Poor Renters, not Middle Class Homeowners, Were Hardest Hit by Sandy

I wrote a paper on this a few years back for Community Planning. Middle-class homeowners often have private insurance, savings, and a job that will let them take time off due to exigent circumstances. Often they also have friends or family who have room to let them stay for free and lend them money. Lower-income families who are renting homes are more often living paycheck-to-paycheck, have low-wage hourly jobs that do not allow for time off, and often don't have as robust of a safety net in terms of friends and family with resources that can help.
 

Poor Renters, not Middle Class Homeowners, Were Hardest Hit by Sandy: In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the news media were fixated on the plight of middle-class homeowners in places like the Rockaways in Queens. But two new reports show that low-income renters were the more prevalent victims of the storm.