Report: Low-income renters hard hit by Sandy

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- A new report finds low-income residents and renters in New Jersey and New York were particularly hard hit by Superstorm Sandy.

The Columbia, Md.-based affordable housing advocacy group Enterprise Community Partners found 43 percent of the households that reported Sandy damage to the Federal Emergency Management Agency also reported incomes under $30,000 per year. The group released the study this week.

One-fifth of those who registered with FEMA said they had incomes over $90,000. But 43 percent of those who registered were renters, who are less likely to have insurance to cover their belongings.

The report analyzed data provided by FEMA about the more than 500,000 households in New York and New Jersey that registered for assistance. The mean income for homeowner households was $151,528 compared to $59,631 for renters.

Fair Share Housing Center, which pushes for more low-cost housing in New Jersey, says the state should take heed and focus more on rebuilding affordable homes.

"The data show that unless rebuilding is fair," said Adam Gordon, a staff lawyer for the Cherry Hill-based group. "Lower-income people devastated by Sandy will be forced to live further and further from their jobs and communities."