survey:
Four years after Sandy, less than half (46%) of hard-hit residents who have been participating in the multi-year panel are satisfied with the state’s recovery effort, while most (54%) are dissatisfied.
The percentage of participants who are satisfied with the recovery effort four years removed from Sandy marks a slight improvement from last year (40%), and a more noticeable improvement from the 2014 (33%) and 2013 (34%) surveys.
Additionally, 48% of survey participants believe the state’s recovery effort is focused on helping people like them. This represents an improvement from 2015 (38%) and 2014 (30%), and is now twice as high as in 2013 (24%) when Monmouth initially interviewed these residents about one year after the storm hit.
Still, more than half (52%) say people like them have been largely forgotten.
“Satisfaction levels with the state’s recovery remain underwater, although we are beginning to see them creep closer to positive territory as more and more residents finish their rebuild. Not surprisingly, reaching the finish line in rebuilding one’s home clearly has a significant impact on satisfaction,” said Timothy Tracey, project manager for Monmouth’s Sandy Recovery Survey,.
The survey has tracked the experiences of more than 1,000 hard-hit residents since the first anniversary of Sandy. The results in the 2016 report represent the views of more than 300 respondents who participated in the most recent update.
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