Poll: 75 percent of NYC residents approve of subway's Sandy response

A large majority of New York City residents think the agency that runs its subway trains and buses did a good job responding to Hurricane Sandy, according to a poll released on Tuesday.

Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,165 New York City residents after Sandy ravaged large portions of the Northeast. The poll found 75 percent of New Yorkers approved of the city's Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (MTA) response to the hurricane.

New York officials declared a transportation emergency after Sandy, dropping fares on trains and buses in the city. Subway service between Manhattan and Brooklyn was briefly shut down, but it was restored within a week after water was pumped from flooded tunnels. 

The Quinnipiac poll found 75 percent thought MTA's response to Sandy was "excellent" or "good," compared with just 37 percent who said that of New York utility companies.

"High marks for the first responders and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. But most New Yorkers think the utilities failed their storm-response test," Quinnipiac pollster Maurice Carroll said in a statement announcing the results of the survey.

Sixty-six percent of the Quinnipiac respondents said they approved of the Red Cross's handling of Sandy relief efforts.

The full Sandy response poll can be read here.

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