Damage:
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New Jersey had 2.4 million people without power
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Over 360,000 businesses or homes were damaged. 30,000 of that were destroyed.
Recovery:
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New Jersey implemented the Sandy Recovery Division, which manages the federal funds given to the state and Governor Christie implemented the “Stronger than the Storm” campaign, a tourism and general repairs campaign. designed to attract people to refurbished areas and demonstrate the resilience of New Jerseyans.
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The damaged Seaside Boardwalk experienced a fire in September that destroyed more than 50 businesses, prompting the state to pledge $15 million in aid for those affected.
Statistics:
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Approximately 29% of small businesses in New Jersey are still recovering from Sandy in some form.
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Hurricane Sandy cost the state of New Jersey $36.9 billion — $29.4 in repairs and roughly $7.4 billion in mitigation and prevention costs for future disasters of this magnitude or greater.
Economics and Politics:
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Gov. Chris Christie implemented the “Stronger than the Storm” campaign to attract tourists to the refurbished boardwalk. President Barack Obama visited the boardwalk, leading observers to praise the duo’s bipartisan efforts.
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Democrat Cory Booker, mayor of Newark and the U.S. Senate-elect, supported federal aid for Sandy victims during his Senate campaign. Booker garnered 54.8 percent of the vote against Republican contender Steve Lonegan’s 44.2 percent.
Reactions:
George Csahanin, 60 years old, (Director of Engineering, LIN Media):
“These memories are etched into my memory clearly, not to be forgotten. I was in Toms River, NJ, helping my mother and father at a very difficult time. My mother had brain cancer and after medical treatments, we’re at the point where no more could practically be done for her. We opted to have her home with hospice care daily.
“So the day before the storm hit, which was a Sunday, the hospice team made an offer to move my mother to a rehab place for the duration of the power being out. I felt that we could tough it out and that this storm would not be as severe as the broadcasts were predicting.
“My mom passed away at 1:40 p.m. on November 16, 2012. She was 89. So many things she held dear were destroyed. The boardwalk at Seaside for one. She and my dad would frequently get a sandwich at “Lenny’s” in Toms River, and go to the parking lot at Funtown and watch the surf and have their sandwich. And every day after her radiation treatments we would go to new County Park at the bay in Mantaloking where she could just quietly watch kite fliers, boats and birds. She loved that place. She never saw the aftermath of Sandy. She and those places are now just memories.”