Recent Survey Shows the Impact of Hurricane Sandy on Many Small Businesses in Staten Island.

A recent survey conducted by the NY Rising project gathered information to help assess the toll that Sandy took on the borough’s business community.  NY Rising is a state and borough initiative that commenced in September and will award Staten Island $25 million to pay for post-Sandy reconstruction.

According to the survey, 66 percent of merchant participants still need capital, 50 percent have yet to secure loans to remediate damage caused by the storm.  Additionally, a large portion of Staten Island’s storm-affected businesses suffered more than $100,000 in damages.
The survey also found that:

• 90 percent of businesses on Staten Island suffered physical damage from the storm.
• Roughly 5 percent of Staten Island businesses have yet to reopen.
• 20 percent of businesses impacted by the storm moved locations.
• More than 50 percent of affected businesses were able to reopen, at least partially, within a month of the storm one month, but needed more time to completely reopen.
• More than 50 percent of the businesses impacted by the storm suffered damages over $100,000.
• About sixty-six percent of survey respondents have yet to purchase new equipment and/or furnishings necessitated by storm-related losses.
• Approximately 40 percent of survey participants still need to make building or structural repairs.
• One-quarter of businesses surveyed saw decreased revenue decreases of more than 51 percent as the result of Hurricane Sandy.